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Fur
50-5000 usd/kg
Fur is a controversial material in that animals are farmed and killed for their skins (pelage). While the use of fur was fundamental to the development and survival of humankind, as a by-product of hunter-gathering, nowadays we have central heating and technical fibres. As a result, in most of the world, fur is considered a premium item, and marketed as such by luxury brands.
Certification schemes have been setup to try to provide consumers with reassurance when buying fur. For example, Furmark is a traceability programme that covers sustainability, animal welfare and the dressing and the dyeing of fur according to international standards.
Its properties and qualities are very desirable and provide inspiration for future material development. Synthetic faux fur has environmental consequences of its own, but offers an animal free option for extreme weather clothing. There are several plastic fibres that are produced to look and feel like fur, including polyacrylonitrile (PAN), acrylic fibre, cellulose based viscose, and polyethylene terephthalate (PES), polyester. They are produced with an airy lightness, multilayered pile, and coloured to resemble animals’ natural markings.
Sustainability concerns
Non-renewable ingredients
Raw material generates polluting by-products
Low circularity potential
Potentially toxic in use
Sourced from animals
Fur is naturally soft, insulating and waterproof – after all it protects the animal from cold and harsh weather during its life. It is made up of two layers: the long guard hairs and dense insulating undercoat. The stiffer guard hairs provide protection against rain and dirt and often provide the colour. The dense undercoat (ground hair) is shorter, softer and water shedding. The differentiation between these two depends on the animal. For example, rabbits tend to have a more homogenous coat compared to racoon dog, fox, wolf and coyote that have a distinctive guard hair structure. The skin of furs is soft and elastic, not like cowhide. So they are often stitched or laminated to a more robust fabric substrate.
There are many conflicting studies and its hard to pin down exact numbers for the datapoints – so some assumptions have been made based on comparable industries, such as farming, wool and leather – but it is clear that fur production involves a large quantity of food, water and chemicals, all of which contribute to the significant carbon footprint of the fur farming industry.
