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Furs: Wanton Waste of Life or Environmentally Friendly?
WASHINGTON, DC, December 24, 2001 (ENS) - High income shoppers
prefer department stores with socially responsible merchandise policies and
stores that do not sell fur products such as fur coats and fur trimmed
clothing, according to a poll commissioned by the Fund for Animals.
The survey revealed that 54 percent of consumers consider selling fur
products to be socially irresponsible. By more than a four-to-one margin,
consumers prefer to shop at stores which do not sell fur.
The preference consumers have for department stores not selling fur is
further evidenced by the fact that 47 oercent of consumers disapprove of
stores selling fur, compared to only 35 percent who approve.
The survey was conducted by the polling firm, Decision Research. From
September 25 to 27, 2001, researchers interviewed 400 high income consumers
in four metropolitan areas - Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and
Washington - where Neiman Marcus operates stores. The
poll has a sampling error of + or - 4.9 percent.
Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The Fund for Animals, said,
"These results confirm what we have known all along - that upscale
consumers want fashion with compassion. Neiman Marcus and other retailers
should be
responsive to their customers' needs rather than continue to be responsible
for unnecessary cruelty to animals who suffer and die for fur."
"With plenty of warm and fashionable alternatives, he said, "there is
simply no reason to wear fur in the 21st century."
But the Fur Commission USA, representing over 600 mink and fox farming
families on over 400 farms in 31 states, calls farmed fur "a natural fiber
and an environmentally friendly resource."
"By feeding their domesticated carnivores the "leftovers" from human food
production, beef, fish, dairy, poultry, fur farmers reduce the
environmental impact of the agricultural sector as a whole," the commission
says.
But Markarian points out that animals killed for fur coats and fur trimmed
clothing live their entire lives in tiny, barren cages on fur farms, or if
caught in the wild, they suffer for hours or days in steel-jawed leghold
traps. "Their misery only ends when they are clubbed, stomped, gassed, or
electrocuted," Markarian says.
The Humane Society of the United States is promoting the wearing of
"evolutionary fur" instead of animal fur for fashionable clothing.
Evolutionary fur is sold in major department stores, the society says.
Evolutionary fur begins, the Humane Society explains, "like any other
fabric, from bales of raw fiber in various colors and thicknesses. Then an
artist's sketch or photo of an animal is scanned to create a computer
simulation of the fur. The computer maps a recipe, the fabric is woven, and
the look of fur is perfectly matched."
Producing fur coats takes more energy than manufacturing a synthetic fur
coat, and the Humane Society says that chemicals are used to manufacture
furs. "The environmental damage continues," the society says, "when animal
fur apparel is treated with a variety hazardous chemical brighteners, dyes,
and preservatives. The waste runoff from the fur industry's intensive
confinement and slaughter facilities can contaminate ground water."
But the Fur Commission says fur is fine. Its volunteer board and committees
work to ensure "superior standards of animal husbandry through our own
certification program, and to educate the public about responsible fur
farming and the merits of fur."
Winter is harvest time for fur farmed animals, mink farmer Larry Frye
explained for an interview published in "Chevy Chaser" magazine. The black
mink from his Buhl-Frye ranch have been made into coats that have sold for
as much as $100,000. The scraps are made into headbands, earmuffs, or golf
club covers.
Other products are made from mink include cosmetics, soaps, perfumes,
paint, tires, pet food, fertilizer and the leather dressing known as mink oil.
"A proper harvest on the farm," said Frye, "is quick to prevent any stress
to the mink or damage to the thick winter coat. They are killed quickly and
humanely in accordance with approved veterinary practices."
In the fall of 1997 Frye's farm was vandalized by a group of animal rights
activists who caused several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage. No
arrests have been made in connection with the break in. "The F.B.I. has
recognized these animal rights extremists as domestic terrorists," the Frye
farm says on its website which does not reveal its location.
Fur Commission USA is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone that breaks in and causes
damage to a fur farm.
Most animal rights protest groups do not try to make their point by
vandalism or property destruction. The Fund for Animals has requested a
meeting with Neiman Marcus executives in order to discuss the poll results
and help the company improve its image with its upscale customers who
oppose the inhumane treatment of animals for fur.
Markarian is hopeful that the upscale retailer will appreciate the Fund for
Animals' point of view. "Neiman Marcus prides itself on being ahead of the
curve. The company should show its leadership in the fashion industry by
developing a socially responsible merchandise policy and no longer selling
fur products."
In Detroit, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis this holiday season, two scantily
clad Santas from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) handed
out free candy canes with an animal friendly card carrying the message, "Be
Sweet to Animals — Don’t Wear Fur!"
"Don’t let the cold penetrate your heart," says PETA’s Lisa Franzetta, a
veteran of baring it all for the animals. "Refuse to wear fur and fur trim."
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2001. All rights reserved. |
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