You Sure That Fur Is Fake?

I one time called a company to ask them a question about a product.  It was a fur lined item and I asked what kind of fur it was. The young lady said "Mongolian fur."  I said what kind of animal does that come from?  She said "it's Mongolian fur." I explained that a Mongolian was not an animal, and I mentioned that they might want to be prepared for other people asking them whether the fur was real or fake.

That converstion didn't do much but befuddle a young sales rep, but it does make me sit up and take notice of the kind of stats that are listed below.

via the Animal Rescue Site:

An HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) investigation found domestic dog, wolf, or raccoon dog fur on 96 percent of a nationwide sample of fur-trimmed jackets purchased from well-known retailers and designers. The labels read "faux fur" or "raccoon" — if they bothered identifying the fur at all! Half of fur-containing garments come from China, where raccoon dogs as well as domestic dogs and cats are routinely killed for their fur.

Is it real fur or faux? Consider these facts:

• What's it Worth? Clothing made with less than $150 worth of fur doesn't have to be labeled in any way, even with basic information such as "real fur" vs. "faux fur." Real fur could come from any kind of animal and the consumer would never know.

• Skin or Fabric? Part the hairs down to the base and take a close look at what you see there. Synthetic fur has woven fabric at its base. Real animal fur has leather or skin.

• Burn or Melt? In general, natural fibers burn and synthetic fibers melt. If you already have an item you're unsure of, cut or pluck a few hairs off of the garment. Using a lighter or a match, try to burn the ends of the hairs. If the tip of the hair burns, crumbles away when you touch it and smells like human hair burning, it is real fur. If the tip of the hair melts, curls up into a hard ball and smells like an unnatural chemical, the fur is synthetic. The burn test should only be conducted by adults.


A loophole in the Fur Products Labeling Act means that a vast quantity of clothing made with less than $150 worth of real fur goes unlabeled in the U.S. This is bad news for consumers and animals alike — without proper labeling, it is nearly impossible for a person to tell the difference between a product containing real fur or faux fur.

Take action today! Urge your representative to close this loophole by passing

 the Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2009.

Help give consumers the right to make informed choices about whether or not to wear fur.


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