A Small Victory for Live Skinned Raccoon Dogs

Michelle Land

On January 29th, the Humane Society of the United States announced a settlement had been reached with clothing retailer Saks Fifth Avenue on the matter of false advertising and mislabeling of fur garments.  As a result, Saks has agreed to impose new garment labeling practices and change advertising policies.  Lord & Taylor and Andrew Marc retailers have similarly settled, with Macy’s and Neiman Marcus refusing to budge in the HSUS lawsuit.

At issue is a regulatory loophole that currently allows many fur-trimmed items to be sold without informing consumers whether and what kind of fur those products contain.  As reported on the HSUS website, dozens of falsely advertised or falsely labeled fur garments were identified across the industry with Raccoon Dogs as the most commonly misrepresented type of fur.  A previous post here explained that Raccoon Dog fur is often labeled as a different animal, as “faux” fur, or possibly not even labeled at all.

Saks is now supporting legislation that will close the labeling loophole.  The Truth in Fur Labeling Act (S. 1076/H.R. 2480) was introduced by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Representatives Jim Moran (D-VA) and Mary Bono Mack (R-CA).  The proposed law will eliminate an exemption to fur product labeling requirements for products containing relatively small quantities or values of fur.  The bill is currently under committee review in both the Senate and House (and has been since May 2009).