Guest guest Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Retailers accused on using dog fur You can see the video from this program at this weblink today: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17584385/ March 13: The Humane Society will file a petition against retailers who altered origin of fur. TODAY's Janice Lieberman reports. Crackdown on dog fur urged The Humane Society will ask the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to fine high-end retailers and designers of clothing that contains mislabeled fur from dogs, wolves and raccoon dogs. The group also would like inventories seized and perhaps charges filed. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17584385/ Crackdown on dog fur urged Animal rights organization wants FTC to fine retailers, grab inventories The Associated Press Updated: 8:23 a.m. AKT March 13, 2007 WASHINGTON - A national animal rights group wants to put a group of fur retailers and manufacturers in the dog house. The Humane Society of the United States will ask the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to fine high-end retailers and designers of clothing that contains mislabeled fur from dogs, wolves and raccoon dogs. The group also would like inventories seized and perhaps charges filed. " Consumers have a right to know what they are purchasing, " said Michael Markarian, the executive vice president of the Humane Society. " If they are truly getting a type of dog fur, they should be outraged. " The documents filed with the FTC name designers Andrew Marc and Michael Kors, among others. Many major department stores, including Barneys New York, Macy's, Dillard's, J.C. Penney, and Neiman Marcus also were cited. The petition stems from a Humane Society investigation that turned up products that were made with fur from dogs, wolves or raccoon dogs, a species found mainly in China, that were sold as either fake fur or other types of fur in violation of the Federal Fur Products Labeling Act. Raccoon dogs look like oversize, fluffy raccoons and aren't kept as pets. Importing their fur is not illegal, but activists argue they are still a type of dog. Mislabeling fur is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $5,000 fine or a year in prison. Fur valued at less than $150 doesn't have to be labeled. Jim Sluzewski, a spokesman for Macy's parent, Federated Department Stores Inc., said his company opposes selling dog fur but takes its vendors on faith that they comply with company policy. " It is our vendors that label product, and we expect them to do so accurately, " he said in an e-mail. " We take immediate action whenever we find a violation of policy. " Late last year, Macy's immediately pulled from its shelves coats with raccoon dog fur but labeled as raccoon after the Humane Society raised the issue with the chain. " Macy's hasn't done enough as far as we're concerned, " Markarian said Monday, claiming that it is still selling other products with raccoon dog fur. The Humane Society said in its petition that Barneys sold fur-trimmed jackets marketed as coyote fur when it was really fur from wolves. Barneys did not return a call for comment. Josh Chapman, a spokesman for the manufacturer of the jacket, I. Spiewak and Sons Inc., said his company inspects the facilities where they purchase coyote fur. " We certainly know that everything is coyote, nothing could be anything else, " Chapman insisted. Design company Michael Kors (USA) Inc. said it is conducting its own internal investigation on the sources of fur products it sold through Dillard's stores. " We certainly expect the companies to be discussing these issues internally, but they've had plenty of time to do that, " Markarian said. Dillard's did not respond to a requests for comment. J.C. Penney said it had no comment. Neiman Marcus Group Inc. spokeswoman Ginger Reeder said her company removed all products with fur trim from their Web sites after the Humane Society investigation. " Further investigation assured us that these vendors were also in compliance with this act and they have provided us with proof that the merchandise is properly labeled, " Reeder said. Charles Jayson, chief executive of Andrew Marc, disputed the Humane Society and insisted in a statement that all fur on his coats labeled as raccoon contains " only farm-bred raccoon fur from Finland, and our items labeled 'faux fur' are a 100 percent synthetic fabric. " The results of the Human Society investigations set some retailers scrambling to pull the coats from shelves, take them off Web sites and offer refunds to consumers. They include Nordstrom, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Burlington Coat Factory. None of them was named in the Humane Society's complaint to the FTC. " We believe that many of the companies were just as shocked as we were, " Markarian said about various responses to the investigations. " Some companies have been leading the way. ... The other companies, by comparison, have done nothing. " © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17584385/ © 2007 MSNBC.com Is your fur fake, or is it Fido? Nordstrom, Andrew Marc, Tommy Hilfiger among the alleged culprits The Associated Press Updated: 12:53 p.m. AKT Feb 23, 2007 WASHINGTON - That fur trim on your jacket that you think is fake? Tell it to Fido. An animal advocacy group says its investigation has turned up coats - some with designer labels, some at higher-end retailers - with fur from man's best friend. Some retailers were set scrambling to pull the coats from shelves, take them off Web sites and even offer refunds to consumers. The Humane Society of the United States said it purchased coats from reputable outlets, such as upscale Nordstrom, with designer labels - Andrew Marc, Tommy Hilfiger, for example - and found them trimmed with fur from domestic dogs, even though the fur was advertised as fake. " It's an industrywide deception, " said Kristin Leppert, the head of the Humane Society's anti-fur campaign. The investigation began after the society got a tip from someone who bought a coat with trim labeled as faux fur that felt real. Leppert and her team began buying coats from popular retailers and then had the coats tested by mass spectrometry, which measures the mass and sequence of proteins. Of the 25 coats tested, 24 were mislabeled or misadvertised, the society said. Three coats - one from Tommy Hilfiger's Web site ShopTommy.com, one from Nordstrom.com and one from Andrew Marc's MARC New York line sold on Bluefly.com - contained fur from domesticated dogs. The others had fur from raccoon dogs - a canine species native to Asia - or, in one case, wolves. The single correctly labeled coat was trimmed with coyote fur, but it was advertised as fake. Most of the fur came from China. In response to the Humane Society's investigation, Tommy Hilfiger stopped selling the fur-trimmed garment and said it was looking into the matter. " We were quite concerned to hear of this finding, " said spokeswoman Wendi Kopsick. Nordstrom called the 62 consumers who had purchased vests with dog fur trim to give them the opportunity to return the vests " because we would never want to deceive our customers in any way, " spokeswoman Brooke White said. She said Nordstrom no longer buys fur trim products from the vendor, who had marketed the vests as faux fur. Charles Jayson, chief executive of Andrew Marc, disputed the Humane Society and insisted in a statement that all fur on his coats labeled as raccoon contains " only farm-bred raccoon fur from Finland, and our items labeled 'faux fur' are a 100 percent synthetic fabric. " Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society, said his group had traded letters with Andrew Marc over the test results and that the Humane Society stands by its research. " Our tests have clearly concluded that not only is this real animal fur, but it's fur from domestic dogs. The fact that they don't believe us is unfortunate but we have confidence in our testing results, " Markarian said. But overall he said the Humane Society was pleased with retailers' response. " We think that the corporations want to do the right thing and that they are being deceived just as much as the consumers are being deceived, " Markarian said. Importing domestic dog and cat fur was outlawed in 2000. Intentionally importing and selling dog fur is a federal crime punishable by a $10,000 fine for each violation. Raccoon dogs look like oversized, fluffy raccoons and aren't kept as pets. Importing their fur is not illegal, but activists argue they are still a type of dog. " This is an animal that is routinely killed by stomping them, or beating them, or skinning them alive, " Markarian said. Video produced by Swiss Animal Protection and posted on the Internet shows raccoon dogs clubbed or slammed on the ground and some writhing, gasping and blinking as they are skinned alive. The discovery of domestic dog fur is the latest twist in the investigation that ensnared retail giants Macy's and J.C. Penney late last year. Both of those retailers were discovered selling coats with raccoon dog fur labeled as raccoon. J.C. Penney initially removed the offending garments from its stores around Christmas - but eventually it had employees scratch out the 'raccoon' label with black magic marker and put the coats back on the shelves. Macy's immediately pulled the items from its shelves. Burlington Coat Factory also pulled some coats with mislabeled fur from their shelves. Rap artist Sean " Diddy " Combs stopped producing and selling coats from his Sean John line that had raccoon dog fur, and rapper Jay-Z pulled coats with raccoon dog from his Rocawear label. Mislabeling fur is a misdemeanor punishable by a $5,000 fine or a year in prison. Fur valued at less than $150 is not required to be labeled. A bill introduced by Reps. Jim Moran, D-Va., and Mike Ferguson, R-N.J., would close that loophole by requiring labels for all fur regardless of its value. It also would ban fur from raccoon dogs. " Americans don't want Lassie turned into a fur