Gucci drops fur for ethical alternatives

  • 13/10/2017
It's increasingly harder to buy fur coats.
It's increasingly harder to buy fur coats. Photo credit: Getty

Fashion house Gucci has announced it will stop using fur in its designs from next year.

It joins a growing number of fashion houses looking at alternatives after coming under pressure from animal rights activists and changing consumer tastes.

Gucci has used fur in its luxury clothes before.

But the brand said it would now join an alliance of fur-free companies, adding it would sell off remaining accessories and clothing made with animal fur in a charity auction.

Marco Bizzarri, Gucci's chief executive, said the brand would drop fur starting from its spring and summer 2018 collection and that its new approach had been agreed on with creative director Alessandro Michele.

Gucci has enjoyed a revival under Michele, whose flamboyant, colourful designs have fuelled sales over the past two years.

Animal rights campaigners said they hoped the move by the Italian fashion house could have a knock-on effect, although it is far from the first label to stop using fur.

"Gucci's decision will radically change the future of fashion," Simone Pavesi, manager of animal-free fashion at Italian campaign group LAV.

"As fashion becomes more and more ethical, supply chains that revolve around animals will be a thing of the past."

In June, Yoox Net-A-Porter, a multi-brand online luxury retailer, adopted a fur-free policy on accessories and clothing sold on the site.

Italy's Giorgio Armani last year committed to stop using fur, saying technological progress meant there was no longer any justification for cruelty to animals, while US brand Calvin Klein took the plunge in 1994.

Reuters