You’ve heard of mink, fox, or rabbit fur being used to make jackets and clothing, but what about cats? That’s the fur being used by Australian mega brand Suttons UGG to make some of its latest products.
The fibers from a child’s vest were tested recently and discovered to be made of cat fur despite the label saying it was 100% Australian wool or sheepskin.
Animal rights groups are livid, as are shoppers, who are calling it gross.
Collective Fashion Justice brought the Suttons UGG garments to a lab for testing
Image credits: Ceren Fehime / Pexels (not the actual photo)
It looks like a stylish sleeveless vest. But maybe also it looks like your gran’s calico cat Fred?
The vest in question is sold by Suttons UGG in its stores in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria.
According to a story from the ABC, the fashion advocacy group Collective Fashion Justice tested the fibers on the vest and a hat because they looked suspicious.
What they found was surprising and upsetting.
The fur on the vest was in fact made from cat hair, and the pompoms on a hat, which were labeled acrylic, were actually made from raccoon dog fur.
“People have a right to know what they’re buying”: Advocacy group condemns the use of cat or other fur
Speaking to reporters about the matter, representatives of Collective Fashion Justice held up one of the vests and explained how it was “made from one cat skin in the front, one in the back and rabbit fur.”
The group is calling for an immediate and wide covering ban on fur imports, which they call harmful and dishonest.
“People have a right to know what they’re buying and to shop in line with their values”, a spokesperson from the group told reporters.
“No express ban on the use, sale of cat, dog fur”: Other advocacy groups are outraged
Other animal welfare groups were sickened to learn the news. According to the group Four Paws, the “importing and exporting of dog and cat fur into and out of Australia is prohibited.”
However, Four Paws’ website states that “there is no express ban on the use and sale of cat and dog fur, and there are also no tracing or testing mechanisms in place.”
The group says the lack of standards create confusion for consumers who would like to know what kind of product they’re buying, but have no way of finding out.
Suttons UGG supposedly only uses “sheepskin and leather”
Image credits: ABC News (Australia) / YouTube
So far Suttons UGG has not made an official statement on the matter.
However, in a statement to the ABC, a spokesperson for Suttons UGG said “they had been informed by the manufacturer that the vest was made from a kind of special fur, but that they could not 100 per cent confirm whether that included cat.”
The brand is different from UGG Australia, or simply Ugg, which is now based in the U.S.
In the 1990’s, UGG Australia was acquired by the American company Deckers Outdoor Corp., and today bills itself as a “neither Australian owned nor Australian made” with “products mostly mass produced in countries throughout Asia such as China, Vietnam and the Philippines.”
Suttons UGG, meanwhile, is an Australian company “that emphasizes the use of Australian materials, particularly sheepskin and leather,” and with a “focus on local manufacturing.”
Considering their claim that they use sheepskin and leather sourced from Australia, the revelation about the cat fur was disheartening and disappointing to fans of the brand.
This year’s Australia Fashion Week was ‘wildlife-free’ as a result of new animal rights policies
Image credits: independentcollection.com.au
In previous years, Collective Fashion Justice have found additional items made with cat fur. In 2021 the group say they “found cat fur in glove being sold in Melbourne back in 2021. Neither product had a country of origin label (which is also illegal).”
News reports from the time say the fur was found on a pair of unlabelled fur gloves sold at a stall in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market for $20.
The use of fur, feathers and leather in fashion remains an issue in the industry.
Earlier this year in a joint effort between Collective Fashion Justice and World Animal Protection, a ‘wildlife-free’ policy was created for the country’s fashion industry.
In a win for the measure, it was adopted by the Australian Fashion Council which banned the use of crocodiles, foxes, and exotic birds from the runways during Australian Fashion Week this year.
“Time to get my red spray paint out”: Netizens react to Suttons Ugg using cat fur
Image credits: Collective Fashion Justice\
Netizens reacted with outrage and disgust that Suttons UGG would use cat fur to produce their products.
Some people questioned the use of fur at all with today’s advancements in synthetic materials, suggesting it was completely unnecessary.
Other people joked about their missing cat: “So this is what is happening to your pets when u cannot find them.”
Animal rights supporters online were quick to criticize the discovery, with one saying it was:
“Time to get my red spray paint out again,” referring to protests in which animal rights activists use red spray paint to vandalize fur coats in various stores and shops.
Online comments about Suttons UGG using cat fur for a piece of children’s clothing ranged from disgust to outrage
