Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

To wear a fur coat in this day and age?

81 replies

Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 22:45

Having a debate with a friend so thought I would hear other people's opinions! It was triggered by a fur coat we saw for sale in a vintage shop in Canterbury. Neither of us have a particular side of the debate, we have just been discussing for and against together. The two arguments are:

Against: The killing of animals for cosmetic reasons is disgusting. Even using animals skins for cosmetic reasons is selfish and parading them round is barbaric. Even faux fur coats endorse the "look" of wearing dead animals to look good (not to mention the faux fur strands are awful for the environment and are similar to glitter or microbeads in cosmetic products).

For: Although it was agreed buying a new fur coat is feeding into a cruel and inhumane trade, buying a vintage coat from a secondhand shop is ok as you aren't funding the trade, the coat will be juggled between owners until it is unwearable with no more animals dying in the process. Also it takes away from buying an artificially made, plastic coat which are unsustainable and terrible for the environment.

We also discussed something I saw a while ago, where a woman was heckled in London for wearing a fur coat, being called a "fur hag" over and over despite actually having inherited the coats. What are your thoughts on this too? Is even wearing fur that wasn't bought by you or bought by anyone any time recently awful?

OP posts:
StrawberryPot · 16/09/2022 22:50

Is even wearing fur that wasn't bought by you or bought by anyone any time recently awful?

Yep.

Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 22:58

Interesting, why?

OP posts:
AlwaysGinPlease · 16/09/2022 23:07

You know exactly why OP. You're goading.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Clothing
Sprogonthetyne · 16/09/2022 23:07

I wouldn't be that bothering about vintage fur. Not wearing it isn't going to make the animal any less dead. Plus I always feel that there's a double standard when people are appalled by fur but don't think twice about leather shoes or eating meat. Like the lives of cute fluffy anamals mean more then 'boring' or ugly ones, who are we to make that worthiness judgement?

Grandeur · 16/09/2022 23:07

From an ethical standpoint, it's not buying directly into the trade and the animal is already dead so it won't make a jot of difference whether it's worn or destroyed.

Although I can't see why anyone would want to buy a fur coat (real or fake) nowadays, they're terribly outdated.

BadGranny · 16/09/2022 23:08

I inherited a musquash coat from my Godmother - she bought it in 1935. It’s the warmest coat I possess, and I occasionally wear it in the coldest winter weather. The animals were dead long before I was born. Throwing the coat away isn’t going to bring them back to life or change the conditions in which they lived.

Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:10

Erm not at all? I would have liked to have known If it was a point I point in my op or a new angle I haven't yet thought about?

OP posts:
Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:10

AlwaysGinPlease · 16/09/2022 23:07

You know exactly why OP. You're goading.

Sorry about message is in reply to ^

OP posts:
Cynderella · 16/09/2022 23:12

You're not supporting the fur trade by wearing a vintage fur coat, but you are sending out the message that wearing such a coat is acceptable.

And I don't think it is.

Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:13

Sprogonthetyne · 16/09/2022 23:07

I wouldn't be that bothering about vintage fur. Not wearing it isn't going to make the animal any less dead. Plus I always feel that there's a double standard when people are appalled by fur but don't think twice about leather shoes or eating meat. Like the lives of cute fluffy anamals mean more then 'boring' or ugly ones, who are we to make that worthiness judgement?

Very good point! Although my argument to that would be maybe one is for eating and one is for cosmetic reasons and there is a difference? Although the leather shoes I agree with!

On second thought, would leather be a byproduct and the cow killed no matter whether the skin was used or not?

OP posts:
AlwaysGinPlease · 16/09/2022 23:13

Cynderella · 16/09/2022 23:12

You're not supporting the fur trade by wearing a vintage fur coat, but you are sending out the message that wearing such a coat is acceptable.

And I don't think it is.

This.

Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:14

Grandeur · 16/09/2022 23:07

From an ethical standpoint, it's not buying directly into the trade and the animal is already dead so it won't make a jot of difference whether it's worn or destroyed.

Although I can't see why anyone would want to buy a fur coat (real or fake) nowadays, they're terribly outdated.

To be fair I have seen some beautiful fur coats in some vintage shops! Although maybe my taste is outdated! 🤣

OP posts:
Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:14

BadGranny · 16/09/2022 23:08

I inherited a musquash coat from my Godmother - she bought it in 1935. It’s the warmest coat I possess, and I occasionally wear it in the coldest winter weather. The animals were dead long before I was born. Throwing the coat away isn’t going to bring them back to life or change the conditions in which they lived.

