Fur Times Summer 2015

SUMMER 2015

QUARTERLY UPDATE

IN THIS ISSUE: Fur Institute of Canada annual awards ceremony Harrods approach BFTA for fur training New look for WeAreFur.com Press coverage of Inuit plight Asia Fur Futures Roadshow New Hong Kong International Fur Fair held in June Truth About Fur "Year on a mink farm" blog series Regional updates CEO Comment

All eyes on fur for Fendi show In fashion terms, fur has never been stronger, and with the rising popularity of fur garments, the international press are taking notice. Pieces on fur fashion, ethics and production have been covered by major publications such as CNN and Business of Fashion in recent months, and the BBC have run television and radio shows on the topic of fur.

Interest peaked in the lead up to the Fendi ‘Haute Fourrure’ fashion show on July 8.

Esteemed writer AA Gill published an enlightening opinion piece in the Sunday Times, highlighting our hypocritical consumption behaviours. Also in the Sunday Times, Jon Ungoed-Thomas analysed UK public opinion regarding fur.

The Financial Times hailed Karl Lagerfeld as “King of Couture” and published a close up profile of the 81-year-old designer, while the New York Times commented that fur is back in fashion and under debate.

Fendi's show shone a spotlight on the craftmanship involved with using fur and leather, and documented the brand's evolution over the past 50 years.

CEO Comment I am currently in the middle of meeting or talking to every single IFF member as we review grant levels for the next year. It’s a privilege to be able to hear about and see all the work that goes on in each country. In our office and throughout the globe we have a dedicated team of paid and volunteer workers, who work tirelessly promoting and defending our industry.

I am really impressed with what is being done; from lobbying, to new standards, research and fashion promotion; it is a remarkable set of projects. However, there is one common theme - as boutiques replace traditional fur shops, many of our national associations are losing their members and funding subscriptions. We

need to find new revenue and we need to make an offer to the boutiques that makes them want to join the IFF, but this is not easy when these shops work with so many other textiles and materials. Perhaps our new retail and buyers website and Retail Association will help - watch out for the launch this October. In the meantime, if you’re taking a break this summer, please have a good holiday!

Update from Eurasia region In light of recent economical issues in the country, the Russian Fur Union paid great attention to the preparation of proposals to support small and medium-sized businesses between February and April, which are mostly working in the fur industry. Key areas of interest were reducing the tax burden and preventing the introduction of new taxes on business (for example, a tax on trade in the regions and cities), and the introduction of "tax holidays" for 2-3 years for the newly opened businesses. We have also been addressing the access to credit that small and mediumsized enterprises have, by reducing the bank rate from 30% per annum to 15-17% in just a few short months. During this period, Sergey Stolbov took part in a number of meetings with Prime Minister Medvedev, the First Deputy Shuvalov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Manturov, head of Tax Service of Russia Mishustin and other government leaders.

In April 2015, practical training was organised at the Sojuzpushnina auction house for promising students of the Moscow State Veterinary Academy, which prepares specialists in fur.

Update from Fur Europe The Chairman of the Italian Fur Breeders’ Association (AIAV), hosted an ‘Open Farm Day for Furriers’ event on 11 May at his mink farm in Lombardy, close to Milan. The event invited ten furriers from several Italian cities to experience a fur farm. The purpose of the event was to close the information gap on fur farming.

This summer, Fur Europe will be running a pilot project named Fur Creativity Summer School in cooperation with Hellenic Fur Federation. The school will take place from 27 August - 4 September in the towns Kastoria and Siatista in Greece, and will give a wellrounded education of all aspects of the supply chain. Participants will come from all over Europe and will be able to take away tangible outcomes such as alliances or new business models.

The voice of the opposition to the fur industry often gets public attention. However, our sector regularly earns important victories that should also be highlighted. Two such accomplishments this spring were the second court case win in Germany in the last 6 months, and the clear political support of the Czech Ministry of Agriculture.

