Real Fur Mislabeled and Called Faux Fur at Century 21

In a hidden-camera video made earlier this year and released today, The Humane Society and New York Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal visit retail chain Century 21 and found that fur-trimmed and fur-lined garments were often mislabled or not labeled at all.

DNA Info reports:

Humane Society investigators also purchased three designer Marc Jacobs jackets online from Century 21 that were advertised as having “faux fur” trim.

But when they were delivered, all three jacket labels indicated “real raccoon fur” from China – and laboratory testing of one jacket found it was actually raccoon dog, animals that look similar to raccoons and are often skinned alive for their fur, according to The Humane Society.

“Many people want to avoid wearing fur at all,” Rosenthal in a statement. “And, for them, knowing whether the garment they are about to purchase is made with real or faux fur is just as important a factor in determining whether to buy it as is the price.”

In the video, a store employee tells the shoppers that a garment has faux fur when they can see the skin on the back of the fur, and know that it’s real. You can’t really blame him, though: He was reading the label, which declared the item was 60% acrylic and 40% wool. Usually “wool” does not mean sheepskin.

in a way, this problem feels similar to the recent horse-meat scandal: There’s something shady going on when it comes to labels, processing and conveying the truth to the consumer. Unfortunately, this problem is probably going to persist: As we discussed in the fall, fur is back, in a big way. Even the shows previewing what will be in stores for fall 2013 — from BCBG Max Azria to Carolina Herrera to Ralph Lauren and J. Mendel — were chock full of fur.

Century 21 Mislabels Real Fur Jackets as ‘Faux,’ Investigation Finds [DNA Info]