A closer look at Canada Goose commitment to go 'fur-free'
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Fashion
For many, the name Canada Goose goes hand in hand with quality, performance, and luxury outerwear. With roots dating back to the 1950s, the once small and local brand has grown from its humble beginnings into one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-end apparel. Renowned for their parkas, particularly the Expedition Parka created in the 1980s to meet the requirements of researchers at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the brand's jackets are viewed as a status symbol or fashion statement, worn regardless of the actual temperature outside. However, for others still, the brand remains intricately intertwined with animal cruelty, as the fur trims used to line several of Canada Goose's winter jackets stem from wild coyotes trapped for their skins, while the down used to line their outerwear comes from farmed-raised ducks and geese, raised for their meat.
Over the years, Canada Goose has implemented a series of changes to ensure that its production and product offerings remain in line with shifting consumer views on the use of real fur and down. But to what extent is the brand transforming regarding animal welfare? This article takes a closer look at Canada Goose use animal products in its collections and where it stands today.
Canada Goose's evolving animal standards and shift to becoming 'fur-free'
Canada Goose was most recently in the spotlight this May when the brand announced the appointment of its first-ever creative director, Colombian-born, French designer Haider Ackermann. Hired to shape Canada Goose's future products while further elevating the "brand's creative aesthetic," he is working with Canada Goose's CEO Dani Reiss to lead the brand "into its next era." Expanding its product categories over the years as it aims to further cement its repositioning as a performance luxury lifestyle brand, Canada Goose unveiled an exclusive mission-driven hoodie, backing Polar Bears International (PBI), a leading organization dedicated to researching, understanding, and safeguarding polar bears and their diminishing habitat. A limited-edition style, all proceeds from the PBI Hoodie go to the organization to protect the Arctic. In honor of the initiative, the creative director partnered up with none other than grassroots activist, entrepreneur, and actor Jane Fonda - a move that led to an immediate backlash against Fonda and Canada Goose.
"Collective action is the only way we can go further, faster," said Jane Fonda in a statement on the collaboration. "I have put my full force into inspiring planet-friendly choices to address the climate crisis, and partnering with Haider and Canada Goose to bring attention to what's happening in the Arctic is powerful, important, and essential." Over the years, Fonda has used her voice as a platform for numerous causes, from aligning with the civil rights protest and the Black Panther Party to standing with Native American demonstrators and calling for the end of the US participation in the Vietnam War to partnering with Greenpeace to host Fire Drill Protests and advocating for a treaty to protect marine animals targeted for consumption in recent years. However, her support of Canada Goose did not sit well with many of her fans and others, as it seemed to go against the activist's platform; despite Canada Goose's 2020 announcement to go 'Fur-Free,' numerous items in its collection still contain real coyote fur.
Consumer confusion and backlash following collaboration with Jane Fonda
Back in 2020, Canada Goose unveiled its Sustainable Impact Strategy in its inaugural Sustainability Report, outlining ambitious goals, including reaching net zero scope 1 and 2 emissions by the end of 2025, as more and more brands started to respond to industry and consumer pressure to shift their business operations to a more sustainable and circular economy-based system. In that same report, Canada Goose also announced a significant shift in its production. Starting in 2022, the brand will cease purchasing new fur from trappers. Instead, Canada Goose said that it will transition to using reclaimed fur, namely fur already present within its supply chain and the marketplace. As part of this initiative, the Toronto-based brand shared plans to start buying back fur ruffs from customers' coats to recycle the fur in the upcoming months.
Up until this point, Canada Goose had traditionally upheld and maintained its use of coyote fur, outlining the benefits provided by real fur, such as its ability to disrupt airflow, its anti-freezing and anti-water retention capabilities, which, according to the brand, makes it exceptionally functional in extreme weather. "By reusing fur that is reclaimed, we're just taking a resource that's already sustainable and making it even more sustainable," said Dani Reiss, CEO of Canada Goose, in an interview with the New York Times. Reiss stressed that the brand's decision to step away from using new fur was an environmentally conscious decision and not a response to pressure from activists, although the brand has been under fire for its use of real fur and down since 2006.
Animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has been urging Canada Goose to cease using fur for more than a decade, calling on consumers to join in on its protests and boycott the brand while highlighting the animal cruelty linked to its coyote fur and down use. In 2016, the advocacy group escalated its efforts and launched a comprehensive campaign. A year later, PETA became a shareholder when Canada Goose went public, purchasing shares with the hopes of introducing "shareholder resolutions against the use of fur and down in the outerwear maker's products."
