The animal cruelty involved in the making of fur garments is well known, but a recent article in the Washington Post cast the spotlight on the human victims of this heartless trade.
The article notes that the American Overseas Fur Factory laid off half of its 300 workers without pay for three months.
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The article also sheds some light on the health and environmental hazards of fur processing factories:
….Deng and his son had spent most of the past four months standing knee-deep in hot vats of dye, an animal skin in one hand and a spear in the other. They picked the skins from a pile in a corner and plunged them into the steaming liquid, then fished them out again with their spears and hauled them, heavy and dripping wet, to a drying rack across the room. Despite factory-issued rubber boots and thin cloth masks, they said, workers sometimes lost their footing or passed out from the fumes.
And to top it off they risked their health, 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week for the equivalent of $6 a day plus overtime pay of $15 a month.
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that an industry that makes profit of the suffering of animals is similarly callous to humans.
Speaking of callous humans, another recent article reported on how some top designers in the fashion industry are taking a stand defending their right to be … well … callous.
The designers mentioned are Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani. Wow. Way to go, guys, that shows some depth of character for sure.
Say, wasn’t there another infamous Jean Paul, who was so self-absorbed and money-grubbing that he allowed his grandson’s ear to be cut off rather than pay the ransom money? Maybe it’s in the name, but then what is Karl’s and Giorgio’s excuse?
Perhaps the real reason they continue to use fur is because otherwise no one would pay attention to their work — the controversy gets their names in the media.
Otherwise they would be lost among the classy, fresh, and innovative designers who have sworn off fur, and all the up-and-coming designers who will be participating in Born Free USA’s fur free fashion competition — fffashion.
Let’s all give our attention and praise to compassionate designers and companies who have taken a stand against all the abuses of the fur industry.
Maybe it’s like our Mothers always told us about mean girls and bullies — “ignore them and they’ll go away.”
Blogging off,
Monica