Vegetarian Star

Like shows in New York and Milan, fur is unfortunately being featured as a big trend for fall/winter 2010 at the annual Toronto Fashion Week.

Promoters of fur sometimes tout the material as being sustainable.

Fashion journalist Adrian Mainella said, “People don’t typically discard fur products as readily as they do cloth products, windbreakers, coats, synthetic sweaters. They usually keep them and pass them down.”

Ideally all fur wearers would continually donate, pass down or pass around their furs among other fur lovers, thus eliminating the need to produce more.

However, despite Mainella’s claims that furs stick around for a long time, every year designers introduce new collections, resulting in more animals killed and more chemicals given off in the environment that cause multiple health problems in humans.

Mainella said the designers in Toronto’s show work in collaboration with the North American Fur Trade Association, an organization that sets standards that include giving animals a “sleeping gas” to kill them, versus more painful methods allegedly used in other countries.

However, this does nothing to ameliorate the stress of an animal being confined in a cage until it awaits its fate.

At least Mainella is respectful of animal rights protesters and their opinions.

“For those who protest or speak to animal rights, I mean that’s the beauty of this country — you should be able to voice your opinion,” he added.

“But at the same time, those who care to participate in purchasing things like fur and buying meat in their groceries or poultry or those who enjoy leather products, they should be able to freely do the same.”

The fur stops flying in Toronto this Thursday when fashion week ends.

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