Italian fashion house Prada to stop using fur from next year

Italian luxury fashion house Prada has announced it will stop using animal fur from next year.

The designer brand which has sold mink, fox and rabbit pieces is making the change to meet the demand for ethical products from shoppers.

Fur will no longer be part of future designs from February 2020 after its spring-summer 2020 women's collection.

Multiple animal charities had been working with Prada behind the scenes after running a public campaign urging the brand to drop fur last September.

The label's chief executive Miuccia Prada said: "The Prada Group is committed to innovation and social responsibility, and our fur-free policy - reached following a positive dialogue with the Fur Free Alliance, in particular with LAV and the Humane Society of the United States - is an extension of that engagement.

"Focusing on innovative materials will allow the company to explore new boundaries of creative design while meeting the demand for ethical products."

Animal charities are describing the move as one of the most significant fur-free fashion statements yet in their continuing campaign to end the use of all fur worldwide.

PJ Smith, director of fashion policy at the Humane Society of the United States, said: "With Prada's fur-free announcement, one of the biggest names in fashion just became a leader in animal welfare and innovation for generations to come."

Michael Kors, Gucci, Versace, Burberry, Chanel, Coach, Donna Karan, Diane von Furstenberg and Jimmy Choo have all banned fur in recent years, joining other top designers including Hugo Boss, Armani and Tommy Hilfiger in opting for synthetic materials instead.

Claire Bass, executive director of Humane Society International UK, said: "Prada's decision puts the writing on the wall and makes clear that the fur trade is on borrowed time.

"Prada Group's historic announcement to go fur-free comes at a time when an unprecedented number of designers are turning their backs on the cruel fur trade and are fronting fashion based on fabric innovation instead of animal exploitation.

"Anti-fur policies like Prada's prove that forgoing fur isn't a fast-fashion trend, it's a step change to meet the demands of ever more socially and environmentally conscious consumers.

"As well as being unspeakably cruel, fur is also a nightmare for the environment, using and producing a cocktail of pollutants.

"Fashion leaders like Prada, Gucci and Burberry are clear that fur has had its day."

"It leaves a shrinking list of designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana looking hugely isolated and out of step with the anti-fur zeitgeist.

"Fur sales bans are being considered in New York and California; now is the moment for the UK government to shine on its commitments to animal welfare and make Britain the first country in the world to ban the sale of animal fur."

Fur farming was banned in the UK in 2000 on moral grounds - after a consultation found "overwhelming public support to end the practice".

However, the UK still imports foreign farmed fur, including fox, rabbit, mink, raccoon and chinchilla from countries such as China and Poland.

Designer and animal rights campaigner Stella McCartney has described current UK legislation as "hypocritical and unacceptable".

The Labour Party agree and pledged to ban the import of fur in June last year.

Shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman told Sky News: "I was so proud when the Labour government back in 2000 actually brought in a ban on fur farming in this country.

"Now we want to take the next step and ban importation of fur all together."

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Sky News: "Labour introduced a ban of the fur trade in this country, we now want to prevent imports coming in because of the terrible animal suffering that is happening abroad."

More than 100,000 members of the public signed a petition last year calling for a fur ban which triggered a parliamentary debate on the issue.

Another 400,000-strong petition was handed in to Downing Street in March 2018 by Queen guitarist and animal rights campaigner Brian May.

The International Fur Federaration say consumers should be allowed to choose whether they wear fur.

Giles Roca, CEO of the British Fur Trade Association said: "There is no majority or outcry for a ban on fur sales or imports in the U.K. Indeed the popularity and sales of fur in the U.K. have grown recently including among all age groups as more people are choosing to wear clothing that is humanely sourced and is environmentally friendly compared to plastic alternatives."