Some Coats May Have Fur From Dogs (Andrew Marc, Tommy Hilfiger from Nordstrom)

[kurth]

Some Coats May Have Fur From Dogs
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 23, 2007
Filed at 7:45 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP)-- That fur trim on your jacket that you think is fake? Tell it to Fido. An animal advocacy group says its investigation has turned up coats -- some with designer labels, some at higher-end retailers -- with fur from man's best friend. Some retailers were set scrambling to pull the coats from shelves, take them off Web sites and even offer refunds to consumers.

The Humane Society of the United States said it purchased coats from reputable outlets, such as upscale Nordstrom, with designer labels -- Andrew Marc, Tommy Hilfiger, for example -- and found them trimmed with fur from domestic dogs, even though the fur was advertised as fake.

''It's an industrywide deception,'' said Kristin Leppert, the head of the Human Society's anti-fur campaign. The investigation began after the society got a tip from a consumer who bought a coat with trim labeled as faux fur that felt real. Leppert and her team began buying coats from popular retailers and then had the coats tested by mass spectrometry, which measures the mass and sequence of proteins, to determine what species of animal the fur came from.

Of the 25 coats tested, 24 were mislabeled or misadvertised. Three coats -- from Tommy Hilfiger's Web site ShopTommy.com, Nordstrom.com and a coat from Andrew Marc's MARC New York line sold on Bluefly.com -- contained fur from domesticated dogs. The others had fur from raccoon dogs -- a canine species native to Asia -- or, in one case, wolves. The single correctly labeled coat was trimmed with coyote fur, but it was advertised as fake. Most of the fur came from China...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Dog-Fur.html

[Benhurst]

1. If you can't trust your Chinese slave-labor manufacturer, who can you trust?

Recommended #1

[lonestarnot]

2. Now there is a Chinese product. Sheet! all Sheet! Lies in Marketing 101.

No wonder their economy is booming. Americans love a lie. Buy them up just like hotcakes.

[Eugene]

3. K&R. Registration-free link...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/23/national/ap/main2507292.shtml

Made in China? Buyer beware!

[Crayson]

4. And how's fur from dogs any different...

... from fur of other squeeky little furry creatures?
Like rabbits?
Or leather from cows?
Or feathers from chicken?

People need to RATIONAIZE that humans are USING creatures for many many different purposes.
Stop being to emotional about it.

For me, the whole discussion should be about the LIVING CONDITIONS of all the animals we use.
We use chicken, cows, turkeys, alligators, fish, dogs, cats, parrots, maggots, snakes and in the end THEY ALL DIE.
It matters how they live! Not how that they are used!

What's the difference of the fur on a coat and a steak on a plate?
Humans chose to use animals. That's ok with me and I'm not totally disconnected from nature as most of us seem, when they buy stake and milk out of a refrigerator tray.

But we should do it in a fair way and respect every creatures dignity and provide for a happy cow/chicken/dog life until their time has come.

[lonestarnot]

5. Your thinking, that is the difference.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. You're right, no difference between animals

but the clothing items are sold as "fake fur", not "mystery animal fur". So the buyer probably expects that the furry stuff didn't actually come from any animal, not a mink, not a dog.

"What's the difference between fur on a coat and a steak on a plate?" I'm not going to your house for a barbecue! :rofl:

Living conditions of food animals is a whole 'nother OP, I think, and I agree it's important.

[Sadie4629]

7. I know mine does

Black lab hair and brittany spaniel fur, specifically. ;-)

[Coventina]

8. So, the sample turned up 100% deception.

Wow, that's an honorable industry.

:eyes:

"We know you wouldn't want to buy this if you knew the truth, so we're going to lie to you."

:puke:

Isn't there some sort of "truth in advertising" law that can be brought to bear in this situation (no pun intended)?

[malaise]

9. Why are the Chinese being blamed

Aren't these US companies making millions from Chinese labour? My understanding of the exported companies (from Life and Debt) is that it is the corporations who do all the designs, decide on the material (hair) etc. Aren't the Chinese merely stitching?

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. Cruella De Ville lives!

[benld74]

11. Whats that Timmy? Lassie is stuck on somebody's coat?!?!