A Fur Free Fashion Week in Amsterdam?
350 days ago - The Fashion Lawyer : Leave a reply
Kim Kardashian in fur
The Dutch fashion industry would like the runways to be fur free. A campaign led by animal-welfare group Bont voor Dieren, Fur Free Fashion and designer Michael Bernaart van Bergen seeks to ensure support for sustainability in fashion.
Over 100 hundred industry insiders signed an open letter calling for a ban on animal pelts at the fashion week, including the mastheads of Elle, Esquire, and Marie Claire. All influential fashion magazines. The letter reads:
It would therefore also be a logical consequence for AFW to take a stand in relation to the use of fur in garments… The pollution caused by the production of one kilo of mink fur [is] five times higher than what producing one kilo of cotton would use.
Citing a study by CE Delft the letter went on to state that:
Mink-bredding has a serious and unnecessary impact on aspects such as climate change, pollution, and soil acidification. This research immediately undermines the argument that fur is a sustainable product.
International outlook on fur
International pressure against the use of fur continues. Recently Kim Kardashion was flour-bombed by PETA member Christina Choo, who also shouted “fur hag” at the celebrity. Countries are also taking a stand. In 2011 West Hollywood residents and animal-rights organisers In Defense of Animals launched a campaign to brand the city as the first fur-free enclave in the United States. The city council was urged to ban the sale of fur. In 2010 Norway banned animal pelts from Oslo’s Fashion Week. More recently, Fendi was ridiculed by organisers of Seoul’s Fashion Week after activists threatened to protest at the show if fur went down the runway.
In the Netherlands, the production of fur is illegal, and a ban on mink-farming is expected to take effect in 2018. In 2003, the Dutch parliament voted against imports of dog, cat, and seal fur, as well as fur collected from leg-hold and other wildlife traps. Use of fur on the runway is not illegal however.
From your legal fashionista,
