Learning from seafood industry systems that trace products from origin to consumption could ensure transparency and bring order to complex supply chains. The absence of strong regulatory measures allows for illegally obtained skins to be passed off as legal.īetter quality control of fashion materials could make it harder for companies to work with these suppliers. Many brands source fur, feathers and skins from factory farms that raise exotic species and legally trade captive-bred endangered species that are illegal to source from the wild. California has also banned them from being sold. Fashion houses including Chanel, Nine West and Victoria Beckham are banning the use of exotic leathers. Now animal welfare advocates are focusing on leather and wool production. Seriously enough,” the consulting firm McKinsey observed in a recent report, noting that many younger consumers were demanding “transformational change.” Progress, fashion hasn’t yet taken its environmental responsibilities PETA has claimed victory for its 30-year campaign, “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur.” “Nearly every top designer has shed fur, California has banned it, Queen Elizabeth II has renounced it, Macy’s is closing its fur salons, and now, the largest fur auction house in North America has filed for bankruptcy,” said PETA senior vice president Dan Mathews when the campaign ended in 2020. Some companies have responded to campaigns by advocacy groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has crashed runways and solicited celebrities. The global fashion industry, with an estimated annual valuation of US$3 trillion, is an important target for change. While many question whether Asians will stop eating wild animals, we question whether Western consumers will stop wearing them. However, media exposés are making it hard for wealthy consumers and businesses to deny its impact. Western countries mostly import wildlife goods, which can make the effects of this trade seem far removed. From Instagram Targeting the fashion industry Their ads promote virility - “Just a hard-working, tough as nails, pair of American made cowboy boots” - and promise that others will be impressed, with messages like “No ignoring these elephants when they’re in the room.”Īn outfitter markets elephant-skin boots with a play on words promising that people who wear them will get attention. Performing a quick online search, we identified more than 30 retailers selling elephant leather products in the United States, mainly exotic boots. demand for boots sheathed with the scales of pangolins – the world’s most-trafficked mammal and a suspected source of COVID-19 – has contributed to this species’ decline. Giraffe skins are also legal goods that may be sold as expensive décor, boots or Bible covers. Poaching of elephants for ivory has received wide coverage in Western media, but their skins turn up in boots that are legally marketed in wealthy nations. Trophy hunters’ photographs and showrooms with taxidermied lions or elephant tusks appeal to perceptions of masculinity. In Asia, ground pangolin scales are marketed as a treatment for lactation problems. Conceptions of gender most often determine the perceived value of the product and shape consumption preferences.įor example, products like fish swim bladder – also known as aquatic cocaine – and cosmetics containing shark liver oil appeal to perceptions of female beauty, targeting aging women with false promises of eternal youth. What people consume and how is influenced by socially conditioned roles and responsibilities, reinforced by television and advertising. Similarly, luxury wear items – such as exotic giraffe leather boots in Texas, python skin jackets in Milan and fur coats in Florida – are a way of dressing to impress others. What do a 150-ounce steak in the United States and tiger penis wine in China have in common? The culturally symbolic belief that they exemplify and promote male virility. The number of shipments declared each year more than doubled between 20.Ĭonsumption reflects social values, and consumer preferences vary by culture, class and gender. They included mammals, birds, fish and reptiles purchased as exotic pets, along with timber, plants and animal parts. ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images The roles of gender, class and cultureĪccording to a 2017 study, between 20 the United States imported more than 5 million shipments of live and dead wildlife. A customs officer stands near sacks of seized pangolin scales in Hong Kong in 2019.
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