Tag Archives: fur

FOUR PAWS Protests Against The Use Of Fur By Burberry

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The launch of the new winter collection by traditional British company Burberry is one of the highlights of London Fashion Week.  Advocates from the international animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS took the opportunity to  protest against the further utilisation of fur in front of the entrance of the Burberry marque.

London, UK | 2014 02 17 | Protest gainst Burberry

Last week, FOUR PAWS published disturbing footage of Finnish fur farms which belong to the fur auction house that supplies Burberry (Saga Furs). The pictures show the shocking reality of conditions on these farms. Foxes with missing tails in small mesh wire cages, piles of stinking excrement, conditions which fall even below the claimed minimum standards of  the fur industry. Since the publication of the video 23,500 people have already called on Burberry to withdraw their use of fur on the FOUR PAWS protest website www.befurfree.org.

Thomas Pietsch, wild animal expert at FOUR PAWS said: “About 100 million minks, foxes and racoon dogs die for the fashion industry every year worldwide. The latest footage of the Finnish farms shows: Fur produced in accordance with animal welfare does simply not exist.”

If Burberry remains true to its word, making fur redundant in its collection is vital

In reaction to the protest mails, generated since the 11th of February, Burberry communicates the following “…we would like to express to you that Burberry will not use natural hides if there is any concern that they have been produced using unacceptable treatment of animals…. we source natural hides very carefully in our efforts to safeguard the correct ethical standards and traceability.”

This positioning of the company leads FOUR PAWS to ask for steps to be taken in response to the evidence. “If the company management sticks to its word, the only sincere consequence can be the immediate abandonment of real fur products. The cruel keeping conditions of the fur bearing animals on the Saga certified farms cannot be sugar-coated.”, says Thomas Pietsch from FOUR PAWS.

This year in January the fashion company was exposed to fierce protests of the environmental protection organisation Greenpeace, who found prove for toxic residues in childrenswear. The company relented and committed to shift to risk-free chemicals in the textile production until 2020. Now the company is under fire by animal welfare supporters from all sides.

FOUR PAWS has been campaigning for a legal ban of the keeping of fur bearing animals and a European law against the trading and import of fur and fur products for many years now. Last year the international animal welfare organisation started an online campaign against large fashion companies that sell real fur, which includes Burberry.

On the protest website of FOUR PAWS, www.befurfree.org, you can call on Burberry to quit using real fur. The shocking pictures of the Finnish Saga Furs farms can be found on Youtube: http://youtu.be/yGkopsiqFMc

 

14 Facts About The Queen

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  1. HM_The_Queen_and_Prince_PhilipThe Queen owns no property outside Britain.
  2. She owns at least 30 furs. They are worth a reported £1 million. There is a refrigerated fur store at Buckingham Palace.
  3. Her estimated worth is more than £100 million.
  4. Her investments are held by a company called Bank Of England Nominees. It allows heads of states to buy shares anonymously.
  5. Under the ancient law of Bona Vacantia, The Queen is entitled to the property of those who die without heirs within the Duchy’s realm, the Country Palatine. The Queen still gets this money but apparently gives it to charity.
  6. She earns at least £1 million a month minimum.
  7. The Sovereign Grant, the amount of money the Queen gets from the government, was £31 million in 2012/13.
  8. The Royal Collection consists of 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawing and 150,000 Old Masters prints.
  9. The royal cars at Sandringham are worth an estimated £7.1 millionfacts about the queen, Queen
  10. She doesn’t need a passport and is the only person in the United Kingdom who is not required to have a driving licence in order to drive. She also does not require number plates on any of her cars. The official website of the British monarchy says, “As a British passport is issued in the name of Her Majesty, it is unnecessary for The Queen to possess one.”
  11. William and Harry just call her ‘granny’
  12. No alarm clock: she wakes to the sound of her personal bagpiper every morning.
  13. Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms.
  14. She met Prince Phillip when she was just 13.

Stella McCartney Expands Online Empire Across Europe

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Stella McCartney has announced the expansion of her ecommerce business to 28 additional European countries.

Already well established in the US and UK, the designer will now aim to attract computer-savvy customers in fashion-conscious France and Italy, along with Ireland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. She also has Scandinavia firmly in her sights, targeting Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, while Greece, Cyprus and Malta will allow the designer to show off her outfits for warmer climes. Meanwhile, moving east, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary will also welcome her.

The website on http://www.stellamccartney.com is now previewing the new Winter 2011 Stella McCartney ad campaign shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott featuring Natalia Vodianova. Also available to download is the second issue of the Stella McCartney iPad App on iTunes.

The online shop, which recently re-launched in the US and the UK last Autumn, aims to enhance the digital retail experience with improved customer interaction and special retail functions such as “Reserve in store,” which enables the user to reserve an item online and pick up at a store location of their choice. All online orders are beautifully gift packaged for the shopper’s convenience, and free standard shipping and returns are offered to all customers. Additionally, the in-store “Private Wardrobing” service, a personalised concierge style in store service, is available to book online.

The new App features an edition of Stella’s World where customers can browse through news, photos and videos about the brand, along with a gallery of images from the recently launched “Linda McCartney, a life in Photographs” book by Taschen personally selected by Stella. The app also offers a behind the scenes documentary of British Olympiads from the latest Team GB ad campaign shot by Jacob Sutton, a first glimpse backstage at the Winter 2011 show in Paris, a sneak preview of the Spring 2012 collection presented in New York this summer, a making of video of this year’s MET Gala dresses and new playful interactive functions.

Shopping on http://www.stellamcartney.com is now available in 30 countries worldwide. The browsing experience of the website will be compatible on the iPad App and for the first time shoppable in September.

Stella McCartney launched her eponymous fashion label in 2001 in a joint venture with Gucci Group. A lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs. The brand’s luxury women’s ready-to-wear, accessories, lingerie, beauty and performance range with adidas are available through 15 freestanding stores including London, NY, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Milan and the soon to open location in Rome, as well around 600 wholesale accounts in key cities worldwide.