No More Excuses: Faux Fur Is Proven to Outperform Bearskin
Armed with a fabric technologist’s seal of approval, we fired off a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson sharing news that testing now conclusively proves ECOPEL and PETA’s faux bear fur performs in a similar way to – or better than – the bearskin used for the Queen’s Guard’s caps in all five areas set out by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). There are no excuses left, and we are urging the prime minister to bring faux-fur caps into service immediately.
Independent Test Results
Independent fabric technologist Atom Cianfarani, who has more than 25 years of experience in material and fabric research and development, assessed the performance of the world’s first faux bear fur, created by ECOPEL, against the MoD’s criteria and concluded that the “ECOPEL [faux fur fabric] equally performed or outdid bearskin in all of the tests”.
“[T]he combination of ECOPEL’s fabric along with a waterproof membrane such as Tyvek will produce a fast-drying, lightweight cap that will be more comfortable and less toxic for the wearer while still conveying the historically important image of the Grenadiers.”
– Atom Cianfarani, independent fabric technologist
Earlier tests conducted by an MoD-accredited laboratory confirmed the lined faux fur is 100% waterproof and, when wet, performs in a similar way to real bear fur in water shedding tests. Now, test results show that the faux fur responds in a similar way to real bear fur in terms of compression and outperforms it in terms of drying rate by 19%. It is also lighter, offering enhanced user comfort, and more sustainable than bear fur.
PETA arranged for further tests to be conducted on the faux bear fur after the MoD outlined its five criteria for a faux bear fur to Parliament in February. The ministry had failed to share these requirements with PETA, despite having met with us years earlier and giving us other criteria to fulfil.
No More Excuses
The MoD has always maintained that its support of the slaughter of Canadian black bears would end as soon as a suitable alternative was available. That day has now come.
ECOPEL stands ready to work with the MoD’s cap makers to make any desired adjustments to the faux fur. Its offer to supply the MoD with unlimited faux bear fur free of charge until 2030 still stands.
Bears Need You to Take Action
Tell the MoD that there can be no more excuses. Urgently add your name to our petition calling on the ministry to make the switch to faux fur. We need 100,000 signatures to trigger a debate in Parliament on the issue:
