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Tools for Fur-Free Back to School Shopping

July 30, 2008


	©iStockphoto
	Foxes are raised on squalid farms or cruelly trapped in the wild to provide fur and fur trim.

More and more retailers and designers are rejecting animal fur, and The Humane Society of the United States is urging back-to-school shoppers to do the same.

The HSUS is providing consumers the tools they need—a list of more than 100 fur-free companies and a guide to telling animal fur from fake fur—to avoid supporting abuses like raccoon dogs being skinned alive to trim jackets.

Shoppers are also urged to report suspected false labeling they come across to HSUS investigators.

Fur-Free Shopping Made Simple

Equip Yourself

Print out these handy PDFs to take with you when shopping.

Pocket guide to fur-free retailers and designers

Field guide to telling animal fur from fake

Form to report falsely labeled or advertised fur

"More and more well-known retailers and designers are saying no to fur, and it's easier than ever for consumers to do the same," said Pierre Grzybowski, the deputy manager of the fur-free campaign of The Humane Society of the United States.

"Consumers wishing to avoid buying animal fur should print our back-to-school resources and take them when they go shopping."

Overstock.com recently became the 100th name on the list of fur-free retailers and designers that also includes Abercrombie and Fitch, American Apparel, Apple Bottoms by Nelly, BCBG, Betsy Johnson, Calvin Klein, Footlocker, Gant, Guess?, Hollister, H&M, J. Crew, Old Navy, Patagonia, Polo Ralph Lauren, The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, and Urban Outfitters.

On the Lookout for Labeling Lies

If shoppers come across suspected false advertising or labeling of animal fur while in non fur-free stores or online, The HSUS is encouraging them to fill out and return the Fur Labeling Case Report. HSUS investigators will follow up on leads and pass them along to law enforcement agencies if appropriate.

This will help combat the widespread fur labeling problems that are affecting consumers nationwide, which The HSUS has found plaguing the fashion industry. Last fall, The HSUS found jackets at many major retailers with real fur described as fake, including a size 4 girl's jacket with raccoon dog described on the label as "trim: polyester 100%."

Jackets trimmed with animal fur but either advertised or labeled as faux fur were found being sold last fall by Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Dillard's, Yoox.com, and Bloomingdale's and involved brand names Burberry, Andrew Marc, Marc New York, Adam+Eve, Preston & York, Ramosport, and Aqua.