The title to this post is from Peta's campaign against my (ex) favorite designer, Donna Karan. I don't like their approach so much, in the sense that "Bunny Butcher" is pure sensationalism, but I can't deny that I was profoundly disappointed in Donna's use of rabbit fur in her latest collection. Sure, it looks great, it feels great, but you know what? It's just plain wrong to kill another living thing for pleasure. There are laws against it all over the world. There are also laws against mass-murder, and that doesn't seem to apply to what happens behind the closed doors of the food and fur industries.
I can already hear people saying: "Yes, but we've been using animal skin to dress ourselves since the dawn of times! We NEED to dress ourselves!" Yes, and it's not the fact that animal skin is being used to make clothing that gets me, but the industrialized killing part of the deal. Cavemen would be as disgusted as I am, and they were killing animals for survival, BTW, to eat the meat and recycle the skins to make clothing for harsh conditions. Our ancestors didn't have the knowledge we have today, they didn't know much about nutrition, or fashion. Today, we know of better, more ethical ways of dressing (and feeding ourselves, too), we have access to all types of natural and synthetic fibers from all over the world. Better even, we have literally TONS of materials from old discarded clothing! But instead of reusing all that, we kill more living creatures.
In any case, I took "action". This was a pre-written email by Peta, I modified it to include other arguments, notably about recycling, which I think is very ethical and necessary. (can't erase past butchery, but let not these noble creatures have died in vain!) Anyways, here's a copy of the mail I sent to Donna Karan International :
"I was shocked to learn that Donna Karan continues to use real, un-recycled fur in her designs. There is nothing fashionable or elegant about how animals are killed in the fur industry. Animals on fur farms spend their entire lives confined to cramped, filthy wire cages. Fur farmers use the cheapest and cruelest killing methods available, including suffocation, electrocution, gassing, and poisoning.
I am disappointed that Donna Karan is promoting cruelty to animals when luxurious cruelty-free materials are readily available. Whether it comes from minks, foxes, raccoons, chinchillas, beavers, rabbits, or lynx, fur looks best on its original owners.
I'm not an animal freak, but I do believe that as the conscious, intelligent human beings that we are, we should not kill living creatures for pleasure rather than necessity. Even animals don't do that. And no, high-end fashion is not a "necessity". At worse, why not use recycled fur, like designer Mariouche for Harricana? Better ethically, and probably also financially."
If you, too, would like to send out this letter (or at least the pre-made one), go to PETA's website.
I'll leave you all with a small video which explains exactly what is wrong with the world today. (skirmish stomachs better abstain)
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