To not see the big deal with wearing fur

[Itsgonnabeacoldone]

If it's vintage then you aren't really supporting an industry or creating demand for new fur garments.

Some of the comments against Alexandra have been pretty vile. I have an old piano that has ivory, but it's second hand and surely it's better that it's used after being made than just thrown away?

Polar/synthetic Fleece is horrible stuff... it’s plastic - it doesn’t biodegrade. It’s just awful for the environment.

And it sheds micro plastic into the water system when you wash it.

Sheep are shorn without them dying in the process

The breed of sheep kept for wool production don't moult so shearing is a necessity for them.

Most furs are made from farmed animals
That is true and the conditions are generally appalling.

As mentioned up thread, I recently tried to buy a hat on Amazon and eventually gave up as even the ones labelled fake fur had comments in the reviews confirming it was real.
The texture of fur gives me the creeps.
I've a friend who wears fur she is of the " I wear leather anyway" school of thought.

Note: this is a personal opinion: end note.

I really hate the look and feel of real fur; and it's particularly revolting when they leave the faces or paws on. Plus, they just connote a certain kind of rich bitchiness and I don't understand why anyone would want to channel that. Whenever I see someone wearing it, in my head they become Cruella DeVille snarling "I live for furs! I worship furs!"

I have an old piano that has ivory, but it's second hand and surely it's better that it's used after being made than just thrown away?

This is completely irrelevant. There is no comparison with this and wearing fur in public. No one looking at a piano is going to think ooh those keys are ivory- must get myself some.

From what I've read it's completely false that humans are natural omnivores. We're much more likely frugivores.

I wouldn't wear fur because my cousin (non-UK) ran a fur farm. So I've seen what they are like.

You have honestly no idea how awful they are. Seriously worse than battery farmed chickens. And for animals like mink, there is no possible way of running a humane fur farm.

In NZ, I would wear possum because as a PP said, it's hunted to try and reduce a population that is wrecking the ecosystem. Beyond that, forget it. We're in the UK, not Siberia, it's not that cold.

The fur I have is generally certified. The only bits I have that aren’t are bought from a guy who traps it himself.

I dont doubt that there are poor sheep farms. The ones I’ve worked on have all been fine - sheep sometimes get a little nick (not that often) but that’s not something that seems to bother them.

Surely the point is to insist that if you use or consume animal products, you should be voting with your wallet to buy only products that meet the standards you feel are correct. I don’t buy battery eggs because I think that’s awful. I do buy eggs from a local farm because I’ve seen the chickens and they’re healthy, well kept and have freedom to roam. I don’t buy danish pork - I buy local meat. I don’t buy cheap milk, ours is from a cooperative of seven farms in our region.

Not eating meat, milk etc is a perfectly valid option as well.

I maintain my stance that wool /fur/down are more eco friendly and efficient than tech fabrics. The chemistry of most tech fabrics is really interesting - but not terribly environmentally friendly. Wool can be - of course it needs to be farmed to high standards.

Also, try living somewhere where it’s -35 and not wearing any wool/down/fur at all - you will be sweaty and cold all at once.

I wear real fur, I inherited some coats from my grandmas and then bought my own vintage coats, hats and other fur things over the years. I also buy some new fur from accredited sources where I am confident of the treatment of the animals. They have lasted much better than any other items of clothing I own, and the one that it starting to look a bit tatty is being cut down into a coat for my Dd.

PETA is a very shady organisation, buying up rescue centres for dogs and cats and putting all the animals to sleep as they state 'being a pet is slavery'. I doubt many animal lovers with pets who state they are anti fur would consider their beloved pets to be slaves (I personally do somewhat agree with PETA on this point as the rescue centres in this country prove that a hell of a lot of people don't treat their animals very well at all) They can never say where their 'skinning alive' videos come from, and several have been proven to be set up to make PETAs point, and do not reflect the reality. Though I agree that celebrities who have posed for their campaigns should probably avoid wearing the animal products they apparently abhor, does no one any good to look like a hypocrite.

I know a family who run a mink farm in Greece, the animals are killed using carbon monoxide in a tube container, it is a quick and humane form of slaughter, done just by their cages, not like cattle and sheep which have the stress of being transported to a slaughter house. The bodies are left to cool before skinning which makes the process quicker and easier, to skin a warm, live body would be almost impossible. Minks bodies are then used for fertiliser or ecofuel, so nothing is wasted. Any animal lover knows that unhealthy animals have dull coats, animals farmed for their fur have excellent standards of care in order to ensure that the final product, the pelt, is in the best possible condition. You also have to take into account the cost of buying say a mink pelt vs a chicken, a mink pelt will cost around £100 a chicken £5, which animal do you think had a better life? I can guarantee it wasn't the chicken. The industry in China is a different story, but their human rights record should make it clear that animals are treated even worse, but furs sourced in Europe and America are held to high standards and cruelty doesn't feature. Having watched a cow being slaughtered, I would much rather come back as a mink in another life.

