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Bobble hats with faux fur pom poms - this JUST CAN'T be right....can it?!

142 replies

Bluesheep8 · 04/01/2019 16:58

I already have a knitted bobble hat with a lovely soft faux fur pom poms but went out shopping without it yesterday as it was mild when I left. A few hours later, it had got colder and colder, so when I saw a lady selling this type of hat in the street from one if those mobile cart things, I decided to buy one. I chose a grey one with a natural/taupe coloured faux fur bobble and paid £5 for it. I told the lady I didn't need a bag as I wanted to wear it straightaway and commented on what a lovely big soft pom pom it was. The lady was foreign and quite heavily accented and agreed that it was lovely and said something I didn't understand so I just thanked her and walked away. You know when you sometimes then re play what someone said afterwards? Especially when you're not sure you heard correctly? Well, I then realised what she had said. She said "it's lovely. Real" (?!!) WTF? This CANNOT be right can it? It is exactly the same as all the ones in the shops...I am absolutely horrified as surely these pom poms are faux fur? Shock

OP posts:
TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 04/01/2019 18:00

I’ve always though that ethically sourced für has got to be a better bet than yet more plastic.

I agree.

StuffingSandwich · 04/01/2019 18:02

Sometimes fake fur is from rabbits.

I saw a video of angora rabbits having their fur ripped off them. They were bred and kept purely for their fur.

Rabbits are usually very quiet.

Screaming rabbits having their fur ripped out is quite possibly one of the most upsetting and distressing sounds I've ever heard.

Sparkles07 · 04/01/2019 18:04

Find the watchdog programme on it! Loads of high street places selling real our pom-poms as it’s actually cheaper these days. They showed you different ways to check if it’s real.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 04/01/2019 18:04

Let's face it, a hat bought for a fiver from a market stall is going to be an ethical nightmare whichever way you slice it. It'll have been made by sweatshop labour too.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 04/01/2019 18:06

Canada Goose says on their web page that their coyote fur comes from ethically culled pests. Is that not true then?

Ta1kinPeace · 04/01/2019 18:07

coyote fur comes from ethically culled pests
Coyotes are not pests.
We have invaded their land.
Shooting them in the head does not make it right.

e1y1 · 04/01/2019 18:09

Unfortunately, it is very likely to be real fur. Apparently (and very shockingly) it is cheaper to use real fur.

There's been a big stink in the media for last year or two, as a lot of high street chains have been selling real fur described as faux, apparently unknowingly.

You do have to be careful, TK Maxx was one of the retailers to release a statement saying they never knowlingly sell real fur - yet a few years back I bought a coat from there with a fur trim hood, the label clearly states that the trim is "from animal origin" (I didn't check the label, I should have, I wouldn't have bought had I known, but just stupidly assumed it would be faux).

But just goes to show, despite them saying they would never sell faux if they think it could be real, yet an article I bought from there - it wasn't even hidden, it's there for all to see it's real.

tinstar · 04/01/2019 18:09

Amazed that all the media coverage of 'fake' pom-poms being real fur has passed anyone by Confused. How could you not be aware of that op?

Arkos · 04/01/2019 18:09

Yes I have a scarf with pom poms on it...i recently discovered its almost certainly real fur. I Will keep it as I love it but I certainly won't buy fake fur again

Mummyoflittledragon · 04/01/2019 18:10

I’m surprised so many people are being fooled tbh. Real fur is so much more beautiful than modern fake fur. But I’d never buy it.

clouise2018 · 04/01/2019 18:11

Yep, this is true.

I once worked for an employer who was selling these online claiming that they were faux fur but they were actually real!

Contributed to reasons why I left in the end.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 04/01/2019 18:11

It's not been headline news all over the world tinstar Hmm

C0untDucku1a · 04/01/2019 18:11

I also watched the watchdog episode. Awful. and on the highstreet. Raccoon dog fur came up as used a lot.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-46212094

TheDarkPassenger · 04/01/2019 18:12

Pom poms being real I’m not keen on, and fur for fashion purposes I would never knowingly buy.. however coats like ski coats and coats for people in cold countries then yeah, fur is incomparable imo. I would buy a fur coat for my kids if they were walking to school in minus figures every day. My partner is a hiker and when he goes out in winter everything he has is down.. he’s looked into buying half down and padding it himself with fake but it just doesn’t work for the temperatures he endures! (I know people think down is more ethical because it can be obtained while they’re alive naturally but let’s be fair, it’s not and buying into it is buying into the poultry industry)

Seeing as you’ve bought the hat there isn’t really a lot you can do, you’ve bought in to the death of the rabbit, and I know you feel guilty but either charity it or wear it are really your only options!

Sitranced · 04/01/2019 18:13

Pull some of the fluff out and hold it next to a flame. It if melts it's fake, if it burns it's real.

e1y1 · 04/01/2019 18:14

Screaming rabbits having their fur ripped out is quite possibly one of the most upsetting and distressing sounds I've ever heard

As a rabbit owner, I cannot bring myself to watch that video, but I have seen the one with the geese/ducks in the production of down for duvets and coats etc - produced in the same way as angora fur and just as horrific.

I got rid of all my down duvets and pillows the following day.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 04/01/2019 18:15

what did you replace them with?

tinstar · 04/01/2019 18:17

It's not been headline news all over the world tinstar

Did I say it had? I referred to all the media coverage the subject has had. Which it has. I find it surprising that the op doesn't seem to have picked up on any of it.

TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu · 04/01/2019 18:18

Well surely that depends where the OP lives and what she was doing when the media was covering the story.

Natsku · 04/01/2019 18:18

I like fur, it's really warm (DD has a second hand sheepskin coat with fur lining for the coldest parts of winter and keeps her nice and warm when it's -20C or colder), but fur bobbles/pompoms are utterly pointless so a waste of animal life and being led to believe they aren't real fur makes it even worse.

evilharpy · 04/01/2019 18:19

My mum bought me a lovely scarf for Christmas. It's acrylic with pom poms and it never occurred to me that they might be real (the label just says 100% acrylic) but this has made me suspicious as they are very very soft.

I would never buy real fur, never ever, but I can't return this :(

e1y1 · 04/01/2019 18:20

If that was to me TaMere I replaced them with "Microfibre cluster down" it's amazing, actually more plush and heavy than the down I had.

The pillows especially are amazing, but the duvets are fantastic too.i

I got these pillows in superking size - we have 8 on a superking bed and they honestly the best I had.

planespotting · 04/01/2019 18:23

Most high street faux fair pom poms are real.
I am a scientists and we looked at them at work.
If it is very soft, likely to be real
End of the hair tapered, likely to be real
Different textures and length, likely...
Run you finger both ways on a strand...
Pul a couple of hairs and burn them (safely) sniff sniff
Or if you have one, put under a microscope...

So much fake fur is real

planespotting · 04/01/2019 18:24

Scientist not scientists Smile

Ta1kinPeace · 04/01/2019 18:28

I've done a bit of looking up about goose / duck feathers / down
some sources say 1% is live plucked others say 80%
TBH I cannot see why it would be live plucked when geese killed for eating have to be plucked (without fighting back)
so I shall keep my duvets as is
and read more