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Press begin to shed light on Inuit plight They have a connection with nature that is rarely seen by those of us living in more temperate climes. Yet due to campaigning in the Canadian Arctic by Greenpeace in 1976, the Inuit people’s survival is in danger. Though Greenpeace claims it tried to differentiate between commercial

sealing practices and “small-scale, subsistence hunting carried out by northern indigenous and coastal peoples,” the message didn’t transmit.

Inuit spokesperson Aaju Peters secured the chance to explain the hardships the Inuit peoples now face to Quartz.

Truth about Fur share ‘A Year on a Mink Farm’ Most people won’t be too familiar with the dayto-day runnings of a mink farm, unless they’ve visited one or are a farmer themselves. But Truth about Fur are now making it easy for the general public to understand the processes behind breeding and raising mink, in their blog series: A Year on a Mink Farm.

Part one saw Truth about Fur speak to Nova Scotia mink farmer “Les” about how breeding takes place in the spring. He does a great job of dispelling any misconceptions about mink farming and explains how the breeding happens

naturally and how farmers don’t even need to handle the animals, therefore reducing any stress they might otherwise experience.

Part two of the series focuses on the whelping and weaning stage. Les explains how he prepares the nesting boxes for the arrival of the young mink or ‘kits’, and the work that goes into raising them.

The series is shaping up to be an extremely interesting read, so head over to Truth about Fur's blog to read the rest of the story throughout the year!

Fur Futures Roadshow tours Asia once again The Asia Fur Futures Roadshow 2015 took place in June, and delivered insightful workshops in five different Asian cities across nine days. Each year, a small team including IFF Asia director Kelly Xu, IFF director of communications Gorana Stojanovic and two designers/furriers: Rebecca Bradley from London and Django Steenbakker from Amsterdam, travel to different fashion schools around Asia and educate the students about fur.

The Roadshow aims to give the students an interactive experience, with the opportunity to touch fur samples and see first hand some of the techniques that can be used. This year, the Roadshow reached out to over 500 people, including established designers, lecturers,

design students, aboriginal Taiwanese representatives, textile company management and media representatives.

Journalists were extremely interested in the event due to the rising popularity of fur garments in Asia; and coverage was featured by Vogue China, Elle China, Central News Agency, Fashion Express Taiwan, Women’s Wear Daily Japan and many others.

The students also took lots of positives away from the workshops, with many quoting that they didn’t know there were so many design possibilities with fur and that they would be keen to work with it and explore the material within their own collections.

Update from Americas region The IFF Americas region welcomed Joe Morelli as its new Chairman, who looks forward to implementing new schemes such as a Herd Health program to help Canadian farmers with veterinary care.

ACHILA in Brazil has been successful in many areas including defeating a bill that would have banned fur from the catwalk. There have also been tremendous political successes through Fur Wraps the Hill in the U.S. and the Fur Institute of Canada.

The FurInsider’s social media platforms continued to grow, and FICA’s outreach to design schools and universities resulted in 55 remix entries and opened a dialogue that has led to the expansion of the fur curriculum at the prestigious school of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Truth About Fur website is also making its mark, with more than 12,000 people visiting over the past few months.

Fur Commission USA successfully intervened on behalf of a Utah farmer in a city council action to close his mink farm and a text alert system for mink farm security issues was created. Finally, in Argentina, fur industry professionals have been working hard on reaching out to the media and providing them with information and farm visits.

Update from Asia region In March, the Hong Kong Fur Federation (HKFF) hosted the annual dinner and inauguration for the elected Board members for the 2015-16 period – who assumed their positions on 1 April 2015.

The Asia region has been doing a lot of work on animal welfare in recent months, and the China Fur Commission (CFC) organised a press conference on 16 April, reporting the latest developments within Chinese fur farming. CFC also reported the reversion work of the fur animal-breeding standard entrusted by the State Forestry Administration.

