Would you wear a meat coat?

Viva! and Empatia associations are trying to persuade a Polish company to stop selling coats made of fur. The targeted firm is “Simple” which specialises in fashion for young and ambitious women. The initiative is connected with “Day Without Fur” taking place on November 25.  “We are talking people into not buying products from “Simple” until it stops using natural furs in its products. We are aware that the change cannot be undertaken overnight and would be satisfied with a declaration that furs will be excluded from next year’s collection,” explains Cezary Wyszyński, chief of Viva! and adds that “a similar boycott abroad forced fashion houses such as Lauren or Zara to stop selling furs”. Some famous women have joined this campaign making short speeches for Viva!. Actress Agata Buzek says, while petting her dog, “I prefer fur that can walk on its own four legs. Wearing furs is unnecessary. We are not in the Stone Age anymore when there was nothing else to put on”.  Singer and DJ Novika says, “Fur just satisfies our sense of vanity. I do not see much difference in wearing a natural fur to one made of an animal’s gut or meat”.  The board of directors of “Simple” has made an official statement where it claims that “natural furs are part of the collections of the majority of fashion houses selling products from the top shelf” and “Simple” furs “symbolically reflect the world’s trends”. “Fur linings used by our company are bought in the EU and are in accordance with norms set by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES),”  according to “Simple”. They add that furs just complement the whole collection generating only 2% of the total income from overall sales. Wyszyński replies “If so, it should be even easier for the firm to make the step into the twenty-first century and exclude furs from its collection completely”.
Gazeta Wyborcza