Animal Rights Advocates Goal Max Mara, Galeries Lafayette in Paris Protests

PARIS — Animal rights group Collectif SIPE is focusing on Max Mara‘s boutique on Avenue Montaigne in addition to Galeries Lafayette’s flagship on Boulevard Haussmann in a collection of demonstrations.

They’re protesting the continued use of animal fur by the model’s guardian Max Mara Group, the privately held firm that additionally owns Weekend Max Mara, Sportmax, Max & Co. and Marina Rinaldi, amongst others, in addition to discrepancies in Galeries Lafayette’s itemizing of a few of the group’s merchandise.

The group filed a criticism Tuesday with France’s promoting regulation authority ARPP for false promoting. The submitting famous that objects listed on Galeries Lafayette’s web site described Weekend Max Mara merchandise as having an artificial “fur impact,” whereas the label’s web site signifies “actual asiatic-raccoons fur, fur origin” within the composition of the identical objects.

It was not instantly clear if the Galeries Lafayette listings have been deliberately deceptive or an oversight. A spokesperson for Galeries Lafayette company division stated the corporate declines to touch upon these merchandise.

Berlin-based Zalando had additionally listed the Weekend Max Mara coats with the outline “fake fur.” It eliminated the objects Thursday after being contacted by SIPE. The European procuring website has been a part of the “Fur Free Retailer” program since 2016.

“Zalando doesn’t allow animals to be slaughtered solely for the aim of trend. We consider that killing animals solely for the needs of trend merchandise is pointless,” the corporate says on its web site.

SIPE can be asking Max Mara Group to get rid of using fur throughout all manufacturers.

“We’re asking them one easy factor — to undertake a fur-free coverage,” a SIPE spokesperson advised WWD. “We all know it’s an achievable goal. They don’t depend on fur [as a core product]. They simply have some, and they don’t must depend on the fur business to outlive as an organization.”

The SIPE spokesperson famous that Max Mara works with Finland-based Saga furs, which observe manufacturing unit farming utilizing cages; and auctions fox, mink and raccoon canine fur.

The group stated the protests can be ongoing till Max Mara commits to a fur-free coverage. “We’re utilizing our proper to protest, till they resolve to eliminate us by eliminating the fur.”

“Max Mara is attempting arduous to not have a dialog with us,” the spokesperson added, noting the group had reached out to the corporate by way of a number of channels. “We ask simply to have a dialog about our request, or how we are able to work collectively towards [a fur-free policy].”

Representatives for Max Mara didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Adopting a fur-free coverage would put Max Mara in step with different luxurious homes comparable to Armani, Burberry, Chanel, Prada, Valentino and Versace, which have stopped promoting fur, though it isn’t a core a part of their companies.

French luxurious conglomerate Kering dedicated to a fur-free coverage throughout all manufacturers together with Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Gucci, which got here into impact with the autumn 2022 collections. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, guardian firm of Dior and Fendi, continues to make use of fur.

Retailers within the U.S. together with Macy’s, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, and Hudson’s Bay in Canada, have adopted fur-free insurance policies. On-line retailer Farfetch additionally banned fur objects from its choices in 2019.

Fur farming has been banned in 19 European international locations, 14 of that are EU member states. Strict animal welfare legal guidelines in Germany and Switzerland have successfully closed all fur farms in these international locations, and Norway’s fur farming ban will come into impact in 2025.

Denmark, Hungary and Sweden have some animal welfare necessities and breed bans in place, however haven’t outright stopped the observe.

After crossing the 1.5 million signature threshold underneath the European Residents Initiative, a petition from Fur Free Europe which requires a European block-wide ban on farming and killing of animals for fur manufacturing, was submitted to the European Fee in June.