Fake fur

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For the album, see Fake Fur (album).

For the manga, see Fake Fur (manga)

Promotion photo from You're My Everything featuring Anne Baxter with a fake fur coat
Girl wearing a parka with fake fur
A fake fur blanket
Fake furs at a special occasion

Fake fur, also called fun fur or faux fur, is any material made of cellulose or synthetic fibers designed to resemble fur, normally as part of a piece of clothing.[1][unreliable source?] It was first introduced in 1929[2] and has been commercially available since the 1950s, but its increasing popularity has been credited to its promotion by animal rights and animal welfare organizations which claim that it is an animal-friendly alternative to traditional fur clothing.[3]

Uses

Fake fur is used for all purposes where otherwise real fur (of animal origin) would be used, but also for stuffed animals, fashion accessory and home decorations like pillows, bedding and throws. It is also sometimes used for craft projects because it can be sewn on a sewing machine. Real fur is generally thicker and requires a special machine, hand sewing or an awl to sew it.[4] Lately, fake fur has been increasingly used in the mainstream teen fashion, for example the stores Abercrombie & Fitch[5] and American Eagle[6] use it for trapper hats and jackets. In the Soviet, and now Russian Army, fish fur is used as a slang term for the fake fur used on winter clothing and the ubiquitous ushanka hats. Similarly, fashion design labels such as Ralph Lauren and Chanel have promoted the use of fake fur in their collections.[7]

Advantages

  • The fake fur is a fabric and therefore is relatively easy to sew it
  • The fake fur does not require cold storage to prevent deterioration and is impervious to moths.[8]
  • A 1979 study commissioned by the Fund for Animals argued that the energy consumption for the production of one coat made out of fake fur was 120 MBtu, compared to 433 MBtu for trapped animals and 7,965 MBtu for animals raised in fur farms.[9] This study has been criticized as being biased and outdated.[10]
  • The fake fur is not an animal-use product.
  • The fake fur does not require or encourage the breeding of animals in factory farms like real fur.

Disadvantages

  • Fake fur is not as insulating and does not allow the skin to breath as much as real fur.[11]
  • Fake fur is made from several materials including blends of acrylic and modacrylic polymers derived from coal, air, water, petroleum and limestone. These materials can take a long time to break down, possibly anywhere from 500 to 1,000 years.[10]
  • Fake furs are not able to keep snow from melting and re-freezing on the fiber filaments; this is very important, especially in hiking, mountain climbing, skiing and other outdoor activities which are done in extreme conditions.[3]

Use of actual fur

In a test by the Humane Society of the United States, coats labeled as having faux-fur trim used actual fur.[12] In the United States, up until 2012, a labeling loophole allowed any piece of clothing that contains less than US$150 of fur to be labeled without mentioning that it included fur.[12] This is the equivalent of thirty rabbits, three raccoons, three red foxes, three domestic dogs, or one bear.[12]

Fashion designers utilizing

Faux fur has increasingly become more popular for fashion designers to incorporate throughout their collections. Today’s technology gives faux fur the qualities and techniques as real fur. Hannah Weiland, founder of Shrimps, a London-based faux fur company, says, “I love working with faux fur because it doesn't molt and it feels just as soft. If the faux kind feels as good, why use the real kind?”[13] Weiland is not the only designer taking advantage of faux fur qualities. Additionally, Stella McCartney, a designer with a reputation for ethical and sustainable fashion, incorporates faux fur throughout her collections with tagged patches reading “Fur Free Fur.”[14] In 2014, Hugo Boss pledged to become fur-free publicly in their 2014 Sustainability Report, relaying the message that animal cruelty is never fashionable. They look forward to moving on through the use of faux fur in their future collections. However, the notion of sustainability and ethics aren’t always the reasoning behind designers decision for faux instead of real fur.[15] The ability to control more aspects of manufacturing such as color and volume is one reason designers choose faux. De Libran, the artistic director for Sonia Rykiel, incorporates both real and faux fur in her collections. Her incorporation of faux is based on the playfulness it portrays in her garments through the color and volume she is able to create.[14] In other brands, Prada embraced synthetics in their Fall/Winter 2007 collection. Miuccia Prada, the brand’s owner and designer, commented she was bored with real fur, and as a result, she included all faux in her collection that year. However, today, Prada has been using both real and faux fur throughout their garments. In addition, Dries Van Noten, Hussein Chalayan, Julien David, Julie de Libran for Sonia Rykiel, Kate Spade, and many others all featured faux fur in their fall collections.[14]

