Faux fur is made from blends of acrylic and modacrylic polymers derived from coal and petroleum that can take up to 1,000 years to break down in landfills. They are also non-renewable resources that pollute the earth. Add in the factory emissions and if that alone doesn’t convince you to give up the faux habit please continue reading. Faux fur is not able to keep snow from melting and re-freezing on the fibres which makes it less insulating and warm than real fur. Also because faux fur is not a natural material it does not allow the wearers skin to breath which leads to higher fungal and mildew growths which is a leading cause foul smelling garments. Is the price of this fashion really worth our planet?
Chances are if you wear faux fur you like that “fur” look. Fear not there is a sustainable environmentally friendly substitute! What is the name of it? Well it’s called “Real Fur”. It’s softer, smells a whole lot better, and more environmentally responsible. Oh it’s cruel you say? Of course we have all seen those videos of fur farms from foreign countries produced by animal rights groups where they tell you animals are beaten, skinned alive, and so forth. I for one can’t see skinning a feral animal alive even being remotely possible without serious personal injury, besides most videos I’ve seen from animal rights groups claiming animals are still alive while being processed is bologna. The tough truth is after animals are dispatched in a governmentally approved manner most will kick and twitch for up to several hours. Despite the videos I will tell you that Real Fur can be cruelty free. How do you find cruelty free fur if you’re uncertain? It’s simple, stay away from commercial fur companies and designer names. Know where your fur comes from. Buy fur from local farmers, hunters, and artisans somewhere where you can see how the animals were raised and treated and not just raised for their pelts but their meat and in some cases their manure. I’ll use rabbits as examples. Rabbits are one of the greenest animals you can own, you can feed them a natural diet of forage and in return you get one of the best manures possible for gardening. They’re also one of the healthiest meats and a by-product of raising meat rabbits are those luxurious pelts. Tanned only, a single pelt averages only $6. Most tanning only involves three ingredients: salt, alum, and water.
Real fur is the result of millions of years of evolution and certainly cannot be beat by manmade faux fur that has only been commercially available since the 1950’s.
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