Good news! Fur products import reduced in half in 2020 One Step Closer to The World with No Victimized Animals

More and more people are aware that being fashionable doesn’t require killing animals today.

From 2000 to 2006, many coats with animal fur for collars were sold. It was hard to find one without fur.
Many people still don’t know the horror story behind animal fur to this day. However, some people have started refusing to wear fur products.
As a result, a number of fashion brands, especially the ones targeting young audiences, discontinued using animal fur.

2020 was a huge year for animals used for fur. These animals were thought to transmit COVID-19. Additionally, the virus was spread among minks raised for fur, and a new coronavirus strain was linked to mink farms.
Not only minks, but nutrias and racoons can also become intermediate hosts. As a result, fur farms were shut down in Europe.

Fur farming was discontinued in Japan in 2016. Yet, we contribute to animal abuse by importing fur from abroad. 

We wish we could ban the sale of fur products, just like California did, but it’s almost impossible in a conservative place like Japan. However, just because the government is unaware or too slow to act, doesn’t mean people should be. Companies and consumers can simply stop importing fur. 
And, Japan is moving in this direction.

Compared to the previous year, the import of animal fur products decreased by 55% in 2020!

Clothes with animal fur

In 2020, 1,082,446 items (669,116 kg) were imported. 2,421,677 items (1,302,806kg) were imported in 2019. The number of items was decreased by 55%, and the weight was decreased by 49% compared to the year 2019.

We should accelerate or at least maintain this rate to keep decreasing the number of fur products for importation. 

This is our rough estimate, but if this number counts as headcounts of animals, 615,737 animals were killed for fashion consumption in Japan. 

We can assume at least a million people purchased fur products. We should inform people that fur products mean animals’ sufferings and are no longer trendy, cause pollution, and are not sustainable at all. 

Raw fur and Tanned fur Industry

Fur importers buy these fur materials. This industry was likely affected by COVID-19 since these importers buy their products at fur markets such as Saga Furs or Kopenhagen Fur. 

Last year, the Danish government decided to cull all mink in Denmark, and subsequently, it was reported that Denmark’s Kopenhagen Fur would close in 2-3 years.

Saga Furs in Finland is also working toward ending fur farming.

That being said, Kopenhagen Fur announced they would plan to hold the auction as usual in 2021. Saga Furs in Finland sells domestic fur as well as the one imported from China. So these companies may only change their strategies to keep pursuing profits from fur.    

This is a shrinking industry in Japan. However, it’s probably safe to read the data in 2020 as part of the impact of COVID-19.

The number of raw or tanned fur imports were 67,790 items, which was a 36 % reduction compared to last year. Weight-wise, it was 91,992kg, a 14% reduction compared to 2019.  

It’s been decreasing little by little since 2015. 

We no longer need to kill animals for Fashion, even for winter clothes, and certainly not in a place like Japan. 
Animal-free clothes such as non-leather or non-fur are spreading, so please push this trend further. 
We ask fashion companies to stop fur products immediately, and also reconsider the need of the other materials sourced from animals. 
On consumers’ end, we ask you to check clothes tags to make sure they don’t contain materials sourced from animals. 
If you shop online, you may encounter unethical brands that don’t disclose materials of what they sell. Be aware that the labeling regulation is obsolete that fur doesn’t need to be listed on a tag. Please stop purchasing clothes from such companies. 

*1 https://jp.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-denmark-mink-fur/worlds-largest-fur-auction-will-close-idUKKBN27S2ZL
*2 https://worldanimalnews.com/finland-takes-a-historic-stand-against-fur-farming-sales-moving-towards-a-ban-on-fur/

Translated by Seika K