Ralph Lauren Goes Fur-Free!

[Guest dafleur]

Ralph Lauren Goes Fur-Free!

Ralph Lauren, long recognized as a leader in fashion, is now also a leader in compassion after announcing a precedent-setting decision to no longer use fur in any of his apparel or home collections, based purely on ethical grounds.

The Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation had been considering eliminating fur from its lines for some time and finally issued a statement making its decision to go fur-free official after a series of meetings with PETA during which executives viewed grisly undercover video footage of fur farms in China, where more than half the finished fur garments imported for sale in the United States are sourced. Shortly after meetings with PETA in February and March 2006, the company committed to pulling all fur from its shelves. “Fur has never been an integral part of our design strategy …,” said a Polo Ralph Lauren spokesperson. “We are publicly announcing this decision because the use of fur has been under review internally and we feel that the time is right to take this action.”

On fur farms in China, animals are confined to tiny wire cages through all weather extremes. Before they are skinned, workers bludgeon them with metal rods and slam them against the ground, breaking their bones but not always killing them. Many animals are skinned while they are still alive.

The Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation sent PETA a signed statement of assurance acknowledging its intent to pull all advertising for fur, cancel all pending orders for fur products, and beginning with its holiday 2006 collections, no longer sell any fur products. Twelve hundred of its brand-new fall 2006 fur-trimmed coats will be donated to charities in developing nations.

Ralph Lauren’s compassionate, progressive decision sends a powerful message to the clothing industry that torturing and killing rabbits, raccoons, foxes, and other animals for fashion won’t be tolerated.

What You Can Do

If you know someone who still wears fur, urge him or her to watch this video. Also, please write to Ralph Lauren and thank him for this decision:

Ralph LaurenPolo Ralph Lauren Corporation

650 Madison Ave.

New York, NY 10022

CustomerAssistance@polo.com

[Guest jennayster]

Skinned alive? ICK.

And what video?

[Guest chibifry]

interesting!

::snuggles in her fox fur trimmed hood::

[Guest Steph*]

Ralph Lauren made fur clothing before??

[Guest Simply_Unique]

eww i did see that video its so cruel! they throw the animals down in cages from the truck and even kick them and laugh its so disgusting how cruel people can be!

[Guest silentdreamer016]

yay!

congrats to them for making that decision.

i saw that video a while ago, it was so sad, i was crying bad

im glad they acknowledge the horrible doings of fur companys and fashion labels.

now, if only more brands will sign the statement....

[Guest EMA]

hurrah <33

i'm still too scared to watch the video but i'm almost in tears reading that little 2-lines-long description so i'd say it would be a bad idea .

anyways i'm so glad he made that decision , i just hope other designers will follow his lead [not that he's the first] . and i might just go buy a new polo to celebrate x]

[Guest WhiteMorningStar]

interesting!

::snuggles in her fox fur trimmed hood::

are comments like this really neccessary? They're not only annoying but really rude.

Anyway, cheers to Ralph Lauren for making the decision.

[Guest FantasyClover]

YES FINALLY!!!!!

last year someone posted a video clip from peta, it had this chinese farmer skinning a poor raccoon ALIVE. I cried and couldn't sleep for a week, it was such a shock for me!

[Guest justwildbeat]

A skinning raccoon? :/ I've seen people run over raccoons and rabbits ALIVE. Anyhoo it's interesting to hear that RL is being so supportive of the cause, plus I do agree that they've never been big on fur in their designs so it shouldn't be too big of a bother. Might be more significant if a line like JLo of SeanJean stop using fur. I remember seeing shows their I thought they had bears as models.

[Guest pingkix118]

^^

i love ralph lauren THAT much more now

[Guest Tr710]

“Fur has never been an integral part of our design strategy …,” said a Polo Ralph Lauren spokesperson. “We are publicly announcing this decision because the use of fur has been under review internally and we feel that the time is right to take this action.”

In other words, "We don't have a lot of sales in fur so we wouldn't lose a lot of money if we go furless, plus it'll make us look good."

[Guest chibifry]

are comments like this really neccessary? They're not only annoying but really rude.

Anyway, cheers to Ralph Lauren for making the decision.

I don't know if they are necessary but thats what I wanted to say!

[Guest userfriendly]

In other words, "We don't have a lot of sales in fur so we wouldn't lose a lot of money if we go furless, plus it'll make us look good."

really.