Will London Fashion Week Ditch Fur Following Pressure?

London Fashion Week is facing calls to ditch fur from its catwalks.

The latest high-profile figure to criticize the cruelty behind the fabric is musician Paloma Faith, who teamed up with vegan charity PETA to write to the British Fashion Council (BFC).

In her letter to BFC Chair Stephanie Phair, Faith asked the organization to ban the use of animal fur at all its events, including London Fashion Week.

‘So cruel’

Faith claims the market for fur has all but disappeared in the UK, which banned fur farming almost two decades ago, saying: “The BFC shouldn’t be endorsing a material whose production is deemed so cruel that it is outlawed in the UK.

“With the vast number of cutting-edge, eco-friendly faux furs available on the market today, I’m sure you’ll agree that there’s no longer any excuse for killing animals for their fur.”

According to PETA, it carried out a poll which found that 95 percent of designers with a show or presentation at London Fashion Week in February didn’t use fur in their autumn/winter 2018 collections, including Burberry and Mulberry.

In addition, many top international designers – including Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Armani, and others – are 100 percent fur-free.

Fur ban?

Earlier this year Parliament discussed an import ban on fur, after more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for new legislation.

The Labour Party has pledged to ban fur imports into the UK – in a bid to reduce animal suffering. The party banned fur farming in the UK in 2000 – and now wants to take this a step further by stopping the sale of fur altogether.

In an interview with BBC’s Newsbeat, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said: “We should not have a fur trade that relies upon the suffering of animals abroad. We think there’s sufficient public pressure to force the Government into banning the imports.”

No commitment

But Environment Secretary Michael Gove has not committed to banning fur imports and sales. An official statement on the issue said: “After we leave the EU we plan to retain the current regulations banning the import of cat and dog fur and products, and seal skins and products from commercial hunts.

“We are also considering whether further steps could be taken outside the European Union.”

A number of top designers have recently dropped fur for ethical reasons, including Versace, Michael Kors, Gucci, and Jimmy Choo.