In a news item posted to their website, HSUS alleged that the popular retailers sold items between 2011 and 2015 that include coats, footwear, keychains, handbags and more, all labelled as “faux fur” when they included or were made of real fur – a violation of the US Fur Products Labeling Act and The Federal Trade Commission Act.
“Consumers would be horrified to know they have been duped into purchasing animal fur when they thought they were buying a humane alternative,” said Pierre Grzybowski, Research and Enforcement manager at HSUS. “The FTC must crack down on this industry-wide problem of misrepresentation that The HSUS has been uncovering and documenting year-after-year for a decade.”
While our friends south of the 49th parallel determine how best to apply their laws to these ongoing miscarriages of justice, it’s vital that in Canada we remember there are no such laws protecting consumers.
That’s right – there isn’t a single law on the books in Canada that requires fur items be labelled as fur (unless it's removed from the skin). When The Fur-Bearers have found fur products listed as “faux” on websites or in stores, there is no available recourse. It is because of this disturbing fact that The Fur-Bearers recommends not wearing faux fur – and supporting Bill C-246, which would require all fur products to be labelled.
We hope that HSUS is successful in petitioning the FTC to act on these claims, and that it helps us all get one step closer to hearing everyone say let’s #MakeFurHistory.
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