Fur: Is it a hit or a miss?

Dear users, dear authors,
what are your thoughts on real fur, faux fur, fake fur, and the like?
Let me know.

Well, real fur is a definite no-go for me. I’m very much for animal welfare in this regard, and I feel incredibly sorry for the animals that have to give up their fur for this. They’re often tortured and cruelly slaughtered just so the fashion industry can survive. I’m not a big fan of faux fur either, but if you can tell at first glance that it’s faux fur, I can accept it a bit more—for a collar on a jacket or coat, for example—but not for an entire garment. In general, I’m more against fur.

I’m a bit torn on this… since I eat meat, I tend to view it positively if the animal’s skin is also put to good use… for example, with rabbits or lambs. However, when animals are bred and slaughtered solely for their fur, nobody really needs that these days! The warming effect, which may have been essential for survival 100 years ago, is easily provided by high-performance clothing today…
We really should be more careful with our environment!

Our farm animals, too, should be allowed to live a life worth living until their death.

Visually speaking, I personally don’t like fur trims at all.
If it’s faux fur, it can shed terribly—I once received a cuddly pillow as a gift, and wherever it lay, there were fuzz balls… it went straight into the trash.

Personally, I don’t need fur. My winter jacket has a faux fur trim on the hood, and it bugs me that I can’t put it in the washing machine. So I always have to take the hood off and wash it by hand when necessary...
Fur pom-poms on hats look cute, but I don’t need them either—I prefer to go pom-pom-free myself.

I saw a report that revealed that much of what is sold as "faux fur" is actually of animal origin. In fact, it is often dog or cat fur! These poor animals suffer incredible torment just so their fur can be used as a collar or pom-pom. 
That’s why, for the past year, I haven’t bought anything that looks like fur in any way, even if it is labeled "faux fur." 
There are plenty of stylish clothes that do without this "accessory." 

Fur is a total no-go, and faux fur isn’t an option either—for the very reasons Michaela mentioned. I’ve been having constant arguments with my daughter for a few years now because I refuse to buy her a winter jacket with a fur collar.

Well, I’ll admit that I find fur nice and cozy. I think it just looks beautiful, doesn’t build up static electricity like faux fur, and keeps you nice and warm in winter. And when it’s really, really cold—like in some regions—no wool coat can do that. But in our part of the world, that’s not necessary. So it doesn’t have to be real fur. In that sense, I wear “real synthetics.”

But I’m also critical of faux fur. It’s usually made from synthetic materials (and even when cotton is used, synthetic adhesives are applied to prevent the fibers from shedding). This consumes finite raw materials (petroleum) and further increases the amount of microplastics in the environment.

So, what to do? No matter how you decide, you’re always doing something wrong! What’s really destroying our natural world is, first and foremost, the throwaway culture and mass production. My grandma had a fur coat that she had inherited from her own grandmother and always treasured. It was “refurbished” by the furrier every now and then. She certainly didn’t do any more harm to the environment than some people do today who buy a synthetic T-shirt for 5 euros and then throw it away after 2–3 washes...

@Fun-Design,
from what I understand, meat production alone wouldn’t be profitable at all if every part of the animals weren’t used, right down to the last eyelash. So fur, skin, bones, and offal are not waste products; they are factored in from the very beginning.
And as long as people make money from animals, they will not have lives worth living, no matter how much we may wish otherwise. I’m not talking about the 2% of “farm animals” that are allowed to live somewhat tolerably, but about the 98% of animals that—even if people don’t want to believe it—live in factory farming.

I generally have nothing against faux fur, but as Michaela already said, you really have to look very carefully at what you’re buying so you don’t unknowingly support the horror.

