Is fur no longer in fashion?
THE Norwegian government has pledged to eradicate all fur farming in the country, aiming for a complete phaseout by the year 2024, pending approval by Parliament. According to animal protection organisation The Humane Society International, the nation currently boasts 340 mink and fox fur farms and is the second-biggest producer of fox fur in Europe after Finland.
“Factory farming wild animals for fur in appallingly deprived conditions is unconscionably cruel, so to see a ban on this dreadful trade in a Scandinavian country is truly historic,” said Ruud Tombrock, Executive Director of Humane Society International/EU, in a statement. “Consumers are turning their backs on the bloody fur trade, and it is only right that Norway’s politicians enable Norway to join the fast-growing list of compassionate nations refusing to allow cruel fur farming within their borders.”
If implemented, the new law would make Norway the 14th European country to eliminate fur farming – an indication of the widespread change in attitudes towards the practice.
So does this mean that fur, once the height of opulence, is going out of fashion? The luxury industry remains divided over the issue, but there has been a notable trend among the bigger clothing brands for discontinuing use of the material over recent years. Last December, the labels Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo announced the phasing-out of fur within their collections by the end of 2018, with Italian house Gucci also set to go furfree this year. Armani, Hugo Boss, and Stella McCartney are additional examples of luxury labels that all operate with a furfree model, with the Armani group making the switch last year, and Hugo Boss making a similar commitment in the summer of 2015. – AFP Relaxnews