December 2009: Various protests during the action week against the fur-trade (with pictures)
08.01.2010
The international campaigns against the fur-trade of Max Mara Fashion Group and Escada appealed for a common week of action from December 18th to 24th. Especially during the alleged contemplative Christmas time and the wish to go shopping of many people, neither the companies nor the customers should forget their responsibility, when they are selling or buying so-called “fur-products”.
Various actions were not only taking place in numerous cities in Germany and Italy, but also in many other countries like Sweden, Austria, Great Britain, France and the USA. Information desks and daily leafletting, demonstrations and telephone action days or creative protesting with an executioner and artificial blood, just to name some. In that week we did not just show the companies what we think of them, but we also informed customers and the public at large about the background of “fur-products” (Run-down of actions).
Every year there are still dying 50.000.000 individuals for the fur industry. They are degraded to mere objects during their whole life. At the end of this tragic and short life they are killed for their fur. No matter if the animal is called a goat, rabbit, mink, fox or coon, the luxury fashion companies Max Mara and Escada accept this systematic and highly organized violence in order to gain profit out of the dead bodies of those animals. Escada as well as Max Mara play a decisive role in guaranteeing the survival of the fur industry and moreover hold up as an example for the whole fashion sector. Despite numerous demands for an end of their fur-trade and hundreds of actions in front of their stores, those companies stick to their bloody business policy.
The aims of the animal liberationists are of course not to install bigger cages for the animals. They want to finish the fur industry, as one out of many forms of animal exploitation, through persistent campaigns. This aim is far from unrealistic. Using purposeful campaigns in the past, companies in the fashion sector were put under an enormous pressure. Numerous companies finally gave in and ended their fur-trade, what had fatal consequences for the fur industry, that has been complaining about a decline in sales for years now. In Germany campaigns against C&A, Karstadt and Peek & Cloppenburg could be finished successfully. Other companies like Kaufhof or Gerry Weber agreed to quit the fur-trade already after the network “Offensive gegen die Pelzindustrie” (Offensive against the fur industry) only announced protests. Since that time the protesting has been concentrating on the luxury fashion company Escada.
The Italian animal liberationists also finished several campaigns against leading fashion companies like Diesel, Miss Sixty, Stefanel or the COIN-group successfully. Now Max Mara is one of the few remaining companies, that carries on dealing with real fur. The campaign against Max Mara will continue as long as they are selling fur. With Max Mara quitting the fur-trade, the already decreasing sales of fur products would decrease even more. In addition it would point out that, regarding fur, the animal liberation movement has more staying power than those wealthy companies.
Further Information:
Reports, information and the background of protests and campaigns against the fur industry at the homepage of the “Offensive gegen die Pelzindustrie” (Offensive against the fur industry): www.offensive-gegen-die-pelzindustrie.net
Action calls, reports and the background of the global campaign against the fur-trade of the luxury fashion company Escada at the homepage of the Escada-campaign: www.antifur-campaign.org
Information about the international campaign against the fur-trade of Max Mara at the homepage of the Italian campaigning alliance “Attaca l´industria della pellicca”: www.maxmaracampaign.net/en