Photo: PETA and ECOPEL Reveal Much Anticipated Faux-Fur Queen’s Guard Cap
London – Today, PETA and luxury faux furrier ECOPEL have revealed the world’s first faux bear fur that is indistinguishable from real bearskins used for the Queen’s Guard’s caps.
The photograph of the groundbreaking cap is also available here.
ECOPEL – which makes faux fur for top designers – donated its time and expertise and built custom machinery to produce the material. The faux bear fur not only matches the exact length of real fur but also is easily rendered 100% waterproof – as confirmed by a Ministry of Defence (MoD) copyrighted test, commissioned by PETA and conducted in the MoD’s accredited laboratory. ECOPEL has offered to provide the MoD with faux bear fur free of charge until 2030.
“The humane, high-performing faux fur created by ECOPEL gives a nod to tradition while preventing sensitive bears from being viciously slaughtered for their fur,” says PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA looks forward to seeing this 21st century cap – which reflects the fur-free values of Her Majesty and animal-loving Brits – quick-marched into service.”
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – notes that some bears are shot several times before they die and that some escape only to bleed to death. When mother bears are killed, their cubs are left to starve. A Freedom of Information request revealed that over £1 million in taxpayer money was spent on 891 of the bearskin caps – which are ornamental and serve no military purpose – over the past seven years alone.
Unlike bears’ fur, which must be treated with toxic chemicals to prevent it from decomposing, ECOPEL’s faux fur is produced in eco-friendly closed-loop factories. Over the years, the MoD has replaced leopard and beaver furs with faux furs. Nearly 20 years after the UK banned fur farming, and with a post-Brexit ban on the importation of fur anticipated, a tried-and-tested alternative to bear fur is now ready to be rolled out.
Celebrities who have called on the MoD to replace the bearskin caps with humane faux fur include Sir Paul McCartney, Pamela Anderson, Stella McCartney, Ricky Gervais, Joanna Lumley, and the late Sir Roger Moore. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also supported the initiative, saying synthetic fur caps should be used if they would “help save a few bears”. PETA is now urging the prime minister to make good on his word by instructing the MoD to switch to the new faux fur for all future caps.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Jennifer White +44 20 7837 6327; [email protected]