What do you wear? Is there a specific reason for wearing it? Fashion - what we wear - is a way of expressing one’s personality such as goth, hippy, sporty and so on, our mood, our culture. It can also be a statement of wealth and social status, and therefore a means by which we might be judged.
What do you think about the sort of people who wear fur? Is it acceptable? Is wearing 200 squirrels an ok thing to do? 200 innocent squirrels killed for someone to show off what they can afford.
Some people like to flaunt their wealth by wearing expensive designer shoes, a real leather jacket or a garment like a fur coat. However, have they thought about the numerous animals that have been slain for it? Maybe some people do not realise that the fur coat is made from real animals’ fur. Otherwise I do not see the reason behind wearing fur as synthetic, and equally warm and attractive alternatives are available.
There are many animal-related fabrics used in fashion. Fur, leather, wool, crocodile skin, leopard skin, snake skin, down feathers, silk, and cashmere are just some examples. Some of these, however, are merely a by-product of the animal’s nature, for example, silk from silkworms, where the animal produces the fibres naturally. Some are merely taken to the animals’ advantage. Sheep get extremely hot in the summer due to their thick coats, therefore taking their wool is only doing them a favour. However, some animals are slaughtered just for their coats, or for food and their coats. Cows are slaughtered for their meat, and leather is a by-product of this industry.
Of course, fur was one of the first materials used to keep humans warm and to clothe us. Scientists have discovered that humans started wearing fur around 180,000 years ago, in the second-to-last Ice Age. These were times where we needed protection and warmth, so we, as humans, killed animals for their fur and their meat. It was our only option.
This is all very well, but is it still necessary for us to use fur in our fashion today? Every year, more than fifty million animals are violently slaughtered in the name of “fashion”; they are even bred for this on fur farms. The animals are either gassed, electrocuted, or killed by traps. Sometimes they are simply throttled. Is this ethical, is this right? We don’t “need” fur garments anymore because we have synthetic
materials. We now have a sufficient number of alternatives to fur. ‘Faux fur’ is made out of synthetic fibres, and it looks pretty much identical to the real thing, meaning that we no longer have to use animal fur. We do not need to kill an animal in order to have soft, expensive, and ethical clothing.
But why do we wear faux-fur, if we can simply wear materials like cotton and polyester? Is it because we want to look like we are wearing that rare, glamorous, expensive animal pelt? Or is it because it is warm? These questions are ones that only individuals can ask themselves.
Conversely, are all synthetic materials actually ethical? There are many different types such as polyester, nylon and acrylic. These are made from oil or coal, and therefore
are not environmentally friendly. This isn’t much better than killing animals, as it is destroying the world’s natural, non-renewable resources. However, some of these synthetics can be made from recycled plastic, for instance, fleeces can be made from recycled plastic bottles. So the synthetic industry is not necessarily as bad as it might seem.
Next time you go shopping, think about what you buy, about the ethical implications of your choices. If you follow my advice you'll look for cruelty free alternatives, as well as those that might go some way to save our planet.
THE FAUX FUR DILEMMA
DID YOU KNOW...
Approximately three million farm-raised mink are slayed annually for their pelts.
Currently, Denmark is the leading mink producing country, with 40% of the world’s production.
The USA is the fifth largest mink producing country in the world, and approximately 660 000 breeding female mink are held on their farms.
The E.U. accounts for 67% of the global mink production, and 70% of fox.
Rebecca Silverthorn
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