Big News! Copenhagen Fashion Week Bans Fur
PETA and compassionate fashionistas everywhere are celebrating the news that Copenhagen Fashion Week will go fur-free.
This move follows a consumer awakening brought about by PETA’s international entities, who piled on the pressure, pointing out that Danish “high-welfare” fur is a cruel and unsustainable scam.
PETA UK has been campaigning for the fur ban for years, sending letters to the event organisers, its sponsors, and its partner agency on sustainability. In 2021, on the event’s opening day, together with Anima International and Danish animal rights association Dyrenes Alliance, PETA UK held an eye-catching protest highlighting that fur is the product of death and doesn’t belong on catwalks.
Fur Is Dead
Minks are confined for their whole lives to cramped cages before they’re killed for their fur.
Investigations into 26 mink farms in Denmark revealed sick, injured, and dead animals in every instance. Some minks suffered from massive, untreated bite wounds. Others were missing legs or ears from fights, which inevitably break out when these naturally solitary animals are forced to live together in crowded conditions.
Cases of COVID-19 were found on mink farms in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands, prompting the latter to bring forward its planned ban on fur farming.
The Fur Industry Is Killing Our Planet
Fur is treated with chemicals such as formaldehyde and chromium to prevent it from rotting, making it one of the least sustainable materials in fashion. An independent study found that, compared to other materials, fur has a higher environmental impact on 17 out of 18 factors tested, including its contribution to the climate catastrophe and toxic emissions.
What’s Next?
Today, fur is as dead as the animals it was stolen from, and designers around the globe are embracing sustainable, innovative vegan fabrics. Copenhagen Fashion Week now joins the fashion weeks of Amsterdam, Helsinki, Oslo, and others as well as brands like Gucci, Versace, Prada, Valentino, Armani, Chanel, and just about every other major fashion brand that has already banned animal fur.
But there are still some outliers. Alexandra Australia is still selling fur – including jackets, vests, shawls, and keyrings – claiming that these items are “sourced following ethical guidelines”.
Will you join us in letting the company know that fur production can never be ethical and asking that it stop selling the material?
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