Following a tough year of anti-fur protesting, Japan’s only mink farm has obtained all the licenses required by the Japanese government to resume operation. The Fur Futures program had another successful roadshow in Asia, reaching out to over 500 students, tutors and media teaching about fur and its design possibilities. The IFF would like to extend a special thanks to the auction houses who provided fur samples and all of the participants of the tour.

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Fur Institute of Canada recognise outstanding contributions On Saturday 13 June, FIC held their Annual Banquet and Awards Presentation as part of their Annual General Meeting. Each year, five awards are presented to those who go above and beyond the call of duty, and who spare much of their time and effort helping the industry succeed.

The 2015 Jim Bourque Award was given to Garry Breitkreuz in recognition of his commitment to sustainable use of wildlife resources, improved animal welfare and development of Canada’s modern fur trade.

Dr. Milton Freeman was presented with the 2015 North American Furbearer Conservation Award for his promotion and contributions to sustainable furbearer management.

The Saskatchewan Trappers Association were awarded with the Neal Jotham Award, which recognizes exceptional contributions

by an individual and/or organisation to the advancement of animal welfare. The 2015 Lloyd Cook Award, which recognizes commitment to excellence in trapping, trapper education and public understanding of wildlife management, was awarded to Wayne Sharpe, who, together with his wife, has represented NAFA as receiving agents for almost thirty years.

Finally, the Bernard Cahill Award was given to David Hutton, for his tireless contributions to all aspects of the trade, including outstanding work on AIHTS and seals. David also does extremely admirable work with mental health charities in Canada. Congratulations to all of the award recipients.

For more information, visit the Fur Institute of Canada’s website.

First ever Hong Kong International Fur Fair held in June 2015 The Hong Kong Fur Federation (HKFF) launched the International Fur Fair on 10-11 June 2015 in Schenzhen, China.

It marks the second major Hong Kong fur event in the calendar year, and follows on from the long-established success of the International Fur & Fashion Fair held in February each year. The additional fair places evermore focus on the craft behind fur designs and further solidifies Hong Kong’s status as one of the most important global hubs for fur.

Over 30 Hong Kong furriers attended the fair, occupying 50 booths in the newly established JW Marriott Hotel, Shenzhen Bao’an. Each furrier showcased a wide range of their latest designs for the coming season, as well as raw fur materials and demonstrations of techniques.

New Look for WeAreFur.com

Harrods approaches BFTA for fur education Around 12 months ago, the world-famous London department store Harrods approached the BFTA with a request to provide fur training for some of their staff.

Harrods offers a bespoke in-house alteration service for customers who need garments tailored to fit or, if vintage, to update the style.

Experienced fitters discuss the client’s needs and draft a brief, which is then relayed to a team of skilled tailors.

Due to the rising popularity of fur in UK, Harrods are experiencing a big increase in the number of alteration requests involving fur. However, without specialist nature of the material, Harrods approached the BFTA for help. Their teams wanted to know how to take and deliver major alterations but also, they wanted to know

more about fur itself. Where did it come from?

How was it produced? How is animal welfare taken care of?

CEO of the BFTA Mike Moser, together with BFTA member and furrier Ninx Flanagan, ran two workshops, in April and May, attended by 24 fitters. The workshops focused on the sustainability and welfare of fur and the moral ambiguity of anti-fur activists. They also learned how to lengthen and shorten garments, taking in or letting out and other common alterations.

The workshops were extremely popular and Harrods have already expressed an interest in arranging further training in the near future.

If you would like more information or have any questions, please contact Mike Moser at the BFTA.

For more information or to send us news: furtimes@iftf.com. www.

.com

The IFF Communications team have been working hard to refresh the WeAreFur.com website. Not only does the website have a slightly new look, but the information hosted on WeAreFur.com has been updated, navigation has been improved and great content has been added, such as an expanded list of Q&As and more stories about farming, trapping and hunting. In addition, it is currently being moved onto Wordpress platform, which will make it compatible for mobile devices. Head over to WeAreFur.com to see the changes and please submit any changes or new content you wish to appear to the Communications team.