How to Tell Real Fur From Faux Fur
by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA 
on 08.28.08
Image source: WashingtonPost.com
After reports last year of "raccoon dog" fur being used and labeled as faux fur, the Humane Society came out with a few quick tests you can use to test whether any animals were hurt in production. First, look at the base of the fur - fake fur will have a threaded backing while real fur will just have dyed skin. Second, animal fur tapers into a point - like a cat's whisker or a sewing needle. This one is harder to tell.
The third option is only for fur owners who want to check on a purchase they have already made - snip off a tiny portion of hair and light it on fire. Animal hair will smell like human hair when ignited - synthetic fur won't. If you do find that you have a fur coat and don't feel like you can wear it in good conscience, then the Humane Society has a tip for you (see below). There are other tests commonly used, such as "push-pin test, blow test, finger roll test, color of the fur, length of the fur and relative softeness of the fur" but none of these are very reliable.
The test chart also comes complete with pictures so you know exactly what you are looking for. The Humane Society includes several resources on their website like clothing companies going fur-free, and ways you can donate your furs to animal rehabilitation clinics where they are used to warm animal babies.
:Fur Free::Field Guide to Telling Animal Fur from Fake Fur
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This is a good article, but it misses the first rule of marketing: Sell what people want to buy.
From an environmentalist's perspective, some real fur, like rabbit, is very sustainable. All fake fur, and some real fur is very much unsustainable. We do not want faux fur or some real fur. No idea whether a "racoon dog" is endangered or not - is it? If they breed like rabbits, then that is the better choice over fake fur made with petroleum.
It would be better if this article discussed what is acceptable from an environmentalist's point of view, since this is the audience!!! This website is called "Treehugger" not "PETA"!!!
I don't know Brian, I kind of like an expansive, literal and figurative interpretation of the term "environmentally friendly."
Bravo, great article Kristin.
Disagree with Brian Clark, any environmentalist worth their salt should also show respect towards animals. In my opinion it is impossible to care about the Earth but not about animals as their are as important to the state of the environment as any other thing.
For me respect for the environment goes much deeper than saving money on gas or becoming independent from the electricity company, it is about our fundamental respect for all life, and the Earth itself is a form of life.
Well done to Treehugger for raising this very important concern.
Bill: That's a reasonable point, and it's a good thing this story was posted. But I think Brian has a point, in that from a broad-minded environmentalist perspective, we shouldn't just dogmatically assume that fur is bad because PETA says so. It might just be a little more complicated than that.
Some people who are treehuggers are vegetarians for ethical purposes, my husband for one. He doesn't like to eat meat or wear clothes that came from an animal either, so this article is very informative.
Thanks for the tips!
Raccoon dog fur comes predominantly from China where the dogs are raised like battery chickens, skinned alive, and watch as others are skinned.
I totally agree that no "environmentalist" should be allowed to call themself such if they have a blatant disregard for animal welfare and basic humanity. Aren't animals part of the environment too?
Fur farms in China are not regulated, produce lots of animal waste, and with all the advanced materials coming out of companies like Patagonia who needs fur to stay warm? Unless it is for show, in which case it looked better on the animal than some fat woman in Aspen.
It takes up to 65 minks to make one coat. Each mink produces 44 pounds of feces per year that just gets dumped into our waterways. If not used for pet food, the animals get discarded, creating more waste. These animals come mostly from fur farms and farming animals is one of the leading causes of climate change.
All fur must be treated or the pelt will rot just like unrefridgerated meat. The pelts are treated with harsh chemicals that are harmful to the environment.
Trappers for the fur industry have wiped out many species of wild animals. For each target animal trapped, 3 non-target animals are trapped. Traps are non-discriminatory, they will trap endangered animals as well as domestic cats and dogs. When a trapper says they don't trap non-target animals, they simply mean that they don't report it.
If you believe that fur is green you also have to believe that polluting our waters with feces and toxic chemicals as well as trapping animals to the point of extinction is green.
Brian Clark: you miss what may be the first rule of environtmentalism: respect the planet AND its creatures. Just because a certain species "breeds like rabbits" does not mean that its members should be skinned alive for a coat or be treated in such gruesome ways as the fur trade treats animals.
While rabbit fur is, in your opinion, the most sustainable option, would you still condone the rabbits being tortured before they're killed or do you not care because you only like trees? Do you even know how many rabbits must be killed to make 1 coat? Why is it okay for humans to wipe out other species in the name of being pretentious?
Either way, you're off the point of the article. Its title is "How to Tell Real Fur From Faux Fur", not "The Environmental Impact of Real Fur vs. Faux Fur". Thank you to the author for writing it.
Nothing is as warm as REAL DEAD ANIMAL SKIN. Eskimos don't wear North Face Parkas. They use the real thing, because if they don't, they will freeze to death and die. If you eat meat, you are the SAME as those that wear fur or leather. Do you wear a leather belt? How about SHOES?! It sure is hard to boycott leather shoes, especially if you have to wear a suit. Well, it is the same as fur.
Real fur is stronger, it is warmer, it is softer, it is heavier, it is gross. It is murder and a carcass on your body. It WORKS.
On a motorcycle, nothing protects you like leather. Cordura will melt to your skin and it's sippery so you'll slide three times the distance of leather's braking attributes against asphalt. Leather and fur are REAL and have valid uses. Faux is fake and for fashion.