Fashion Design.
Fur has always been seen as a luxurious asset for any wealthy individual, as its advertisement as glamorous and ‘Natural’ fuels their vanity and makes them yearn to be seen in it. But for many people fur is an unethical and unnecessary product of animal torture, with animals having been kept in small, cramped cages without proper care for up to 7 months before they are killed for their pelts.
Fur has always been seen as a luxurious asset for any wealthy individual, as its advertisement as glamorous and ‘Natural’ fuels their vanity and makes them yearn to be seen in it. But for many people fur is an unethical and unnecessary product of animal torture, with animals having been kept in small, cramped cages without proper care for up to 7 months before they are killed for their pelts.
Fur farming, although no longer legal in the UK is still a
very large business with farms importing fur all over the world, more than 40
million animals are killed for their fur worldwide each year, 85% having been
bred on the fur farms where they will be killed, never knowing a normal life
and the rest are trapped in the wild, many being known as “trash kills” as when
dogs, cats, birds and even some endangered species get caught in these traps
they serve no economic value to the trapper, a few different types of traps are
used but the most common is the steel jaw trap which, when stood on by the
unfortunate victim, snaps shut biting through their limb right to the bone
causing agonising pain and animals are left suffering like this for days before
they either die of exhaustion or the trapper comes to kill them.
Europe alone is responsible for 70% of Mink fur production
and 63% of fox fur production being the second largest contributor after China.
The conditions in which these animals are kept in are what motivates animal
rights activists such as PETA to demand change, animals are kept in small
‘battery’ cages in which they have no room to run, jump or even move around
like they would in the wild and this leads to many of them going insane,
adopting repetitive head bobbing movements and violent behaviour, gnawing at
their own limbs and then suffering without medical treatment until death by
methods such as electrocution and gassing or even being skinned alive and left
conscious for up to 10 minutes before dying from the pain. Once animals are
skinned and killed for their fur, their bodies are just disposed of; they don’t
serve any other purpose, as animals such as rabbits that are killed for food are
usually killed at a young age as that is when the meat is best but the fur
farmers wait for the animals to get older and have a fully developed pelt which
can then be farmed, these animals sole purpose of living is not for our
survival like those killed for food but for our greed and vanity and desire to
be adored.
Not all fur is used in the fashion industry; very few less developed countries do rely on the fur for warmth and survival so animals are bred and raised purely for the use of their fur, even so, it is done in a much more humane way than those in countries such as China
Not all fur is used in the fashion industry; very few less developed countries do rely on the fur for warmth and survival so animals are bred and raised purely for the use of their fur, even so, it is done in a much more humane way than those in countries such as China
The most commonly farmed animals are Mink and Fox, but
Polecats, Racoons, Chinchillas, Rabbits, Bobcats and squirrels, a single coat
will cost the lives of 20 foxes or 100 Chinchillas. It is estimated that two
million Cats and Dogs are also killed for their fur each year, and due to the
high cost of testing the imported pelts, it is not always possible to know
whose skin you’re really wearing.
From coats to key rings and trinkets to makeup brushes, fur is getting ever increasingly harder to avoid, even many faux products, which many argue are worse than fur environmentally, are often actually fur marked as faux as more and more companies are pledging to not sell fur, fur farmers are finding it harder to sell fur and mark it as faux knowing that it is more than likely not going to be tested.
Faux is argued to be worse as, although fur farming may be unethical faux is made from non-biodegradable oils and chemicals which as well as not being the environments best friend, promotes the dependence on foreign oils and worsens already existing child-labour issues in the Third world.
From coats to key rings and trinkets to makeup brushes, fur is getting ever increasingly harder to avoid, even many faux products, which many argue are worse than fur environmentally, are often actually fur marked as faux as more and more companies are pledging to not sell fur, fur farmers are finding it harder to sell fur and mark it as faux knowing that it is more than likely not going to be tested.
