Johannesburg, 11 September 2025 – Today, the Fur Free Alliance (FFA) launched a global campaign urging outdoor fashion brand Woolrich to adopt a fur-free policy. The coalition is made up of 50 animal protection organisations in 30 countries, making it one of the largest anti-fur campaigns of all time. In the run-up to major fashion weeks, coordinated street actions are planned across Europe to encourage the traditional brand to reconsider its stance. This follows attempts by the FFA to get into a dialogue that were left unanswered. Other renowned outdoor brands - including Canada Goose, Moncler, and Patagonia - have already gone fur-free. Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS, a long-standing member of the FFA, has been advocating against fur farming since its inception in 1988.

Woolrich, the self-proclaimed “world-leading designer of outdoor lifestyle apparel,” continues to use fur – despite the undeniable cruelty of fur farms highlighted in a recent Scientific Opinion by the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA), and despite the fur industry’s years-long decline in revenue and public support. Their so-called iconic Woolrich Arctic Parka – widely recognised as the brand’s signature winter piece – is a main contributor to animal suffering. Its fur-trimmed hood is made of pelts from raccoon dogs, coyotes, and foxes, killed solely for decorative purposes.

Fur farms cause animal suffering and environmental pollution

“By continuing to support the fur trade, Woolrich is choosing animal cruelty and environmental devastation over compassion and innovation. Thankfully, cruelty is no longer in fashion: as consumers care more about animal welfare and new laws coming into force around the globe are ending the demand for fur products. Woolrich would be smart to get with the times and go fur-free,” says Fur Free Alliance Chairman Joh Vinding.

Beyond the immense suffering inflicted on animals, fur factory farms and tanneries also pose significant environmental risks. These facilities are extremely harmful to soil and waterways, pumping waste and toxic chemicals into the surrounding environment. Additionally, the traps responsible for killing wild animals are indiscriminate, often maiming and killing non-target animals, like endangered species and pets.

In a bold move to reshape the future of fashion, South African Fashion Week (SAFW) has announced a strategic pause after 28 years of championing local design. This recalibration marks a turning point for the industry, creating space to reflect, innovate, and align with global shifts toward sustainability, inclusivity and ethical practices. FOUR PAWS South Africa welcomes this moment of introspection as a powerful opportunity to challenge outdated norms like the use of animal fur. While South Africa does not currently operate large-scale fur farms, the country remains vulnerable to the import and sale of fur products linked to cruelty abroad. This pause offers a chance to strengthen ethical standards and build a fashion landscape rooted in compassion, conscious creativity and a fur-free future.

Here is the link to sign the petition.

Background

The animal fur used for Woolrich’s parkas comes from fur factory farms, where wild animals such as raccoon dogs and foxes spend their entire lives cramped into small wire-bottom cages deprived of engaging in natural behaviors—only to be killed by electrocution. Woolrich also uses fur from coyotes trapped in the wild. They are caught with brutal devices like leghold traps or snares and sometimes spend days without food or water. Animals often gnaw off their own limbs in a desperate attempt to escape before the trappers return to kill them by either drowning, suffocation or bludgeoning.

As part of the Fur Free Europe ECI process, the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA) submitted a Scientific Opinion to the European Commission in July 2025, identifying critical welfare consequences (WCs). Among the most severe are restricted movement, the inability to express natural behaviours and sensorial under- or overstimulation–all of which are deemed unavoidable under current fur-farming conditions, where animals are confined to small mesh cages.

In 2023, the Fur Free Alliance asked its supporters around the globe to contact Max Mara to ask the Italian luxury brand to go fur-free resulting in more than 270,000 emails, 5,000 phone calls and countless social media posts being sent to the company. The coalition launched a high-impact action, flying a hot air balloon over Max Mara’s headquarters and coordinated street protests in front of Max Mara stores across Europe–to ensure the company and its employees received the message. Max Mara eventually went fur-free last year, becoming the latest major fashion brand to take such a step. The Fur Free Alliance also worked with Gucci, Armani, Hugo Boss and many others to announce fur-free policies. Today, more than 1650 brands and retailers have pledged to go fur-free by joining the Fur Free Retailer Program. 

Twenty-two countries throughout Europe have banned fur production because of animal cruelty and risks to the environment and public health, and Israel, California and 16 cities across the U.S. have banned fur sales to create a more humane marketplace and drive innovation. On 1 July 2025, Switzerland imposed a ban on the import of cruelly produced furs. The ban is the first in Europe and comes into force with a two-year transition period.