British Brand Belstaff to Go Fur-Free
Luxury British brand Belstaff’s recently appointed CEO, Helen Wright, has pledged that the company will join the UK’s growing list of fur-free designers.
Jo-Anne McArthur | http://www.weanimals.org/
After learning from PETA how coyotes and other animals are trapped and killed for fur trim, she confirmed that no real fur will appear in Belstaff’s collections or stores from January 2019. The company joins a growing list of fur-free British brands and designers – including Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, and Stella McCartney. Its decision also follows the release of PETA’s London Fashion Week poll, which found that 95 per cent of brands – including Burberry, which is also currently considering a fur ban – won’t be using fur in their autumn/winter 2018 collections.
PETA commends Wright for doing the right thing for animals and consumers by ushering in a modern, compassionate no-fur policy at Belstaff.
Fur farming has been banned in the UK for nearly two decades because of its inherent cruelty, and a proposed post-Brexit importation ban is currently being considered by the government. In North America, the traps used to catch coyotes are both horrifically cruel and indiscriminate, and companion animals and even threatened species also fall victim to them. On fur farms in Europe, China, and elsewhere, animals are confined to tiny wire cages, denied everything that’s natural and important to them, and killed by electrocution, neck-breaking, or drowning.
As “ethical” and “sustainable” are currently two of the biggest buzzwords in fashion, it’s easy to see why designers and retailers are rejecting real fur at breakneck speed. All animal fur must be treated with a host of chemicals – many of them toxic – to prevent it from decomposing in buyers’ wardrobes, and “fur dressing” has been identified as a major polluter. In contrast, high-quality faux furs, like those used by Gucci and Shrimps, are produced in closed-loop factories, making them the obvious choice for environmentally conscious fashionistas wanting the look of fur.
What You Can Do
Although more and more UK brands are committing to dropping fur in the wake of PETA campaigns and MPs across the board showed support for a fur-free Britain at a recent parliamentary debate, cruelly produced fur items are still being imported for sale here.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the government to make sure it follows through with meaningful steps towards introducing a ban. In the meantime, you can speak out against the fur industry by contacting online fashion retailer Farfetch and urging it to stop selling fur and angora on its website.
