Chipping Norton, United Kingdom: Elle magazine announced Thursday that it would cease using fur in its editorial and advertising content around the world. This is the first major publication to do this.
This monthly lifestyle magazine was founded in France by Lagardere Media Group, and it is available in 45 editions all over the globe.
It is home to more than 33 million readers, ranging from Mexico to Japan.
Valeria Bessolo Lopiz, Elle’s international director, said at a two-day fashion industry conference in Britain that fur was unacceptable.
She stated that “the presence of animal fur on our pages and in our digital media is not in line with our values nor our readers.”
“It’s time for Elle, to make a statement… rejecting animal cruelty,”
Bessolo Lopiz spoke to delegates at The Business of Fashion Voices 2021 in Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, south England.
She stated that the magazine was meant to raise awareness about animal welfare and foster a humane fashion industry.
13 issues have already seen fur removed from the magazine. Twenty more fur will be dropped starting January 1, 2022, and the rest one year later.
‘Old-fashioned’
According to Bessolo Lopiz, the move reflects changing consumer demand. She said that fur has become outdated, noting that many brands have gone “fur-free” years ago.
She said, “We are now in a new age and the Gen Z (born between the late 1990s and early 2010s), is the golden target of fashion and luxury and has high expectations in terms sustainability and ethics.”
PJ Smith, the director of fashion policy at the Humane Society of the United States, welcomed Elle’s decision and said he was looking forward to seeing other fashion magazines follow his lead.
He stated that “This announcement will incite positive change throughout fashion industry and has potential to save many animals from suffering and death.”
Elisa Allen, UK director of PETA, stated to AFP that fur promotions should only be found in back issues of fashion magazines from the past.
She was happy for publications such as British Vogue, InStyle USA and Cosmopolitan UK to reject fur in their editorial pages. She expects this move to be extended to advertising soon.
Consumer pressure
This decision comes after the fashion industry was under pressure from animal rights activists to end the use of real fur for humane reasons and growing public opposition.
While smaller fashion weeks in cities like Amsterdam, Oslo and Melbourne have banned fur, larger ones in New York, Paris and Milan allow designers to use it.
Numerous big-name brands have made the decision to stop using fur. These include Gucci, Versace, Prada, Burberry and Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Donna Karan, DKNY, Michael Kors and Jean-Paul Gaultier.
2020 YouGov Survey found that 93% of British citizens refuse to wear natural fur. Research Co also showed that 71% opposed the killing of animals for fur.
FOP polls in Europe showed that 90% of French were against fur trade. However, Eurispes’ 2019 survey found that 86 percent of Italians opposed it. Kantar conducted a German poll in 2020 and found that 84 percent of respondents said cruelty to animals and the killing of them for their fur was unacceptable. In June, Israel became the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur to the fashion industry.
Fur industry representatives claim that synthetic fur is replacing natural fur with plastics that are harmful to the environment.
French furriers sent Vogue magazine an open letter in November. They claimed it was absurd to present plastic garments as being environmentally friendly when they are made of acrylic and modacrylic fibers. Protesters have created a “climateof fear,” which has led to designers dropping fur from shows and discouraged fashionistas not wearing it.
Fake fur coats are made of polyester, which can take hundreds of years to biodegrade. However, Stella McCartney, a British designer, prefers plant-based materials. To mimic fur’s appearance, some designers use natural fibres like wool and feathers.