Ruth, I also think fur is cozy—but on the animal, where it belongs! ;-) 

I see it similarly to Fun Design—I’m a bit torn on this. Eating meat is okay, but wearing fur isn’t? What about leather bags, leather jackets, and the like? Shoes? If you don’t want animals to be used at all, then you have to go vegan. If you use animal products—whether as food or clothing—then fur is part of that too.
  As a compromise, I’d like to see animal husbandry—if it has to exist at all—carried out in a species-appropriate manner. That would drive up the price of this special treatment considerably and perhaps encourage a more conscious approach to animal products.
Although, in my view, these kinds of questions are more of a luxury problem. For most people in the world, this question doesn’t even arise.

I’m not a fan of real fur either.

That said, I only have one piece with faux fur that I hardly ever wear—
a detachable hood that’s way too big for me and serves more as decoration than anything else.

@Ida,
Quote: “If you don’t want animals to be exploited, then you have to go vegan.”
That’s right, there’s nothing to add to that.
Since most people in this world don’t ask themselves such questions, it is all the more our responsibility to ask ourselves these questions, especially since we are also primarily responsible for these people’s suffering.
Keeping animals will never be appropriate to the species; it cannot be — only freedom is.

Inna, you’re right—my choice of words wasn’t very precise. What I meant were things like dehorning cows so more can be crammed into the barn, or feeding them fermented silage or genetically modified soy instead of grass, or calling chickens “free-range” when they have only 10 cm of outdoor space.
I think the question of whether to be vegan or not is one that’s driven by a lot of emotion on both sides. There are arguments for both sides, but that would require a much more in-depth discussion. Basically, I believe that the way we treat animals is part of the way we treat this world in general. That also includes crop farming.

Humans have been consuming animal products and animals themselves for many thousands of years.
That’s fine. BUT: Today’s abundance and the ever-growing bargain mentality are taking their toll. The result is factory farming and inhumane slaughter.
In the past—a long time ago—a farmer would slaughter a pig or a cow, and that would feed the whole family for months.
And it wasn’t that long ago that meat was only served once a week—namely, the Sunday roast.
People bought sausage from the butcher and didn’t waste it, because it was something special.
Today, that’s no longer the case. You can find sausage at discount stores that’s cheaper than cat food! At first, people are happy about the low price, but this comes at the expense of the animals.
Ultimately, it’s up to us consumers.
If everyone consistently boycotted cheap meat and bought only high-quality meat products—which would be more expensive, but after all, you don’t have to eat meat and sausage every day—then the factory farmers would have to come up with something.
That would certainly be a process that would take a few years, but in the long run, it would be a step in the right direction.
No one has to be vegetarian or vegan. Just be a little more mindful of what you consume....

@Wollness-Designs and ruthk: In my opinion, you've hit the nail on the head! Less instead of more and more would be a good start, and with “less” we could also afford better quality, which means, for example, that clothing can be worn longer. There are many pieces in my closet that are over ten years old and that I still really like. My probably 20-year-old winter jacket has a hood with detachable faux fur, but I only put it up in the most extreme emergency, because it's too big and too heavy (very dangerous when cycling!)
Very clearly: real fur is absolutely not okay—except maybe for the Inuit!

Yes, in my opinion, the sheer abundance and the fact that everything is always available immediately are a major problem.
Everything is produced as cheaply as possible, and most people throw things away far too quickly. But advertising always suggests that there’s some wonderful new thing on the market and that the old stuff is no good anymore anyway.... And to get back to animal products, those discount prices can only be maintained through animal cruelty. In my opinion, the only way to change this is for each individual to influence the direction through their purchasing habits.
And no, I don’t want to live a vegan lifestyle... but I can pay attention to where I get my products from.
Unfortunately, though, that’s not financially feasible for everyone....

I think we’re lucky to live in the countryside when it comes to the financial aspects. We get our meat and most of our sausage from a nearby farm. They only use their own animals, which they slaughter themselves. There’s a risk that a certain cut of meat might not be in stock, or that beef might not be available for a few days because it needs to hang, but I can live with that. Price-wise, it’s not really much more expensive than at the supermarket, and you can really taste and see the difference in quality. We buy our eggs there, too.