Paloma Faith Urges British Fashion Council to Ban Fur at London Fashion Week
Ahead of London Fashion Week (14–18 September), singer-songwriter Paloma Faith has sent a letter on PETA’s behalf asking the British Fashion Council (BFC) to ban the use of cruelly obtained animal fur at the event – and all its other events.
In the letter, Paloma – who has previously used her voice for PETA to draw attention to the barbarity of the fur industry – highlights that the market for fur is in decline around the world, including in Britain, which banned fur farming almost two decades ago.
“The BFC shouldn’t be endorsing a material whose production is deemed so cruel that it is outlawed in the UK,” she says. “With the vast number of cutting-edge, eco-friendly faux furs available on the market today, I’m sure you’ll agree that there’s no longer any excuse for killing animals for their fur.”
©Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
Illegal to Produce in the UK, but Not to Show on the Catwalk
Fur farming is illegal in the UK because of the cruelty inherent in the industry. However, fur continues to be imported for sale here. On fur farms in Europe, in China, and elsewhere, animals are crammed into tiny wire cages, where they’re denied the opportunity to do anything that’s natural or important to them, such as playing, running, finding food, and raising a family. The stress of this extreme confinement causes many to go insane, and fighting, self-mutilation, and cannibalism are common. At the end of their short, miserable lives, they’re killed using ghastly methods, such as gassing, electrocution, and drowning.
Nowadays, the majority of people wouldn’t be seen dead in fur, and most top international designers – including Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Armani, and others – are 100 per cent fur-free. Our survey of designers with a show or presentation at the February 2018 London Fashion Week found that 95 per cent – including Burberry and Mulberry – didn’t use fur in their autumn/winter 2018 collections, and a recently released poll of designers planning to show during this month’s event has revealed that it’ll be 100 per cent fur-free.
It’s time for the BFC to make it official and institute the no-fur policy that the public as well as the fashion and apparel industries are waiting for. Its inaction is utterly out of touch with the decisions of the very designers it’s supposed to represent. To remain relevant, it must stop supporting the dying fur trade, which cages animals and electrocutes and bludgeons them to death for nothing more than a fashion accessory.
You can read Paloma’s full letter here.
What You Can Do
Please join us in urging the BFC to reflect British values and the changing times by introducing a ban on fur at all its events, including London Fashion Week:
