House of Fraser and Missguided have responded to claims they’ve been selling faux fur products that contain real fur.
Investigations by Sky News and Humane Society International UK (HSI/UK) found some items marked as “fake fur” for sale in UK shops, were actually made from four different types of animal fur.
According to Sky News, fibre specialist Dr Phil Greaves found the fur to be sourced from rabbit, raccoon dog, mink and cat.
Items containing real fur were found in the department store House of Fraser and online retailer Missguided.
House of Fraser has now removed a pair of gloves, made by one of their concessions, Moda In Pelle, after Dr Greaves found they were made from rabbit fur.
A House of Fraser spokesperson told The Huffington Post UK: “House of Fraser has a strict no fur policy and we ensure all of our suppliers and brand partners are aware of this.
“We would never knowingly mislead our customers, who we believe have the right to know what they purchasing.
“We are extremely concerned that fur can be mislabelled in this way, particularly for brands that we stock.
“Our customers want assurances that House of Fraser is not complicit in such unnecessary suffering of animals and we take this issue very seriously and have communicated this to the brand in question.
“As a result all products have been removed from sale and returned to the brand. We will offer a full refund on any purchases of this item previously made.”
According to Sky News, consumer Donna Allison bought a pair of heels from Missguided and she suspected the pom poms on the shoes were real fur. After contacting the brand directly on Twitter with her concern, she claims they initially “dismissed it as being faux”.
However Missguided has now told The Huffington Post UK the brand is investigating the claims.
“Missguided does not condone the use of fur in any of its products, therefore we take the allegations made by Sky News very seriously,” the spokesperson said.
“We have launched an internal investigation with the relevant suppliers and will ensure these matters are addressed urgently.”
Commenting on the investigation Claire Bass, executive director of HSI/UK, said: “It is extremely concerning to find cat fur on sale illegally in the UK, both because of the cruelty that cat and all fur products represent, but also because it will rightly dent the confidence of consumers seeking to buy only fake fur.
“Fake faux fur is a growing problem.”
The investigation raises the larger question of transparency throughout the entire manufacturing process.
Last year, ‘Good Morning Britain’ correspondent Katy Rickitt went undercover in Forever 21 and found a real fur item being marketed as fake in store.
And in 2015, another investigation by the Humane Society International/UK (HSI/UK) and the BBC’s ‘Fake Britain’ found real fur in House of Fraser and TK Maxx, and called out the retailers for failing to provide clear information on their labels about whether their fur is real or fake.
The Huffington Post UK has contacted Moda In Pelle for comment and will update this article on their response.