Faux or fur? Fashion brands have been selling real fur - and pretending it's fake

An investigation has been launched after traces of real fur from cats, dogs and rabbits were found in several supposedly ‘faux fur’ products on the high-street.

Sky News discovered that one retailer, Missguided, included traces of cat hair in their popular pom pom sandals – which were marketed as made from faux fur. Not only is this horrifying, it’s illegal. As of 2009, the sale of cat and dog fur has been banned from Britain and the EU.

There’s no denying that there has been a surge in faux products in recent years, after becoming a key trend both on and off the catwalks. So, it’s slightly disturbing that our new fluffy shoes/bag/coat may not be as ethical as they seem.

However, Missguided weren’t the only ones to be selling misleading products.

House of Fraser’s ‘fur free’ gloves held traces of rabbit. Meanwhile, ‘fake’ products from Amazon, Parmars and Lily Lulu were found to be made with rabbit, racoon dog, mink and fox hair.

Although fur from these species is legal in the EU, it’s still not right.

The developments in the fake fur industry over the years has made the textile incredibly realistic – making it unsurprising that none of us have had a clue we’ve been funding the fur industry.

This isn’t the first time news of real fur on the high street has hit headlines. In 2015, ASOS, TK Maxx and House of Fraser were all caught with traces of real fur in their faux fur products.

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