Faux fur is terrible for the environment...especially the way it's manufactured.
At least with real fur it's 100% biodegradable (obviously as long as you remove the inner silk lining etc)
I'm from Australia where fur is really unnecessary to wear but it amazes me that more fox fur isn't used because fox is a MAJOR foreign pest in Australia. We are ethically obliged to kill all foxes here no matter how cute they look because they are killing SO MUCH of our native fauna. It's really bad! I have a farm in rural Victoria but now live in the Australian Capital Territory and the damage foxes do to native bird and small mammal communities is devastating.
I've always thought about creating fox fur coats and other items used from the wild pest foxes killed by hunters here. It perfectly balances out the ethical problems because it's not using farmed animals and it's helping the Australian biodiversity.
See - this is an incredibly interesting perspective, and so important. Thank you for sharing.
All these companies who go on with their moral preening about switching over to faux-fur as if they were MLK Jr. and then everyone applauding them as if they were God, really is so unintelligent.
You've provided a very realistic and compelling pro-fur argument. People need to wake up and understand that life is simply not black and white. There are pros and cons to every choice made. Rewards and consequences. There is never a fix-all, win-win solution. So - companies like Gucci and Versace have banned fur? Now what? Also, as Lola mentioned, many small, local, indigenous communities have survived for centuries on the fur trade - indigenous communities that we're always scolded into treating with the utmost sensitivity - "don't you dare use their cultural iconography!" But what about when it comes to their actual, real-life livelihood? So much for all the compassion and "wokeness..."
Plus, people act like wearing fur is some evil specific to Western society. People in every corner of the world have worn fur for since the beginning of time for survival AND for decoration and status. What purpose would abolishing it serve?
And again, the ecological component to faux fur is terrible, it's shelf life is pretty abysmal and it doesn't offer any longevity. Who passes down a faux fur coat through the generations? It's pretty wasteful. Real fur, on the other hand, lasts and is cherished for several generations, at least. Which is more eco-friendly between the two? People love to act like anyone who wears fur is Cruella de Vil, or is dumping their used coats into a landfill for waste. Very delusional. I guarantee that the absolute majority of people who buy fur do not treat it disrespectfully - most are well aware of the value and cost (both the literal and figurative) of what they are purchasing and treat it accordingly.
Furthermore, anyone who lives in regions that get extremely cold in the winter, real fur (or real down, etc) is the difference between "pure misery" and "survival." As someone who lived in NY for many years, I can tell you the difference between wearing a synthetic puffer and an authentic down or fur jacket during the winter is noticeable, to say the least.
All in all, I don't think faux fur SHOULDN'T exist, and I don't mind people being opposed to fur, either - but what I do find to be frustrating is the delusion that real fur is pure evil and morally repugnant and faux fur is virtuous above critique. And, maybe more than anything - I find the mentality particularly reprehensible than anyone thinks they have the right to control what someone else on this earth wishes to do with their life. If someone wants to wear fur - allow them to partake. Opt out for yourself. End of story.
