As fashion moves further away from ‘exotic’ materials like fur, a new trend among elite designers, retailers and consumers has sustainability advocates and environmentalists up in a row; feathers.
Though feathers do have a controlled use in items like down-filled puffy winter jackets, decorative feathers used as trim or plumage used in lieu of fur have been featured on pieces worn on the red carpet and on fashion week runways.
Many items sold by department stores and online retailers that imitate these looks for ordinary consumers say that they contain ‘faux’ feathers, but it might not be the case.
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A disturbing discovery
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A report released on October 26 by Collective Fashion Justice and the animal welfare organization World Animal Protection found many inconsistencies regarding the labeling of ‘faux feather’ items on several online and department stores.
In their report, numerous brands and retailers selling items at various price points such as Revolve, Net-a-Porter, Boohoo, SSENSE and Nordstrom (JWN) -) “were found to be selling garments which were not advertised as made with bird feather trim, despite this being the case,” and that some of them “included images of dresses clearly trimmed with real feathers labelled as made with a ‘faux fur’ and even ‘faux feather’ trim.
Additionally, Collective Fashion Justice and World Animal Protection employed independent technical textile analysis by UK-based firm Microtex, which found that items sourced from online retailers such as ASOS, Selfridges and Boohoo that were said to have ‘faux’ or synthetic feathers actually contained genuine animal feathers.
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According to the Business of Fashion, online fast fashion retailers Boohoo and Asos, as well as department store Selfridges said that they removed removed the products identified by the investigation from their websites, while Net-a-Porter removed and updated a listing after finding that a technical error led to mislabeling.
Tests done by Asos confirmed the environmentalist’s findings, while Selfridges found that a factory in its supply chain mislabeled a product containing both faux feathers and turkey feathers.
Boohoo, Asos and Selfridges have policies prior to the investigation regarding the usage of feathers, of which they are looking to tighten.
A past mistake made again
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Mislabeling so-called ‘faux’ animal products is not a new phenomenon, as items containing real fur labeled as ‘faux fur’ has slipped under the radar in the past.
Though the industry and its followers become more conscious about the origins of materials, the mystery surrounding fashion’s supply chains impacts both shoppers and the industry at large.
“Consumers are at risk of buying something that’s not aligned with their values and contributing to an industry without being given a choice,” said World Animal Protection campaign head Suzanne Milthorpe. “It almost seems like feathers are starting to replace fur and we’re really concerned by that trend. It’s really important not to replace one cruelty with another.”
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