Faux is argued to be worse as, although fur farming may be unethical faux is made from non-biodegradable oils and chemicals which as well as not being the environments best friend, promotes the dependence on foreign oils and worsens already existing child-labour issues in the Third world.
Sales in fur did plummet dramatically in 1994 when five well
known supermodels took off their clothes and sat on the floor stating that
they’d “rather go naked than wear fur” but as the years went on, one by one
they went back on that statement and all but one has since been seen in
fur. Fur has slowly crept its way back
into fashion but this time more is being done to make sure that you know more
about what you are wearing, the BFTA advises that only fur with the ‘Origin
assurance label’ be purchased as this scheme, launched in 2007, ensure that the
fur ‘comes from a country where welfare regulations or standards governing the
fur production are in force’.
Companies are affected by the pressure the go ‘fur free’ and
the rising price of faux fabrics due to this although companies that do
continue to sell fur products have the opportunity to buy the fur cheaper and
raise the price when they sell it as farmers are desperate to sell and
consumers are eager to buy.
Fur farms are affected by large companies going ‘fur free’ which means they either have to label their fur as faux and sell it cheap or sell the fur at a lower price and because of this animals get bred and killed in more inhumane and unethical ways to save money.
Faux fur factories are affected by the growing demand of the faux fur and for it too look and feel more realistic while still being affordable which pushes the child-labour issues they already have to worsen.
Fur farms are affected by large companies going ‘fur free’ which means they either have to label their fur as faux and sell it cheap or sell the fur at a lower price and because of this animals get bred and killed in more inhumane and unethical ways to save money.
Faux fur factories are affected by the growing demand of the faux fur and for it too look and feel more realistic while still being affordable which pushes the child-labour issues they already have to worsen.
Cotton mills.
Cotton mills propose a lot of environmental risks, the dying
bleaching and finishing stages involve a lot of harmful chemicals such as heavy
metals, formaldehydes and chlorine bleach, these chemicals also affect the
wellbeing of the workers causing long lasting health issues and problems and in
some cases even death. These chemicals are released into the environment via
the waste water and some residues are left on the products which have been said
to cause allergic reactions, eczema and even cancer.
In some richer countries, changes have been made: a few chemicals replaced with safer alternatives, waste water treated, protection for their workers, recently the European Union has restricted the use of formaldehydes and azo dyes, but in less developed countries out of the EU this is not the case, many companies are shifting their cotton processing mills to lower-wage countries to increase competitiveness, but these countries laws on labour rights are very different to ours: workers get paid a very low wage, so low that they would struggle to live in what we consider to be acceptable living conditions, they are forced to work more than 48 hours a week spending many long 12+ hour shift standing up constantly without any breaks, child labour is a large problem as they are paid even less, just enough for food that is all and are expected to work hours just as long, the factories also propose a lot of health risks for the workers such as poor, unclean conditions, cramped atmosphere, the high humidity need to stop the cotton from snapping causes breathing problems for many workers along with all the dust and chemicals and they are provided with little to no safety equipment.
In some richer countries, changes have been made: a few chemicals replaced with safer alternatives, waste water treated, protection for their workers, recently the European Union has restricted the use of formaldehydes and azo dyes, but in less developed countries out of the EU this is not the case, many companies are shifting their cotton processing mills to lower-wage countries to increase competitiveness, but these countries laws on labour rights are very different to ours: workers get paid a very low wage, so low that they would struggle to live in what we consider to be acceptable living conditions, they are forced to work more than 48 hours a week spending many long 12+ hour shift standing up constantly without any breaks, child labour is a large problem as they are paid even less, just enough for food that is all and are expected to work hours just as long, the factories also propose a lot of health risks for the workers such as poor, unclean conditions, cramped atmosphere, the high humidity need to stop the cotton from snapping causes breathing problems for many workers along with all the dust and chemicals and they are provided with little to no safety equipment.