I think warmth is a good environmental argument, definitely calls for less garments and they are supposed to last for ages

OP posts:
Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:15

Cynderella · 16/09/2022 23:12

You're not supporting the fur trade by wearing a vintage fur coat, but you are sending out the message that wearing such a coat is acceptable.

And I don't think it is.

Very very true, from that standpoint would you disagree with faux fur? Is that giving the same message or are we more capable nowadays of separating the two?

OP posts:
CaptainBarbosa · 16/09/2022 23:17

I actually have a real fur lined hat, it's vintage and was left to me by a elderly relative.

I wear it when it's really cold, I'm sure people just assume these days it's fake fur so I'm not bothered 🤷🏻‍♀️

These animals must have died circa 1930's like they'd be dead now anyway even if they weren't turned in to a hat 😳

Sprogonthetyne · 16/09/2022 23:18

Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:13

Very good point! Although my argument to that would be maybe one is for eating and one is for cosmetic reasons and there is a difference? Although the leather shoes I agree with!

On second thought, would leather be a byproduct and the cow killed no matter whether the skin was used or not?

Show quote history

Some people eat rabbits, would a rabbit skin coat be acceptable?

(I'm not nessercerily saying it is, just trying to untangle the thought process)

Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:20

CaptainBarbosa · 16/09/2022 23:17

I actually have a real fur lined hat, it's vintage and was left to me by a elderly relative.

I wear it when it's really cold, I'm sure people just assume these days it's fake fur so I'm not bothered 🤷🏻‍♀️

These animals must have died circa 1930's like they'd be dead now anyway even if they weren't turned in to a hat 😳

You are probably right, I think I would assume any fur I saw was fake

OP posts:
carefullycourageous · 16/09/2022 23:20

I think this is a goady topic too, but my view is however old the fur is, it is not OK. Times change.

It also always looks shit too. It can't not look shit, because it is fur.

Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:22

Sprogonthetyne · 16/09/2022 23:18

Some people eat rabbits, would a rabbit skin coat be acceptable?

(I'm not nessercerily saying it is, just trying to untangle the thought process)

Show quote history

Hmm, I guess it depends on whether the rabbit was killed for the fur and not meat, and in this scenario, is the rabbit meat market rewarding enough that they don't just throw the rest of the animal away..

OP posts:
Cynderella · 16/09/2022 23:26

Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:15

Very very true, from that standpoint would you disagree with faux fur? Is that giving the same message or are we more capable nowadays of separating the two?

Show quote history

I've never had a faux fur coat, but some are really obvious fabric, aren't they? I suppose I wouldn't feel the same way, and I see that's at odds with how I feel about the vintage coat. People buy handbags and shoes that look like alligator or crocodile skin. Or a bag that is like leopard fur. And I do see that if you kill rabbits and eat them, you can argue better to use the pelts than throw them away.

But fur coats have a history, and so I do feel they send a different message.

Original poster
Relevanceiskey · 16/09/2022 23:30

Cynderella · 16/09/2022 23:26

I've never had a faux fur coat, but some are really obvious fabric, aren't they? I suppose I wouldn't feel the same way, and I see that's at odds with how I feel about the vintage coat. People buy handbags and shoes that look like alligator or crocodile skin. Or a bag that is like leopard fur. And I do see that if you kill rabbits and eat them, you can argue better to use the pelts than throw them away.

But fur coats have a history, and so I do feel they send a different message.

Show quote history

Yes they are very Good points, I guess it might be different if animal clothing garments were ever only a byproduct of meat production maybe, and some of these awful fur farms didn't exist! But ultimately they did and still do

OP posts:
TwoMonthsOff · 16/09/2022 23:33

@BadGranny
thats a musk rat

TwoMonthsOff · 16/09/2022 23:35

@carefullycourageous
could not agree more

AdoraBell · 16/09/2022 23:37

Personally I wouldn’t buy a fur coat, but I wouldn’t judge anyone buying one from a vintage shop. My reasoning is that it’s already been made.

StrawberryPot · 16/09/2022 23:41

From an ethical standpoint, it's not buying directly into the trade and the animal is already dead so it won't make a jot of difference whether it's worn or destroyed.

But indirectly it's supporting an abhorrent trade because you're putting out a message that it's okay to wear fur.

How would you feel op about someone buying a piece of ivory in a second hand shop? Would you think fair enough - it's already been ripped from the face of the elephant so can't do any more harm? Or would you find the idea of buying and displaying it distasteful?