While we were extremely pleased to be contacted by the New York City Council to be part of the debate as experts in the field of faux fur, we had to think very carefully before we privilege one side or the other.

Is baning the sale of fur products a good thing ? Freedom of choice is something extremely important for all of us and we can understand consumers should have the right to chose what they want to buy.

Yet, we decided to support a ban on the sale of fur products in NYC for very specific and reasons that we consider reasonable, beyond mere commercial motivation.

Bans are not considered as an infrigement on freedom of choice. Bans on plastic bags, bans on the trade of endangered species, bans on cosmetics tested on animals… Bans are part of our our modern society. They provide a frame and are always considred as a sound evolution.

Smart and judicious bans shape greener and more responsible consumption patterns. During the hearing we mentioned that despite the facts that there is a ban on the trade of endangered species, the look of wild fur, such as leopard or zebra hasn’t disapeared : it is still possible, thanks to the wonderful imitations available in faux fur, to wear a leopard fur coat today.

“We simply believe that there are new ways to do old things."

Thanks to the development and innovations in textile, we consider it will be possible to offer better and smarter fibers to the fashion world. From bio-based materials to fur or wool made from recycled plastic bottles, the entire textile industry is evolving at a fast pace, yet rending useless the concept of fur factory farming and other type of exploitation of animals simply for the fashion industry. We are positionning ourselves strongly on the market of textile innovation.

“From bio-based materials to fur or wool made from recycled plastic bottles, the entire textile industry is evolving at a fast pace."

It is impossible to ignore the campaign against faux fur that has been sustained by the fur industry. An agressive campaign based on false information or on facts taken out of the context. This campaign was displayed on a big billboard on Timesquare last year, with the following slogan : « fake fur harms oceans » - a claim that is not based on any rational scientifc reports.

For the records, "the carbon footprint of the production chain of a single piece of mink (28 Kg CO2 -eqv / pelt) or fox (83 Kg CO2 - eqv / pelt) is at the same level as the carbon footprint resulting from one to three days's average consumption of a consumer."

Indeed, it takes at least 4 times more energy to produce a real fur coat than a faux fur coat. The making of one mink fur coat emits 7 times more CO2 than the making of one faux fur coat.

Source : https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.3920/978-90-8686-760-8_15

In such a context it was important for us to participate to the hearing, in order to provide the committee with more balanced and accurate facts about the faux fur sector and to recall that in the field of fur, only faux can be considered as a sustainable and responsible choice.

We finished our speech by developing our vision for the future of fashion : « more recycling, more bio fabrication and less factory farming ».

“We deeply thank the city of New-York for the opportunity given to be part of such an important conversation."

The entire hearing can be seen here :

https://councilnyc.viebit.com/player.php/hash=Vm2Q60PlW3SB&fbclid=IwAR14A_5pVAJtNZlT3UPnmf9nAHzsNktyybicyAB5f4pfG-pLnL9ouUtg6RM