A total ban on sales of fur is being recommended by a committee of MPs in Britain. The roots for this serious consideration lies in the discovery made by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee that states that a lot of big names in the UK Fashion Industry are selling real fur products under the false pretence of them being fake throughout Britain, after the investigation of the fur and retail sectors.
It is unsure whether the ban would be completely executed, despite EFRA’s constant urging and appeals. The opposition Labour party is supporting the decision while the current Conservative government has said that after Brexit, the UK would be able to “go further” to introduce such restrictions on the fur trade than it could have managed as a member of the EU.
Some brands with such labeling issues are the fashion world’s bigwigs like including TK Maxx, BooHoo, Amazon, Not on the High Street, Groupon, Etsy, FatFace, Boots, Kurt Geiger Romwe and Tesco who were found to be selling items containing real fur but labeled as synthetic despite the fact that all of these are serious about their no-fur policies.
The committee’s report clearly stated that “many consumers have an ethical reason for not buying garments containing real fur, [but] the last few years have shown that there is vulnerability in retailers’ supply chains. Our inquiry has highlighted that the current labeling system is confusing, not fit for purpose and with a high degree of non-compliance. It is also not being enforced.”
Committee chairman Neil Parish said, “Reports of real fur being sold as fake fur shows that retailers are flouting their responsibility to consumers. The mis-selling of real fur should not be discovered by campaign organizations and the media, but by Trading Standards officers and retailers. Retailers of all sizes are complacent about the issue of fake faux fur. It is illegal to give misleading information and Trading Standards have been poor at identifying and acting against those who are doing so.”
This recommendation of a new and strict labeling system was welcomed by the British Fur Trade Association around the mislabeling issue and CEO Mike Moser supported the fact by saying that it’s vital for consumers to be able to make informed decisions. He further suggested a fur-specific UK label that would give more details about the type of fur in use. Yet, he showed reluctance for the decision of total ban on fur sales, saying fur is a legitimate business and it should be down to consumer choice.
