Forensic Lab Finds Faux Fur Gloves Sold at Popular Markets Were Actually Made of Domestic Cat

Mislabelled fur products are rarely uncovered and consumers are left in the dark, animal activists find. Nathalie Jolie/Unsplash

Consumers have been buying fur gloves from Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market—disguised as containing “faux fur”—without realising that they contain hair originating from a domestic cat.

Cellmark Forensic Services from the U.S. tested a $20 (US$14) unlabelled pair of gloves recently purchased at the market in a joint investigation between the Animal Justice Party and Collective Fashion Justice.

Queen Victoria Market released a statement saying that it had no idea about the items containing cat fur being sold at the market.

“We do not condone the sale of any goods of this nature and work with traders and relevant authorities to resolve specific situations when brought to our attention,” officials said.

Collective Fashion Justice, a nonprofit organisation that advocates for banning fur, finds the issue of animal fur being marketed as faux fur rampant in Victoria.

Director Emma Hakansson said that every investigation contacted by her group has led to the discovery of mislabelled fur.

“We have no doubt this issue is widespread across the state,” Hakansson said.

Benjamin Lin looks over a 60-year-old cheetah jacket he is restoring at the B.B. Hawk showroom in San Francisco on March 16, 2018. Eric Risberg/AP Photo

Facing growing pressure from animal welfare activists and consumers to become fur-free, many luxury brands have committed to becoming fur-free, such as Lagardère Group, which owns the fashion magazine Elle, department store chain Neiman Marcus Group, and Kering, which owns the luxury brands Balenciaga, Gucci, and Yves Saint Laurent.

Despite the increasing acknowledgement of the cruelty of the international fur trade, where animals endure suffering and death for fashion, the industry is still well and alive.

China is the world’s largest exporter of fur, supplying more than half of the U.S.’s finished fur products.

The fur from China is often mislabeled as fur from other species, and undercover investigations in China have shown animals kept in cages for months waiting to be processed and can be killed through electrocution or bludgeoned to death.

In Australia, products with fur from cats, dogs, and some endangered animals are banned from entering Australia. Making false or misleading representations about products result in penalties of up to $500,000 for individuals and $10 million for companies.