Mytheresa pledges to go fur-free from spring/summer 2022

Luxury German fashion retailer Mytheresa has pledged to go fur-free from spring/summer 2022 and will begin phasing out the existing inventory of previous seasons by the end of 2022.

Mytheresa will no longer sell products made from animals the were raised solely for the use of their fur or those made with fur from wild animals. The ban will cover fur from factory-farmed animals such as mink, fox, chinchilla, muskrat, rabbit, raccoon dog, sable and karakul lamb, as well as fur from wild animals such as coyote and beaver.

The retailer will however continue to sell products made from leather, shearling or sheepskin, as well as the fur of cattle, referred to as ‘calf hair’ and ‘cowhide’, and products made from synthetic, faux fur materials.

The fur ban will be across its entire operation, online and its two physical boutiques. It follows the retailer’s decision to ban exotic skins from species including but not limited to python, lizard, alligator, crocodile, ostrich, shark, kangaroo and stingray, from spring/summer 2021.

Michael Kliger, chief executive of Mytheresa, said in a statement: “At Mytheresa, we believe that sustainability is an important part of our future strategy and this view is clearly shared by our customers, partners and employees. As we already stopped buying exotic skins in spring/summer 2021, it was clear that going fur-free is the natural next step for Mytheresa.

“We are proud to be making this change and thank the Humane Society of the United States, Four Paws and the Fur Free Alliance for supporting this policy.”

German fashion retailer Mytheresa to ban fur from spring/summer 2022

Mytheresa developed its animal welfare policy in collaboration with the Humane Society of the United States and in accordance with the guidelines of the Fur Free Retailer programme. The initiative is supported by the Fur Free Alliance, an international coalition of more than 50 leading animal welfare and environmental protection organisations.

Thomas Pietsch, head of wild animals in entertainment and textiles at Four Paws, the official representative of the Fur Free Retailer programme in Germany, said in a statement: “We are very pleased to see Mytheresa committing to ban real fur and exotic leather. Taking this step forward on animal welfare is not only compassionate and in line with consumer expectations, but also shows heightened awareness of what true corporate social responsibility stands for.

“We hope Mytheresa ambitiously continues to refine their animal welfare practices to help build an animal-friendly fashion future.”

Humane Society International/Europe calls on Germany to ban the sale of fur

Sylvie Kremerskothen Gleason, Germany director for Humane Society International/Europe, welcomed the pledge and said in a statement that it was time for Germany to also ban the sale of fur: “We welcome Mytheresa’s compassionate pledge to go fur-free. This pledge reflects the ethical concerns and demands of consumers and puts the company shoulder to shoulder with some of the most respected names in luxury and designer fashion, such as Hugo Boss, Canada Goose, Oscar de la Renta, Gucci, Prada, Chanel and Versace, in rejecting fur.

“We now need the German government to strongly advocate for a Europe-wide ban on fur production and to take appropriate action.”

Despite fur farming bans in many European Union countries, the EU still breeds and kills almost 38 million animals a year on fur farms, explains Humane Society International/Europe.

Fur farming has been banned or is in the process of being phased out in numerous European nations such as Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the UK.

In late 2020 the government in Hungary declared a ban on the fur farming of animals including mink and foxes, and in June this year, Ireland confirmed it is preparing legislation to end the practice. France, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine are also considering fur farming bans.

In Germany, it introduced new animal welfare legislation in 2017, with a five-year transition period, that required stricter standards on fur farms such as increased cages sizes and swimming basins for mink. The new regulations meant that fur farming was no longer deemed profitable and this led to the closure of the last remaining mink farm in 2019 before the new measures came into force. However, the German government has not introduced an official fur production ban.