Fashion retailer Saks Fifth Avenue announced it will stop selling fur across all its facilities by the end of 2022. Through an escalated approach, Saks will stop selling fur items made by its partners and private label merchandise. The commitment applies to fur from animals raised for their skins such as the Silver fox or mink and fur sourced wild animals such as rabbits.
Saks will also close all of its fur salons by the end of 2021. However, while the retailer is banning fur, Saks will continue to sell lambskin, sheepskin, down, leather, and other animal materials.
Saks opened its first store in 1867 joining a growing number of retailers to ban fur. In 2019, Macy’s committed to no longer sell fur at all of its outlets including all Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s private brands. Also, Nordstrom announced last year that it will stop the sale of fur and other exotic animal skins by the end of 2021 at all of its branches, including Nordstrom’s e-commerce sites.
“Saks Fifth Avenue’s fur-free announcement is a game changer, Clearly consumers no longer want animal cruelty in their wardrobes, and credit to Saks for recognizing that the future of luxury is about innovative alternatives that are better for animals and the environment. More and more brands and companies are adopting fur-free policies and it’s only a matter when, not if, the few remaining fashion brands will catch up with this new standard.”Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States
Fur is Passe
Retailers, brands, and designers are committing to banning fur from their product lines. In February Adidas became the 1,500th company to join the Fur Free. The Fur Free Retailer program currently operates in more than 25 countries and counts H&M, Prada, Zara, Gucci, and many other companies which have pledged to no longer include fur in their collections.