If the designer bought the fur or hyde after the animal has been used for food, then by all means, save what you can use what you can. I will NOT agree however, with killing the animal for the fur and then considering the rest for food.

I went into a “Fur Boutique” the other day just to see what a new fur store was like. It was sort of creepy, fur everywhere. I asked where he got the fur, and he would not answer me. Im not sure if it was because he was nervous i was against fur, but he pretended that he did not know where the fur he bought for HIS store was from.

The thing that makes me the most angry in this world are lies, ignorance and lack of apathy.
Lies: This man knew where his fur came from
Ignorance: If he was truthful about not knowing the source, he should get in the know! That is disgusting to even think about.
Lack of apathy: I guess this one is more my opinion, I cannot believe someone could start a business in that industry and not seem to hate his job. But then again, money is money and what is a few dead furry cute bunny animals right????

!Wrong.

But im not sure if i have any opinion that counts, because im not in that industry. So how would I know right from wrong?

This is one of those issue that it’s easier to be all for it aor all against it, as the middle is so full of land mines it’s ridiculous. I don’t have a resolution for you all here, except that maybe it’s up to you as a person to see how you feel about it. I personally don’t do it, but have understanding for people who do. Buying a new fur coat at Macy’s is unacceptable to me, especially if you could get a vintage one or just an organic non-animal coat somewhere else so easily these days.

I am a firm believer that discarding, destroying or burning a vintage fur is an insult to the animals that were sacrificed to make it. And, like with the hair of the women of Auschwitz on display at the museum there, a ‘vintage’ necklace ‘made of poor human orphan teeth’ would probably be honoured in it’s own way as well.

I only buy my furs from secondhand, non-for-profit stores. Not exclusive boutiques dedicated to the trade. I’d like the money I spend on my furs to at least go to a good cause rather than someone’s pocket. I make a point to explain where I purchased the fur and why to anyone who asks how I got a hold of it.

I am much more inclined to pest fur. I’d rather an animal have a quick death (to protect the fur from rigidity that occurs after rigor mortis) and be skinned for fur than die as rabbits and foxes do in the wild where they are considered a threat to the native ecosystem; either a painful death by trapping, or a long and terrifying death by poisoning or disease (myxomatosis here… urk, blindness, paralysis and death via starvation) – all of which can take days to occur.

I don’t feel guilty in the slightest while wearing my coats.

And, just for those arguing about the impact we have on the enviroment (people who use real fur are big, bad, resource-gobbling, globe-killing meanies!!), did you think about the impact the fabrication of the materials used for faux fur and various other synthetics have?

My opinion of the matter.

“what is the difference of wearing heirloom leather and vintage fur? They are both from animals… or are cows less ‘cute’ than rabbits and minks, and therefore less important?”

The difference between leather and fur has nothing to do with the ‘cuteness’ of the animals in question, rather their utility. Beef cattle are raised primarily for meat, and once they have been slaughtered nothing goes to waste, including the hide. Leather is not a symbol of wastefulness, nor does it represent ostentatious vulgarity. In contrast, fur does. (Rabbits may also be farmed for meat but in most cases they are raised for fur).