Leading global fashion house Gucci has declared that it will no longer use animal fur, beginning with its spring-summer 2018 collection.
Gucci’s President & CEO Marco Bizzarri announced the fur-free policy on 11 October during the 2017 Kering Award for Sustainable Fashion ceremony in London. Gucci’s commitment follows a long-standing relationship with members of the Fur Free Alliance, a global coalition of more than 40 animal protection organizations working together to end the fur trade.
Gucci’s fur-free policy includes mink, coyote, racoon dog, fox, rabbit, and karakul (otherwise known as Swakara, Persian lamb or astrakhan) and all others species specially bred or caught for fur production.
Speaking at the 2017 Kering Awards, Marco Bizzarri, Gucci’s President & CEO, said: “Being socially responsible is one of Gucci’s core values, and we will continue to strive to do better for the environment and animals. With the help of HSUS and LAV, Gucci is excited to take this next step and hopes it will help inspire innovation and raise awareness, changing the luxury fashion industry for the better.”
The international animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS, along with The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Italian animal welfare organization Lega Anti Vivisezione (LAV) and the Fur Free Alliance (FFA), are elated by this declaration.
Commenting on Gucci’s fur-free policy declaration, Fiona Miles, Country Director at FOUR PAWS South Africa, stated: “As a member of the Fur Free Alliance, FOUR PAWS highly appreciates the decision taken by Gucci. This announcement shows that ethical consumption and animal welfare become more and more important also to luxury labels. Instead of real fur from tortured animals, modern consumers wish to buy sustainable and innovative cruelty-free products. We are confident that Gucci’s great decision will be followed by many leading high fashion companies that have been an important sales segment for the fur industry in the past.”
The Chairman of Fur Free Alliance, Joh Vinding, adds: “For decades animals in the fur industry has been subjected to intense cruelty, living their entire lives in miserable, filthy cages. Gucci’s new fur-free policy marks a game-changer for the whole luxury fashion industry to follow. Gucci is taking a bold stand for animals, showing the world that the future of fashion is fur-free.”
With this fur-free policy decision, Gucci joins many other leading fashion brands and retailers in going fur-free – including Armani, HUGO BOSS, Yoox Net-a-Porter, Stella McCartney and more – and will be part of the International Fur Free Retailer Program, which has been signed by 750 retailers worldwide already.
Every year more than 100 million animals are killed by the fur industry. Minks, foxes and raccoon dogs suffer on fur farms in tiny wire mesh cages, other species meet a cruel death in traps. For the processing of hides to produce fur fashion high amounts of hazardous chemicals and energy are used. FOUR PAWS campaigns for a long-term ban on the keeping and killing of fur-bearing animals and an end of the usage of real fur in the fashion industry.
