Faux Fur or Real Fur: Fashion Controversy

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Ashley Poteat

Ashley is an aspiring designer, stylist, and photographer. She loves to create art that inspires people to go after their dreams as she goes after hers.

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Faux or real:  it has always been a topic that caused controversy within the fashion industry. Starting in the 1300’s -1600’s, fur fashion has been utilized as a symbol of wealth and power by noblest, rulers and kings. By the 1970’s is when anti-fur activist such as PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, took action and stood against this trend.

The main concern regarding real fur was the harm and distress of animal cruelty.  This bothered most people, plus the fact that fur fashion caused animal extinction. Models, such as Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, participated in this movement by posing for the “I’d rather be naked than wear fur” campaign in 1994. However, Naomi was fired as a spokeswoman for PETA after wearing fur for a Fendi fashion show, despite appearing to support the PETA movement. 

Eventually, faux fur was introduced.  Faux fur became fashionable, not just because they cared so much about the safety of animals, but mainly because the manufacturers needed a quick way to make money. These also presented environmental issues as workers were cheap labor required to produce large quantities of clothing while using harmful chemicals to do so. The idea of this cheaper fashion is what we call “fast fashion.” 

Fast fashion is what causes so much talk in the industry because people tend to be more geared towards paying less for more. Consumers would rather pay for artificial clothing and stay on trend every year, rather than pay more for an item that would last years.

Throughout the year, high-end fashion brands such as Gucci have become animal-friendly by going fur-free. The faux fur industry has grown and taken over the production of real fur, all while creating something that is animal-friendly and affordable for its consumers. However, this does not mean high-end fur garments are completely taken off the market.  There are still a significant number of customers and fashion lovers who ignore the animal activists and environmentalists to buy mink coats rather than the more humane, eco-friendly alternatives.

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