coat, " Moran said. " In the U.S., we treat cats and dogs as pets, not trimmings for the latest fashion wear. " Other retailers the Humane Society said sold mislabeled raccoon dog fur included Lord & Taylor, BergdorfGoodman.com and Neiman Marcus.com. Designers whose clothes were mismarked included Donna Karan's DKNY and Michael Kors. A coat from Oscar de la Renta advertised as raccoon had raccoon dog fur. Neiman Marcus, which owns Bergdorf Goodman, said it removed Bogner and Andrew Marc coats from its Web sites. Michael Kors said it was investigating, and a DKNY spokeswoman said the label was unaware that raccoon dog fur had been used. Donna Karan's executive vice president for global marketing and communications, Patti Cohen, said, " While it is not illegal to use this type of fur, we have taken measures to ensure that it is never again used for any of our products. " A spokeswoman for Oscar de la Renta declined to comment. © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17298301/ © 2007 MSNBC.com Activists rip Penney over dog-fur coats Jackets pulled from stores, then put back on shelves; retailer blots out label The Associated Press Updated: 1:55 p.m. AKT Jan 12, 2007 DALLAS - J.C. Penney Co. removed some fur-trimmed coats from its racks around Christmas after animal-rights activists objected that the fur came from wild dogs in China. Last week, the department-store company put the coats back on the racks - but only after directing employees to use marker pens to blot out the line on the label that identified the trim as raccoon fur. The fur-collared leather coats were sold under the house brands St. John's Bay and a.n.a., and by this week they were marked down at a Penney's in Dallas from the original $349.99 to $74.99. About two dozen remained. " We sold a lot of them during Christmas, " said a saleswoman at a Penney store in North Carolina who spoke on condition of anonymity because she feared losing her job. " I hope people who bought those coats aren't animal-lovers. But I guess if they're wearing fur, they're not. " By putting the coats back on the racks, Penney is charting a different course than rival Macy's, which last month pulled Sean John jackets after they turned out to contain the same fur. Macy's said it has a policy against selling products with dog fur. Animal-rights groups are using the incident to pressure Penney to drop sales of all real fur, including fox. A few clothiers such as Polo Ralph Lauren and J. Crew Group Inc. have stopped using fur, and designers Kenneth Cole and Calvin Klein have promised to follow suit. But Penney, with more than 1,000 stores catering to middle-income shoppers, says it has no plans to alter its fashion selections. " We do sell a few fur-trim items. We will continue to do so, " said Darcie Brossart, a spokeswoman for the Plano, Texas-based company. Fur-harvesting Penney also downplays any link between Lassie and the animal whose fur is used on some of its garments. That animal is usually called a raccoon dog because of its full coat and dark patches around the eyes. " Asiatic raccoon is the species name, " Brossart said. " It's on the Federal Trade Commission's list of fur that is legal to sell in the United States. It's not a dog. " Animal-rights advocates counter that although it looks like an oversized, fluffy raccoon and isn't kept as a pet, it is a canine breed - something Penney doesn't dispute. " They are definitely a member of the dog family, " said Kristin Leppert, manager of the anti-fur campaign at The Humane Society of the United States. " What's equally important is that they're getting killed by the millions in the most atrocious way. " Activists from Swiss Animal Protection posing as a documentary film crew say they went to China and photographed raccoon dogs and foxes being killed at large fur-harvesting operations. The crew's disturbing video - posted on the Internet - shows animals clubbed or slammed on the ground. Some continue writhing, gasping and blinking as they are skinned alive. 'Raccoon' blotted from labels Clothing made with raccoon dog fur has turned up at several retailers, according to Leppert of the Humane Society. She said she bought a St. John's Bay coat in Maryland and sent it for analysis at a German laboratory, which said the fur was raccoon dog instead of raccoon. Penney sent samples to a lab near Dallas, which also confirmed the fur was raccoon dog, Brossart said. The coats were pulled off racks two days before Christmas. Brossart said company lawyers determined it was legal to sell the coats as long as they didn't claim that the fur came from a particular species. A new order went to stores last week, and the word " raccoon " was blotted out from the labels. " We always knew we were selling real fur, " Brossart said, " but we didn't want any customers to think they were wearing raccoon. " © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16597610/ © 2007 MSNBC.com -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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