Animal Cruelty is Not In Fashion

Back in the day fur was a representation of wealth. Today, thankfully, real fur in fashion is starting to be recognized as not so fashionable. Animal rights is activists are becoming louder and the fashion industry is finally starting to listen. Animals can’t speak for themselves, which is where activist groups such as PETA come in. Their importance is obvious as there are no federal laws to protect animals on fur farms in the U.S. I don’t want to dwell on the disturbing pictures and statistics, but rather focus on how as a society we are slowly making positive changes to end animal cruelty in the fashion district and what still needs to be done. According to Vogue, the designers who have gone fur free are; Burberry, Gucci, Versace, Armani, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney, DKNY, Michael Kors, John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood. Recently, Prada is the latest big name that has changed their fur policies, eliminating all use of fur products by summer 2020. This is encouraging as there are a lot leading fashion brands that are hopping on the anti-fur band wagon. However, there are still luxury brands that use fur are; Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Hermes, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent and unfortunately, the list goes on. My question to these fashion icons is how many images and statistics do you need to see to change? If animal cruelty isn’t enough, what about the impact the fur industry has on the environment? According to The World Bank, the hazardous process of fur dressing is so problematic that the fur industry is now ranked as one of the world’s five worst industries for toxic-metal pollution. It is wonderful that there has been so much progress made and luxury brands that are taking action against using fur, but there is still a long way to go before real fur is no longer fashion material designers utilize. Fur is not a fabric and cruelty is a fashion statement we can do without.