A string of online retailers have been caught out selling real fur advertised as ‘faux’.
An investigation launched by animal charity Humane Society International (HSI) and Sky News has revealed how some of Britain’s biggest retail giants – including Amazon, Groupon, Etsy and Miss Bardo – are selling mislabelled real fur.
This means that thousands of British consumers are being misled into buying real fur from fox, rabbit, chinchilla and mink, falsely advertised as fake.
The investigation found that trusted sites such as Boohoo, Amazon and Not On The High Street were selling items like bobble hats, key chains, scarves, shoes and coats advertised as faux fur when laboratory tests revealed them to be real animal fur.
The real deal: These purple pom pom earrings, advertised as ‘faux’ on online retailer Etsy, were found to be made from mink fur. They have since been pulled from the website
One of the items which was sent off for testing was a pair of children’s pom-pom shoes, advertised as faux on Amazon. The site said the shoes were no longer available
It also found that that real fur trim often was often priced at the same or even less than faux fur, due to cheap production on fur farms.
According to Sky News, all of the retailers highlighted said they operate no-fur policies, would ‘never knowingly mislead customers’ and have since removed the items in question.
Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International UK said: ‘The amount of fake faux fur online is truly shocking, with even trusted retailers mis-selling real animal fur as synthetic.
‘It is appalling that British shoppers, who are actively choosing not to buy real fur because of the terrible animal suffering, are being misled into buying the very same fur products they’re trying to avoid.
This white hat featuring a fox fur bobble was just £8 on Miss Bardo. The investigation found that that real fur trim often was often priced at the same or even less than faux fur
This cotton bomber jacket was advertised as featuring a ‘faux fur trim hood’ but laboratory tests later revealed it to be made from real fox fur. It has since been removed from the site
Fashion giant Boohoo.com was selling these mink fur earrings, advertised as faux, on its website but they have since been removed. The company said it was unaware and that it breached company policy on the use of animal products
‘The combination of trusted brands, cheap prices, and items described as “faux” or “100 per cent acrylic”, means many people will be justifiably horrified to discover they’ve inadvertently bought animal fur.
‘Consumers rightly expect brands to sell what they say they’re selling, so urgent action is needed to stop this insidious creep of fur through the back door.’
Animal lover Jayne Webster got in touch with HSI to report concerns about the key chain that she bought from T.K. Maxx after being assured it was faux fur by T K Maxx staff.
HSI sent the keychain off for testing and found it to be made of rabbit fur.
Jayne said: ‘As a company who proudly boasts that they have not sold fur or angora products since 2003, I would assume that TK Maxx takes a strong ethical stance on this issue.
‘So when I found out that the fur pom-pom I bought was actually made of rabbit fur I was extremely disappointed and concerned.
‘I am aware of the horrific suffering that animals on fur farms go through and would never want to buy real fur, I don’t know how companies can get away with this.’
HSI is campaigning for the British Government to make the United Kingdom a fur-free zone by extending the cat, dog and seal fur bans to include all fur-bearing species.
As a member of the EU single market, under rules relating to free movement of goods the UK is not currently at liberty to ban the import of animal fur, which is farmed in several European countries.
But Brexit could give the government the freedom to reflect the public’s distaste for all fur and close our borders fully to this cruel and outdated trade.