Macy's and Bloomingdale's Finally Agree to Stop Mislabeling Fur

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-03-16 16:26:00 UTC
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Macy's and Bloomingdale's were the last holdouts in the Humane Society of the United States' lawsuit against several major department stores and fashion designers for falsely advertising real fur as faux. Over four hundred Change.org community members wrote to Macy's, the parent company of Bloomingdale's, asking them to join their competitors in moving toward honest fur labeling practices.

Yesterday, HSUS announced that they reached a settlement agreement with both stores, neatly wrapping up the lawsuit that had been filed in 2008.

The legal action was the result of a multi-year campaign where HSUS discovered dozens of garments throughout the retail industry where the fur was identified as the wrong animal or, even worse, labeled as "faux" when it was, in fact, very real animal fur. Thanks to a loophole in federal law, people who thought they weren't supporting the cruel fur industry were commonly buying coats and vests trimmed in raccoon dog fur.

Like Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, and designer Andrew Marc, Macy's and Bloomingdale's agreed to reform their labeling practices and advertising procedures for fur and fur trimmed garments, and to support legislation to tighten federal laws around fur labeling.

Ideally, these stores wouldn't sell fur at all, but as Jonathan R. Lovvorn, HSUS' vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation, says, at least this outcome "will go a long way toward honoring humane-conscious consumers' strong desire to keep cruel and inhumane products out of their shopping bags."

The settlement agreements from the country's largest department stores is a step in the right direction, but legislation is still needed to protect consumers and animals. According to HSUS, one in seven garments made with animal fur are allowed to slip through a federal loophole without a label. The Truth in Fur Labeling Act would prevent this deception by no longer allowing products with small amounts of fur to get away without disclosing its source.

Thanks to everyone who contacted Macy's, and kudos to HSUS for keeping the pressure on the fur industry!

Photo credit: Milestoned

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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