Last week, top designers from around the world showcased their wares at New York Fashion Week. Celebrities sprinkled the front rows, retailers determined the trends for the coming spring, and media announced to fashion enthusiasts what to put on their 2018 “to buy” lists. This bi-annual “extravaganza” moves millions of dollars and makes statements far beyond fashion.[teaserbreak]
I can assure you that I don’t spend any time in those hallowed fashion halls, but at Born Free we do invest countless hours and resources acting as a watchdog for—and protector of—wildlife and the approximately 50 million animals who are mistreated and killed each year in the name of chic.
On Monday, we kicked off a week’s worth of shout-outs and applause for the Fashion Week mavens who just say “no” to fur, beginning with Calvin Klein, a fur-never since the early ’90s.
Thanks goes, too, to Ralph Lauren, which has been committed to fur-free fashion since 2006!
We also thank Banana Republic and Club Monaco, two brands that have brought fur-free, compassionate fashion to millions of people, and Leanne Marshall and Christian Siriano, designers who are bringing fur-free fashion to the next generation.
Finally, there is the Parsons School of Fashion, committed to training compassionate up-and-coming designers.
Ironically, in a beauty-obsessed industry, the story of fur is an ugly one. Animals are brutally trapped, caged, gassed, and clubbed, suffering a nearly infinite list of tortures and atrocities. Depending on the size of an animal, up to 100 may be slaughtered to produce just one coat. And, don’t let “trim” fool you; its ubiquity in fashion poses an even greater threat to animals.
Tomorrow, on the eve Saturday’s National Hunting and Fishing Day, we’ll be releasing Born Free USA’s 2017 Trapping Report, where we “grade” all 50 states based on a review of trapping laws and their enforcement. I encourage you to read the report and share it, and join with us as we work to promote better policies to protect wildlife from this barbaric practice.
In the meantime, let’s hear it for the truly beautiful names in fashion: those who are leading by example, and foregoing fur! We thank them. And so do the animals.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
