Armani Group to stop using real animal fur

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MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 20: Designer Giorgio Armani acknowledges the applause of the audience after Emporio Armani show as a part of Milan Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2014 on September 20, 2013 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)

The Armani Group announced this week that it has committed to stop using real animal fur in future collections across all its labels, starting with its Fall 2016 lines.

Giorgio Armani explained his brand’s pledge in conjunction with the Humane Society and the Fur Free Alliance in a statement via WWD:

“I am pleased to announce that the Armani Group has made a firm commitment to abolish the use of animal fur in its collections. Technological progress made over the years allows us to have valid alternatives at our disposition that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals. Pursuing the positive process undertaken long ago, my company is now taking a major step ahead, reflecting our attention to the critical issues of protecting and caring for the environment and animals.”

Per Jezebel, the Armani Group includes the brands Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Privé, AJ Armani Jeans, A/X Armani Exchange, Armani Junior and Armani Casa.

Other designers like Stella McCartney, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein have also consciously moved away from using fur, and Hugo Boss made the same pledge last year.

“[Armani] was dealing with the industry-wide assumption within the fashion industry that fur equates to luxury,” Humane Society president Wayne Pacelle said. “That was always a questionable assumption, since you can buy strips of raccoon dog or fox fur for as little as $5 apiece or less. In fact, top quality faux fur can cost more. The quality of faux fur these days is exceptional and comes with no moral problems.”

According to the Fur Information Council of America, 70 percent of designers who showed Fall 2016 collections in New York, London, Milan and Paris featured some element of fur.