I don't think it is right for people who eat meat, drink milk and consume other dairy products and wear leather to pour scorn on wearing fur. All those animals are dying, and all for human consumption in one form or another, what makes one better than the other? Millions of calves are killed every year so we can enjoy their mothers milk in our coffees and on cereal, is that morally superior to wearing a coat that has lasted generations and will last for generations to come? Faux fur is plastic, not even half as warm as real fur and takes thousands of years to biodegrade, certainly not a more environmentally friendly choice. I think fur seems more objectionable to people because mink, rabbits and foxes are seen as cute and fluffy, and we overlook the treatment of less cute animals like chicken and cows that we consume in far higher numbers.

Anyway, have a look at the website Truthaboutfur.com if you want to be a bit better informed about the industry by the people in the industry, not PETA fanatics. It has some really good videos that show the reality of fur farming.

I am glad the OP has now been educated.

I discovered one of my go to shops sell fur... i'm screwed for clothes now as I won't shop there anymore.

Vintage jewellery site, I made a comment on their FB page because they had just posted a 'beautiful vintage' fur piece. I asked them if they're supporting the fur trade and could they remove the item? They just deleted my comment so I left.

All within the last week, when will people learn?

People in the industry are hardly going to be impartial are they? They have a vested interest.

Well they may not be impartial, but neither are the PETA and animal rights videos that show skinning alive - which just doesn't happen. The videos show the farms, you can then decide for yourself if the conditions they are kept in are any worse than those from animals we farm for meat or milk.

The thought of wearing fur makes me feel sick. Some animals are skinned alive just so some vain human can wear fur. It's cruel and unnecessary.

I don't eat meat or wear leather

Leather is a by product of the meat industry and is now way comparable to fur.

That is such rubbish. Cows are bred for their leather or their meat. If you're going to trot this one out at least be informed.

She shouldn't have worn the coat having promoted PETA. Although I think it is a lot of fuss over nothing.

So fur, leather, wool, dairy produvts and meat all contribute to animal suffering especially with today’s highly industrialised and commoditised farming.

It is impossible to avoid suffering in this world. What we can do is take action to reduce the suffering.

We can also look at degree of suffering and balance it against the benefits and needs of people. For example, I advocate the humane treatment of animals, and I support some use of animals in medical research. This is coherent and justifiable.

The only purpose of fur is enable people to show their wealth and/or feed their vanity.

Regarding the superiority of fur for cold climates I don’t see many contemporary polar explorers or researchers wearing fur. If fur gets wet it is very difficult to dry. It is also heavier than modern materials.

I don’t see trotting round the shops or walking a hundred metres to and from a heated car means that you need warmer or more comfortable materials than those polar researchers!

I have a beautiful full length fake fur coat, and got abuse for wearing that! It was from a woman who works with my sister and when it was made clear that it was fake I still got it in the neck for encouraging the "look".

Seems you cant get it right whatever you do. I would wear vintage fur but not new.

And before anyone jumps on me, yes it is definitely fake.

iris

You have never lived anywhere really cold I take it? Never stood waiting for the bus when it’s -35 with a brisk wind?

People going on expeditions tend to have horrifically expensive sponsored gear and it’s a mix of natural and manmade stuff (from friends who work for BAS.)
The key difference in being in an expedition is that you’re isolated, so you need gear that isn’t just warm but tough and won’t need to be replaced.
If you go to northern Sweden in winter, or Siberia, or northern Finland, you will see a LOT of fur. It is fucking perishing here and it keeps you warm. Lots of it is old - why would you waste something that’s in existence already and keeps you warm?

Sorry if I sound really stupid but why would they put real fur on a coat and say that it's faux? Isn't real fur more expensive so not sure why they would do this? I also bought my dd some fur coats from china thinking they were obviously faux it never even crossed my mind that they wouldn't be??

Unless you only eat organic, free range meat - which is killed in exactly the same way at exactly the same abattoir as the other animals killed for meat, so no moral highground for you there.

Animals farmed for fur are not cared for and slaughtered to the same standards as animals farmed for meat in the UK. This is why the fur trade and meat trade are incomparable.

And I thought Lidl actually sold a very high percentage of Red Tractor fresh British meat? So animals kept to good welfare standards.

With fur the animal is just disposed of. Least the cow is eaten and not wasted

How is a cow being eaten better than an animal's fur coat being worn for years for warmth? The cow's meat ends up in the toilet 24 hours after eating, but the fur can be a coat for 100s of years.

They are both just as cruel and unnecessary.

Unless you are a vegan, you have no leg to stand on about fur.

And if someone sees that 'nice' fur coat and wants one for themselves, purchasing a new one thus supporting the fur trade?

Thats not the problem of the one wearing it, but the one buying it.

People who moan about fur while wearing leather and eating meat are just ignorant hypocrites.

Sorry if I sound really stupid but why would they put real fur on a coat and say that it's faux? Isn't real fur more expensive

If it's a Russian sable, with perfect fur, probably yes.

If it's a cat or dog they've nabbed in the street, probably no.

The only reasons people wear fur are vanity and/or to display wealth.

Or because it's -35, you donut.

I'm from a cold country and this campaigning just wouldn't fly there, because as Anatidae said, nothing does the same job at -35.

Easy to moan here when it never gets colder than 0 and there is no good reason to wear fur.

I don't see the difference between eating meat and wearing fur or leather. I eat meat because I like it and I'm greedy. I don't need it.

Industrial farming is cruel, too. Some people demand (and get) more ethically raised animals, the same could happen with fur. Both will of course kill the animal in the end.