Over the years, PETA's efforts to stop Canada Goose's use of fur and down have included organizing demonstrations, putting up billboards, and distributing fliers around the company's physical stores. Additionally, the group has engaged in legal battles to protect its right to advertise against Canada Goose. Previously, Canada Goose had stated that its coyote fur was "ethically sourced" on its website, explaining that it was wild-caught and killed in the United States and that the brand was compliant with a set of state, provincial, and federal standards. However, wild trapping is very difficult to regulate and monitor, and breaches are common, leading PETA to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission regarding the company's animal-sourcing claims.
Canada Goose goes 'fur-free' by the end of 2022
Then, in 2021, Canada Goose reiterated its aim to go "officially" fur-free. "Our desire to evolve into a more sustainable brand continues. Through a phased approach, we will end the purchase of all fur by the end of 2021 and cease manufacturing with fur no later than the end of 2022," wrote the brand in a statement at the time. "We remain deeply devoted to keeping the planet cold and the people on it warm." The brand noted that it was ending its use of fur entirely, including reclaimed and new fur in lieu of other innovative, sustainable materials. "As we ended production with fur, we continue to invest in new, sustainable materials to provide the trademark warmth and performance Canada Goose is known for," said CEO Dani Reiss in Canada Goose's most recent 2023 Sustainability Report. "Materials like our Kind Fleece – primarily made from recycled wool – are a promising next step for our textile needs." Any coyote fur still utilized for the brand is from stock that was purchased prior to their recent commitments.
A spokesperson for Canada Goose's PR confirmed to FashionUnited that the brand achieved its goals regarding its use of fur and is currently selling through their fur inventory "because it's the most sustainable thing to do. In addition, any products online or in-store with fur are clearly marked 'Heritage' items and manufactured prior to December 2022." However, FashionUnited found nine outerwear styles with coyote fur trims that were not labeled 'Heritage' for sale online, including the Chilliwack Bomber PBI, the Arctic Rigger Coverall, and the Emory Parka, which is likely to cause more confusion among consumers.
The fur debate at Canada Goose continues despite commitment
Canada Goose's ongoing sale of fur products in 2024 has only fueled consumer confusion, especially following its recent collaboration with Fonda. Following the PBI collaboration announcement in May, thousands of consumers voiced their disappointment in her working on the brand, with many highlighting not just the cruelty linked to wild fur trapping but also down production. Down is made from soft feathers from ducks and geese, which are either controversially live-plucked or harvested after the birds are slaughtered for meat. The feathers are then cleaned, sterilized, and graded for quality. With many brands sourcing down from live birds, ethical concerns regarding live-plucking have led to an increasing demand for more humane practices and down alternatives.
In response to the treatment of the birds used for down, Canada Goose holds a Responsible Down Standard certification, which ensures no force-feeding or live-plucking of birds for their feathers. However, outside of holding this certification, the brand's website seems to lack a comprehensive animal cruelty policy. The brand is actively taking steps towards using more sustainable materials. For example in 2019, Canada Goose committed to sourcing more Preferred fibers and materials as defined by the Textile Exchange and currently over 50 percent of its products are made with PFMs. However, as the brand still uses animal derived materials such as down this raises concerns about animal welfare, even with the certification.
"PETA US is engaged in talks with Canada Goose in the expectation that the company will soon also end all use of feathers from geese and ducks," said Elisa Allen, PETA Vice President of UK Programs and Operations, to FashionUnited. "Canada Goose committed to a ban on fur in late 2021 but currently sells inventory from previous seasons. The availability of these old garments proves that fur is widely unpopular among today's shoppers. Vegan materials, which are just as warm and chic – and don't harm a hair on an animal's head – are widely available, and in 2024, that's what consumers demand."
Despite Canada Goose's recent efforts to reduce its use of animal-derived materials, such as ceasing the purchase of new fur and using RDS, the brand continues to face significant challenges in altering consumer perceptions. The brand's ongoing sale of fur-trimmed products and reliance on down appears to remain a contentious issue for many consumers. As consumer expectations regarding sustainability and animal welfare continue to evolve, the need for a more robust and transparent animal rights policy becomes more apparent than before if the brand hopes to align its luxury image with modern ethical standards.