Faux fur has increasingly been dominating the fashion scene, yet the concerns over the production of real fur is not as outdated of a problem as we like to think. Although we are led to believe that most of the major brands and retailers that typically sell faux fur are ethical and just, this is unfortunately not the case, in fact recently the problem of what I like to call ‘faux labels’ has been highlighted on many instances in the past few months. This particular problem is not a simple case of buy from this company and avoid that company due to the fact that the labelling itself cannot be trusted and this requires further investigation into the nature of the companies selling the supposed faux fur products.

Both the Daily Mail and The Sun uncovered the mislabelling on fur products in the past month from major companies like ASOS, TK Maxx, House of Fraser and Sports Direct. In the U.K there are laws that state that any products with fur has to be clearly labelled as to whether or not origin of the fur is from an animal, if this label is not available on the product then it is mostly likely real fur and is also breaking consumer laws. When you look at this problem on a more grander scale it seems to be quite a complex mess, as we in the U.K buy faux fur that looks and feels like real fur but most of our faux fur is imported from countries like China where there is no legislation to govern the production process. In China and across Asia many street animals are slaughtered, mislabelled and sold as faux fur in the U.K and there is not much questioning of the production behind the supposed faux fur due to the cheap availability of it.The price of fur with partial animal origin does not guarantee the living conditions of an animal neither does it justify a ‘humane’ method of obtaining fur.

I personally have difficulties telling the difference between real fur and fake fur so I looked up the different methods online and one that seemed to be (kind of) effective was to pick at strands of the fur and then to burn it to see if it burns like plastic, meaning it’s faux, or if it burns like hair, meaning it’s real. But of course you can’t walk around a store with a lighter and burn the products before you buy it so the safest way would be to do your own research into which companies genuinely do sell faux fur and which companies have a bad reputation of not sticking to their word.

I really do urge you all to become proactive in learning more about the companies that really do sell faux fur and the companies that are misleading. It won’t take as long as you think, there are many different resources available online like the Peta, Humane Society International, Cruelty Free International and Care2 websites as well as many blogs.