Italian
AND
Animal
FASHION
RIGHTS
What bothers me the most about today's society is not just the consumerist greed of people, but the anthropocentric mentality that mankind can do what it wants with our planet. Animals are a part of our planet and we should share it with them. Today animals are not only used for meat but also for fashion. The fur and leather industries supply coats, shoes, handbags and other accessories made by animal skins and furs. The Sandy Parker Report in May 2013 showed that world retail sales of fur products edged up to £9.4 billion: a 44% increase over the past decade. The number of animal deaths last year was more than 55 million worldwide according to the campaign group Respect for Animals, equivalent to more than one animal killed a second by the fur trade.
How is Italy involved? There are 16 active mink farms and 1 chinchilla farm in Italy. Italy's estimated production in fur is 170,000 mink pelts. However, how could Italy's damaging yet puny number of farms supply Italian Fashion brands of pure fur and leather such as Paolo Moretti and Colva furs? The answer is they can't. The Italian fashion houses turn to the bigger supplier: Asia. Records from 2013 show that Asia leads the rest of the world in terms of fur production, accounting for over 35%, with a gross sale of £3.5 billion. China has no animal welfare legislation to regulate the industry and fur bearing animals are being skinned alive after leading miserable lives. Cats and dogs account for approximately 2 million of the animals killed per year for the fur on their backs according to statistics by Respect for Animals. Exportation has made it possible for the evils of one country to reach another, and Italian fashion supports China's cruel industry.
Lavinia Butt