Elle to drop fur from magazines worldwide

Elle magazine announced on Thursday at a UK fashion conference that it will stop using fur in its publications worldwide.

Elle is a monthly lifestyle magazine owned by French media group Lagardere. It will be the first major fashion publication to remove fur from all its editorial and advertising content.

Why is Elle dropping fur?

Elle's international director, Valeria Bessolo Llopiz, said that fur was no longer acceptable. "The presence of animal fur in our pages and on our digital media is no longer in line with our values," she told the conference.

"It's time for Elle to make a statement ... rejecting animal cruelty."

Instead, she said the magazine wanted to "foster a more humane fashion industry."

Elle has already dropped fur from 13 of its editions. Twenty more will remove fur from their content starting on January 1, 2022, and the remaining editions will follow a year later.

"Fur has become old-fashioned," Bessolo Llopiz said.

She added that younger generations have different demands when it comes to fashion. "We are in a new era and Gen Z, which is the golden target for fashion and luxury, has huge expectations in terms of sustainability and ethics," she said.

PJ Smith, director of fashion policy for the Humane Society of the United States, said he welcomed Elle's announcement and looked forward to other fashion magazines following suit.

"This announcement will ignite positive change throughout the entire fashion industry and has the potential to save countless animals from a life of suffering and a cruel death," he told the conference.

"Fur promotions belong only in the back copies of fashion magazines from days gone by," Elisa Allen, the UK director of animal rights organisation PETA, told the AFP news agency.

What is the public attitude towards fur?

The decision comes as the fashion industry has faced pressure from activists to stop the use of fur on humane grounds. Smaller fashion weeks in Amsterdam, Oslo, Melbourne and Helsinki have banned fur, but the larger Paris, Milan and New York fashion weeks currently leave the choice up to designers.

Public opposition to fur has been mounting: a 2020 YouGov survey found that 93% of British people refuse to wear fur and a Research Co poll showed that 71% of Americans were against killing animals for their fur.

Similar figures have come out of EU countries: a FOP poll showed that 90% of people in France were against fur, a Eurispes survey found the same opinion was shared by 86% of Italians, and a 2020 Kantar survey found 84% of Germans were against the trade.

A number of major brands, including Gucci, Versace and Prada have already gone fur free.

In June, Israel became the world's first country to ban the sale of fur to the fashion industry.

sdi/nm (AFP, Reuters)