Luxury German fashion retailer Mytheresa has pledged to go fur-free from spring/summer 2022 and will begin phasing out the existing inventory of previous seasons by the end of 2022. Fur from factory-farmed animals like mink, fox and muskrat will be covered.
The retailer will however continue to sell products made from leather, shearling or sheepskin, as well as the fur of cattle, referred to as ‘calf hair’ and ‘cowhide’, and products made from synthetic, faux fur materials. The retailer has banned exotic skins from stingrays, sharks, alligators, crocodiles, pythons, lizards, ostriches, alligators, alligators, crocodiles, ostriches, sharks, kangaroos, and crocodiles starting in spring/summer 2021.
Michael Kliger, chief executive of Mytheresa, said in a statement: “At Mytheresa, we believe that sustainability is an important part of our future strategy and this view is clearly shared by our customers, partners and employees. Mytheresa decided to go fur-free after we stopped purchasing exotic skins in the spring/summer 2021.”
“We are proud to be making this change and thank the Humane Society of the United States, Four Paws and the Fur Free Alliance for supporting this policy.” Fur Free Alliance is an international alliance of over 50 top animal welfare and environmental protection organizations that supports the initiative.
Thomas Pietsch, head of wild animals in entertainment and textiles at Four Paws, the official representative of the Fur Free Retailer programme in Germany, said in a statement: “We are very pleased to see Mytheresa committing to ban real fur and exotic leather. This is a positive step in the right direction for animal welfare. It’s also compassionate and in line to consumer expectations. It also shows increased awareness about corporate social responsibility.”
“We hope Mytheresa ambitiously continues to refine their animal welfare practices to help build an animal-friendly fashion future.” France, Ukraine, Montenegro and Lithuania are all considering bans on fur farming.
In Germany, it introduced new animal welfare legislation in 2017, with a five-year transition period, that required stricter standards on fur farms such as increased cages sizes and swimming basins for mink. Fur farming was no longer considered profitable, and the last remaining mink farm closed in 2019, before the new regulations came into effect. The German government has not yet implemented a ban on fur production.
