Would you buy an eight-year-old a coat with real fur trim?

[JustPearlQuail]

My son, who’s 8, has his heart set on a Canada Goose coat with the real fur trim that we found for a good price on ebay for his birthday because all his friends have them and he thinks it’s the coolest thing .. I get the practicality, they’re warm and tough, but I’m really uneasy about the idea of him wearing real fur, especially coyote fur, which I’ve heard can involve pretty cruel trapping methods....

I don’t want to shut him down completely and make it a big fight, but I also don’t want to support something that feels wrong. Has anyone here let their child wear real fur? How did you explain it to them, or how did you steer them toward a faux option without it becoming a battle? He said the faux option looks terrible, which I do agree! Will it survive playground life without getting stolen?

No, but it’s more the Canada Goose thing that bothers me. Why are we teaching 8 year olds to wear designer things to look cool?!

I hate everything about it.

No

Why is this even a serious question?

Lol, I do judge. But I think it’s different if you earn and spend your own cash in front of adults that also have a say in earning and spending their own cash.

Why on earth would a coat be so important to an 8 year old? His heart set? I'm very surprised an 8 year old boy would care about the faux one looking terrible - what kind of circles are you mixing in for god's sake?! He doesn't need one because everyone else has one or because it's cool. I'd be saying no purely on the basis that you might be making a rod for your own back in the teen years with this one!

I have a few relatives that wear this brand. I have noticed that they don’t take them off when indoors, strange.

It’s not about the fur for your DS, it’s about the fashion.

I personally would tell my 8 year old a firm no. Tell him why you object to it and tell him not to be a sheep.

Yes, utterly bizarre. My son is 12 and really couldn't give a shit what he wears. He's too busy playing and exploring and learning. He wouldn't care less if it came from Matalan or Gucci (not that it would!) My teenage daughter is the same. That's why I'm wondering what kind of circles they mix in. At 8 I would be utterly depressed if my child, boy or girl, cared so much about a bloody coat.

Five years ago, Canada Goose said they would not use fur any more
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57592599
Are you sure these coats are real fur (if so, get in touch with the beeb and the Humane Society, they love to report on big companies that lie)
I wouldn't countenance buying anyone real fur
Tell him if he wants to aid the incredibly painful slaughter of animals (coyotes are boiled alive for fur), he'll have to wait until he has money of his own

It is the older design that he likes, I'm buying used because I cant afford new!!

I think boiled alive for fur is a complete lie

Well they don't wait until they die peacefully of old age and then skin them.

I'm beginning to think this a wind up OP - because I genuinely cannot get my head around the fact you're indulging an 8 year old in this way. Parent him and tell him no.

Stand by your beliefs! He’s a child and you’re in charge

Absolutely not.

Also, you don't want to 'cause a fight' by saying no to an 8 year old?!!

WTF!

I'd show him a video about the cruelty of coyote trapping for fur and tell him if he wants to save for one to buy himself he can but you won't be spending your money on something so morally corrupt.

It's our job to teach our kids life lessons, not pander to their every desire (especially when it's not even a desire - it's just wanting what his mates have).

I find it hard to believe than an 8 year old has lots of mates that have a Canada Goose coat (most will not have heard of them or care what brand their coat is). Why is he asking for one during a mini heatwave?

Even if you don't believe that, the coyote is caught in a metal trap by the leg, the animal often chews its own leg off in a pathetic attempt to escape. If lucky it will bleed to death quickly. If not it might starve as the traps aren't monitored that well. Then they are bludgeoned to death. If they are lucky, and the trapper thinks they are worth the price of a bullet, they might be shot. If not anything goes to kill them. In addition if it's female then there could be nursing cubs waiting to be fed who will die of starvation.
Do you still think it's OK to buy this coat?

I agree that second hand fur market is ethical.

certainly far more environmentally friendly than cheap fake (plastic) fur made in sweat shops.

And with less human cost: at least furriers are genuine craftspeople earning a fair living not living in slum conditions earning per piece.

How about you just say no? You’re the parent.

If he wants to support animal cruelty let him get a job.

They are very fickle at this age. Tell him you will think about it for Christmas. He will have gone off it by then.

Second Hand buying of a fur product is ethical in comparison to buying some kind of synthetic material. The animal has already been killed and if the coat goes unworn then that death is even less justifiable imo.
so- ok to the second hand fur
BUT expensive designer stuff for an eight year old seems very unnecessary.

But that way there is always a market for new stuff, because how else will it be second hand? The animals will still have been trapped cruelly and killed in hideous ways.

No.
Fur = no.
Keeping up with hugely expensive brands already at age 8 = no.

Agree. I don't care if the animal was killed yesterday or 50 years ago - it was still brutal and shouldn't be worn simply for fashion. We have plenty of other ethical and humane options that we can wear.

He’s 8.

Tell him when he’s older, has a joB and earns his own money he can buy whatever he wants.

This is a good compromise although, you’d have to decide if you wanted to support the brand.

Humans have used animal skins and meat forever. Synthetic materials are harmful to the environment. However, coyotes are trapped. This means using snares with jagged snares or leg traps or more so called humane traps but as someone previously explained, trapping is poorly monitored, coyotes can be left suffering great pain for days. They’ve been known to chew their own leg off to get free.

As someone said earlier, I understood that CG no longer used fur, but it sounds like you want to buy an older version that still has the real fur. You’ve had a lot of good feedback here and food for thought. Your son wanting this coat is a great opportunity for an age appropriate talk about how our clothes are made and under what conditions. And for instilling some useful life lessons about marketing and commercialism and more/less ethical values.

Where the fuck do you think they get the fur from then? And why do you think it's a lie?

Do you think they have some lovely coyote/fox/goose village where they all live happy little lives until they die of old age and then they skin them?

I absolutely despair - buying fur, any fur, is monstrous. Raising a child who thinks it's not monstrous, is abhorrent. Worried about traumatising him? Hell, I'd be more worried that when you told him 'that's real fur/feathers and they kill the animals to get it' he didn't react with horror already.

Canada goose havdnt used real fur for years, so the coat will be dated