Future

Sable, chinchilla and mink continue to be popular fur production items in North America and Europe with a total estimated value of $2.44bn USD in 2016, with 75 million mink pelts produced globally. These production figures show that the industry is robust and stable. Demand will continue to rise from the fashion design sectors which has been driven by resurgent interest from the catwalk. The global fur trade industry is valued at over $30bn USD which includes all the stages from farming, manufacturing through to retailing within stores.[16]

The fur industry plays a huge role in the economies of certain countries as it provides employment to over one million people worldwide. Specifically, within chinchilla farming, Brazil contributes a sixth of the pelts, with the remainder coming from European countries, including Romania, Hungary and Denmark.[17]

Due to the global politicisation of fur garments, technology facilitating the production of fake furs has improved greatly since the early twentieth century. There are new tailoring and dyeing techniques to “disguise” fur and change the traditional image of fur with its conventional image associated with the elite fur-clad woman.[18] Modacrylic is a high-quality ‘fur’ alternative that gains attraction to its convincing look as an alternative to real fur. Howard Strachman of Strachman Associates, a New York-based agent for faux fur states that synthetic acrylic knitted fabrics have become a go-to resource for high-end faux fur, much of it coming from Asia. Prada put mohair faux fur in its Fall 2007 collection, whilst Max Mara and Dries Van Noten have also used this alternative.[19]

Quicker and more efficient methods of production are being researched, such as, special animal simulation techniques. One technique is simulating non-shrinkable fibers and shrinkable fibers of minks and another is mixing coarse and certain fine fibers together.[20]

Manufacturers will continue to produce alternatives to lower production costs. Recycling vintage fur is another way of up keeping fur. This can be re-styled along with faux fur and if it is in good condition it can be recycled into a unique look. By adopting these various methods, brands will be able to cater to different types of consumers as faux fur is affordable and gains more attraction within middle markets.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Faked furs.
  1. ^ Answers.com. "Fake fur". Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  2. ^ Krapp, Kristine (1997-10-29). How Products are Made. Gale.
  3. ^ a b "Definition from the Textile and Apparel Industries". Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  4. ^ "how to sew torn mink coat?". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2009-08-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Abercrombie & Fitch | Fur Fleece Sweater - Betsy". Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  6. ^ "Women's AE Downtown Bomber - American Eagle Outfitters". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-08-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Search for faux fur on Ralph Lauren site". Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  8. ^ "Fur Care: Storage is a must". Archived from the original on 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2009-08-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Questions and Answers about Fur" (PDF). The Humane Society of the United States. 1998: 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-03-30. Retrieved 2008-08-17. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b "Should I choose fake fur over real fur". Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  11. ^ Bekleidungsphysiologisches Institut Hohenstein. "Scientists prove nothing beats natural fur". Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b c Dawn, Karen (2008). Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals (1st ed.). New York City: HarperCollins. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-06-135185-3. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  13. ^ "Faux Real: In the Studio with Hannah Weiland of Shrimps - OPENING CEREMONY". www.openingceremony.us. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  14. ^ a b c Iredale, Jessica (May 20, 2015). "Faux Fur: Better Than the Real Thing?". WWD.
  15. ^ "Hugo Boss Is The Latest Luxury Brand To Go Fur-Free - Candid Magazine". www.candidmagazine.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  16. ^ "World Fur Trade is booming despite China slowdown • We Are Fur". We Are Fur. 2017-06-19. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  17. ^ "Strong Production Figures for the Global Fur Sector, writes Mark Oaten". We Are Fur. 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  18. ^ Emberley, Julia (1997). The Cultural Politics of Fur. New York: Cornell University Press.
  19. ^ Szmydke, Nina Jones, Paulina (2015-05-20). "Faux Fur: Better Than the Real Thing?". WWD. Retrieved 2017-11-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "How fake fur is made - material, manufacture, making, history, used, processing, structure, steps, product". www.madehow.com. Retrieved 2017-11-06.

External links

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