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Costing the Earth

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

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Costing the Earth: Fur or Faux?

Fur or Faux?

09/03/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Fur or Faux?

Campaigners for fur claim it's natural, renewable and sustainable. Tom Heap investigates.

The British Fur Trade Association claim fur is natural, renewable and sustainable compared to faux fur. Tom Heap investigates to see if the green credentials stack up.

One of the most controversial clothing trends in Britain is the fashion revival of fur. In this week's 'Costing the Earth' Tom Heap investigates the claims by the British Fur Trade Association that fur is natural, renewable and a sustainable resource that's kind to the environment .He visits a fur a farm in Copenhagen where farmer Knud takes Tom around his farm that can house up to 24,000 mink. Tom sees for himself the conditions in which the animals are kept, how they're killed and how their pelts are used.

But how does Knud, and the wider industry, respond to recordings of animal cruelty and neglect from other European fur farms? And what about charities like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) who back in the 1990s ran a very successful campaign that vilified the wearing of fur? What do they make of the 'green' credentials of fur and its come back in the fashion world. 

Producer: Perminder Khatkar.

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