Inspection of Clothing Sold in Australia Reveals Cat Leather Despite "Wool" Labels
Animal Justice Party and Fashion Ethics Group Call for Total Fur Ban
In Australia, controversy has arisen after it was revealed that children's clothing sold as "100% Australian wool vests" was actually made from cat leather and rabbit fur.
A children's vest sold at a shopping mall in Australia labeled as "100% wool." In reality, cat leather and rabbit fur were used. Collective Fashion Justice Instagram
According to foreign media outlets such as the New York Post on June 23 (local time), the fashion ethics organization Collective Fashion Justice and the Australian political party Animal Justice Party recently conducted a joint investigation. They confirmed that children's vests sold at the Suttons Ugg store in a Melbourne shopping mall contained cat and rabbit fur.
The joint investigation team commissioned Microtex, a UK-based textile analysis institute, to test several products available on the market. Analysis revealed that children's clothing labeled as "100% Australian sheepskin or wool" used cat leather on both the front and back of the vest. The remaining parts of the vest were also found to contain rabbit fur. In addition, some beanies labeled as "100% acrylic" were found to contain fox and raccoon fur.
Emma H?kansson, head of Collective Fashion Justice, stated, "Consumers believed they were purchasing wool, but in reality, the products contained cat leather." She pointed out, "This is not the first time that fur materials have been illegally mislabeled on items sold in Australia." She added, "For years, we have been regularly testing fur products on the market, and each time, label forgery has been detected."
George Purcell, a member of the Animal Justice Party, has called for a ban on the sale of animal fur. He argued, "Whether it is cat, dog, rabbit, or fox, one unchanging fact is that all are cruel," and insisted, "The distribution and sale of animal fur must be completely banned throughout Australia."
Suttons Ugg, the company that sold the problematic products, admitted to Australia's ABC News that "the vest labels were incorrect." They explained, "We were told by the manufacturer that it was a 'special kind of fur,' but we cannot confirm whether cat fur was included." Suttons Ugg is unrelated to "UGG Since 1974," the iconic Australian Ugg boots brand.
According to Australian consumer protection law, companies that make false or misleading claims about products can be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars (about 44.3 billion won), while individuals can face fines of up to 2.5 million Australian dollars (about 2.2 billion won).
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