Real fur is back in style and flying off the racks, despite decades of protests by animal rights activists. From fur leggings to beaver hoodies, genuine fur fashion is dominating runways and generating billions of dollars in annual sales. Those who previously gave real fur fashion the cold shoulder are warming up to it again, due in part to a campaign by the Fur Council of Canada (FCC) to portray fur as a product that is sustainable, biodegradable, and renewable.
The industry had been taking hits since the early 1980s, after fur protesters stepped into the media spotlight with shocking allegations that discredited the fur trade. The council decided it was time to set the story straight about the true ecological role of the industry.
The industry had been taking hits since the early 1980s, after fur protesters stepped into the media spotlight with shocking allegations that discredited the fur trade. The council decided it was time to set the story straight about the true ecological role of the industry.
It enlisted Montreal-based writer Alan Herscovici, who saw people carefully weighing the environmental impacts of their choices, and it wasn't a big leap to convince them that wearing faux fur is the same as wearing non-biodegradable plastic on their backs, not a particularly sustainable choice. Herscovici says his website, furisgreen.com, averages 20,000 hits a month. He thinks people are beginning to see real fur as the more sensible fiber--considering the entire cradle to grave scenario.
He also has a talent for upstaging the "protest industry," as he calls it, by giving the hard-working humans of the fur industry a platform to tell their side of the story. Buying real fur is a way to support real people who live close to the land and make an honest living. Even though the end product may be expensive, few aboriginal trappers, working class producers, and artisans practicing traditional trades are wealthy. When people from a different class attack their culture and heritage they feel betrayed and it becomes a social justice issue. When seen in this light, the fur-draped rich and famous are enlightened rather than faux pas.
The wealthy and influential have yet another reason to be seen in fur this year. An infestation of nutria rodents is threatening the bayou ecosystem in Louisiana by digging up plants and grasses that control erosion. The state has responded by offering a $5 bounty for each nutria tail turned in. The nutria population was previously kept in check when the fur trade was thriving. But since real fur became unpopular due to the animal rights protesters, the swamp rats multiplied to dangerous levels. The bounty must be a blessing to the unemployed, since hunters and trappers are turning in 300,000 tails annually, according an NPR report of 12/29/2010.
The abundance of nutria pelts has created the opportunity for a new industry of "righteous fur" fashion. Fur suppliers are stocking nutria pelts that can be recycled into swanky bags, hats, and coats. Even top designers like Oscar de Larenta, are incorporating the fur into their new lines. Now, wearing nutria fashions is viewed as the eco-friendly thing to do.
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