Synthetic alternatives like faux fur is made from non-renewable petroleum-based products, such as nylon, acrylic and polyester, then treated with heat and chemicals to improve its look and feel.

These industrial processes use three times as much non-renewable energy as real fur.

The petroleum industry accounts for the direct deaths of millions upon millions of living beings each year, from birds and sea mammals to the tiny microscopic beings that make up the backbone of ocean ecosystems.

Faux fur end up in landfill and, just like petroleum-based plastic bags, can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Larger wildlife can get entangled in plastic waste which can drown or starve them; they also eat it, which can cause painful deaths through intestinal blockage or rupture, or even longer, horrible deaths through starvation since they can no longer fit real food into their stomachs. And the same thing happens to tiny plankton, which are absolutely crucial to the health of the entire ocean. Even if your coat ends up in a landfill, the plastics can be washed into the water system as they break down, creating the same marine problems.

Washing fake fur may harm the environment, too. With every machine wash, says a 2011 paper for the Environmental Science & Technology journal, each garment releases an average of 1,900 tiny particles of plastic, which are then swilled into rivers, lakes and, eventually, the sea. These particles kill marine life and disrupt food chains.

Disposable fashion often relies on Third World sweatshop labour, paltry wages and toxic working conditions. The manufacture of fake fur doubles the risk of ill-health in workers due to the emissions of carcinogenic substances during production.

Faux fur and fast fashion is promoting dependence on foreign oil and exacerbating child-labour issues in the Third World.

 

 
 

Links à la Mode, March 24

• Attire Club: How to Wear Three Patterns or Prints
• Black.White.Blonde: What to Wear | Espadrilles Under $150
• Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans: {Beauty Board} Highlight on Fleek
• City Chic Living: Trend Update | Printed Shorts
• Elements of Ellis: White Lace-Up Sweater
• Everyday Starlet: Poor Man’s Khloe Kardashian Fitness Closet
• Fashavable: Gucci Inspired Fake Flower Necktie
• Female Jungle: 25 Crop Top Outfits to Rock Your Style This Spring & Summer
• I’m a Norbyah: Style Minute | Tying Vintage Scarves
• Joyfully Styled: 5 Top Bloggers Share Exclusive Spring Fashion Tips
• Les Assorties: Menswear Illustrated by miP
• Modavracha: 4 Steps To Your Perfect Korean Sheet Mask Experience
• MySelf Expressed: Inspiration Board | The White Shirt Redux
• Proceed with Style: 8 Stylish Raincoats for the Spring Rain
• Purushu Arie: Giorgio Armani’s Decision to go Fur-Free is a Setback to Sustainable Fashion
• Reasons to Dress: The Barber Shoppe and Transitioning to Spring
• Style Diary by Osy: How to Wear All Black in Spring
• Tales of Two: The Most Flattering Pleated Skirt For You
• This Season’s Gold: Architecture | White Blazer and Striped Peplum
• We Are Ready Made: I Love Miu

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