Sweatshops in china
More than 36% of Chinas population live on less than £2 a
day, many of which lived in poor rural areas and were forced to move to urban
areas in hope of earning enough to help their families, due to their status,
these internal migrant workers do not receive any state benefits or protection,
there are approximately 150 million workers who are denied social security
rights and employment contracts, and have to suffer through forced overtime in
poor working which cause severe health risks.
Many of these workers are women, earning at most £150 a month including overtime, forced to live in small cramped living conditions with up to 6 people in one dormitory, they are denied maternity leave and have to work until the child is born and then send it back to live with their family in the countryside while they continue strenuous 12-24 or even as long as 34 hour long shifts without breaks 7 days a week, admittedly the Foxconn factories who make Apples products allow their workers two 10 minute breaks and an hour lunch but an hour and 20 minutes out of 34 hours is not a lot at all but even with these conditions internal migrants fight for a job in these sweatshops as for most it is the only way of providing for their family and they are left with no other choice, they are unaware of their lack of rights and the Chinese government isn’t in a rush to bring up the issue either.
Many of these workers are women, earning at most £150 a month including overtime, forced to live in small cramped living conditions with up to 6 people in one dormitory, they are denied maternity leave and have to work until the child is born and then send it back to live with their family in the countryside while they continue strenuous 12-24 or even as long as 34 hour long shifts without breaks 7 days a week, admittedly the Foxconn factories who make Apples products allow their workers two 10 minute breaks and an hour lunch but an hour and 20 minutes out of 34 hours is not a lot at all but even with these conditions internal migrants fight for a job in these sweatshops as for most it is the only way of providing for their family and they are left with no other choice, they are unaware of their lack of rights and the Chinese government isn’t in a rush to bring up the issue either.
None of the workers have freedom of association and there
are no checks of the workplace to assess the conditions in which the workers
are subject to, the factory owners take advantage of this as it means they can
treat their staff as they please and pay them as little as they like without
the threat of getting into trouble for it. In 2009 alone approximately one
million workers were injured and 20,000 suffered from disease due to the poor
conditions and lack of safety precautions in their work environment. A big risk
to those in the textiles industry is those who have to do sandblasting, which
is a process in which silica dust particles are blasted at denim jeans to give
them a ‘worn’ look, these particles can do extreme damage to the respiratory
system if inhaled causing silicosis which leads to death if untreated, and with
constant exposure without the correct safety or protective gear in a windowless
non ventilated room, the workers are at a constant threat.
The constant poor working living and working conditions and the fact that the workers have to spend all day everyday stood up repeating the same tedious task over and over pushes a lot to suicide, although the suicide rate is not alarmingly high, it still exists and if it wasn’t for the giant nets sticking out 20 feet from each building I’m sure it would be a lot higher.
The constant poor working living and working conditions and the fact that the workers have to spend all day everyday stood up repeating the same tedious task over and over pushes a lot to suicide, although the suicide rate is not alarmingly high, it still exists and if it wasn’t for the giant nets sticking out 20 feet from each building I’m sure it would be a lot higher.
Companies using these types of sweatshops such as Apple,
Samsung, Microsoft and Sony to name a few are affected by the bad image they
put across to the consumers, if more people knew that their products were made
in sweatshops with workers forced to work long hours with little to no breaks
on less than £150 a month, I’m sure the a lot less people would buy the
products and a lot more would demand change, this puts the company under
pressure to keep their production conditions less known.
The factory owners will be effected if change does happen, which it slowly is, as it means they will have to pay their workers more, meaning they’ll have to charge more for the product meaning the Companies buying and selling these already extortionately priced products will raise the price even further to maintain profits which then in turn affects the consumer.
The factory owners will be effected if change does happen, which it slowly is, as it means they will have to pay their workers more, meaning they’ll have to charge more for the product meaning the Companies buying and selling these already extortionately priced products will raise the price even further to maintain profits which then in turn affects the consumer.
