NEWSLETTER
1707
Fur Sector Enters Product Environmental Footprint Initiative
Oct 15, 2019
by Vladislava Gospodinova
The European fur sector has entered the European Product Environmental Footprint initiative as part of the technical secretariat on apparel and footwear products.
The technical secretariat is coordinated by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and includes fashion brands and other textile sectors such as the leather and wool sector, which work together to develop PEFCRs. The Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) are guidelines which clarify how to apply the Product Environmental Footprint method to measure the environmental footprint of products.
The European Commission has developed the initiative amid pressure for a harmonised method assessing the environmental impact of products. At the moment, there are different ways to do that and numerous labels around, all the while European consumers are asking for more transparency.
Currently, PEF is a non-legally binding recommendation. The Commission hopes that after testing the criteria with more products, it will become the basis for EU-wide legislation benchmarking goods from batteries to pasta and clothing materials. The pilot phase proved it possible to track environmental performance across large-scale supply chains. The uplifting results mean the European Commission has given the green light to the next stage, the so-called transition phase, in which existing PEFCRs can be implemented and new ones - like the one covering natural fur - can be developed.
In three years, when the transition phase of research and consultations is over, the apparel and footwear sector hopes to have the tools to measure precisely the environmental impact of their products. These rules will also apply to fur, and this will enable the fur sector to calculate the environmental footprint and label fur products accordingly.
Other Stories In This Issue
1704
EU Animal Welfare Centre designated to Fur Animals
Oct 14, 2019
by Mick Madsen
The European Commission has designated the second EU Reference Centre for Animal Welfare to the welfare of poultry and other "small farmed animals", effectively covering species farmed for their fur in Europe.
The centre is constituted of a consortium formed by the Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation (France), and also composed of the Institut de Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (Spain), Aarhus Universitet – Institut for Husdyrvidenskab (Denmark), and Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (Italy).
Paradoxically, animal lobby groups earlier this year protested against an Animal Welfare Reference Centre designated farmed fur animals, and vegan lobby group Four Paws raised this objection again at a meeting at the EU Platform on Animal Welfare on 7 October. However, now former Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis replied that if fur farming is based on science and animal welfare standards "it is not his business to ban the activity." He referred to his own upbringing in Siberia where fur clothes were necessary to keep warm.
A new institution in the EU, the Reference Centres represent an important part of European animal welfare policy. The Reference Centres aim to improve the enforcement of the legislation on animal welfare, which is one of the Commission's priorities. They also contribute to the dissemination of good practices on animal welfare in the EU. In particular, by providing scientific and technical expertise, carrying out studies and developing methods for improving and assessing the welfare level of animals.
The second EU Reference Centre for Animal Welfare will start operating in 2020.
1697
LVMH Relies On WelFur for Sourcing Fur
Oct 10, 2019
by Vladislava Gospodinova
The Luxury giant LVMH describes fur as a "key resource" and commits to sourcing the natural material only from certified farms.
In a new annual Environmental report, the luxury group provides WelFur as an example of a recognised European quality standard on fur that is being produced in a responsible and sustainable way.
Sustainable sourcing of raw materials of animal origin is a big part of the sustainability efforts of the luxury giant, which encompass under its umbrella fashion brands such as FENDI, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior.
This is not the first time when the science-based animal welfare programme WelFur is being positively highlighted. Earlier this year, the report on Kering Animal Welfare Standards report mentioned WelFur as a reliable tool to measure animal welfare on fur farms.
Besides fur, LVMH wants to work with certified supplies of cotton, exotic skins, leather and wool. Due to environmental concerns the brands under LVMH are replacing conventional cotton with organic cotton or more sustainable cotton sources through the Better Cotton Initiative. The luxury group is encouraging its wool supplies to adopt the Responsible Wool Standards in order to ensure the well-being of animals farmed for wool.
1703
Video: Young People Discover the Fur Supply Chain
Oct 13, 2019
by Vladislava Gospodinova
A group of young people go on a journey across the fur supply chain and experience natural fur from farm to fashion during the Fur Summer School 2019.
Twenty-six students, aged 19-34, gathered at the end of the summer in the most prominent fur hub Kastoria and Siatista in Greece to learn about fur.
For ten days they were getting behind-the-scenes access to farms, dressing and dyeing plants and manufacturing companies to discover how natural fur fits with sustainability. Find out how do these young people feel about fur in the video.
Read more about the people behind the fur sector here.
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It is time for a new European animal welfare law
Oct 08, 2019
by Mick Madsen
EU’s animal welfare legislation is not comprehensive enough. This is the clear-cut conclusion of a survey undertaken amongst EU’s 28 chief veterinary officers on commission of the Finnish Presidency. No less than 88 percent of the 24 vets who responded to the questionnaire are in favour of stricter animal welfare legislation, Politico reports.
"This is a very clear message from the state vets, and it matches the expectations of the European people, who repeatedly ask for more animal welfare according to the annual Eurobarometer surveys. I think it’s time to seriously consider a European animal welfare framework Law," Mette Lykke Nielsen, CEO of Fur Europe, said.
The idea of having a single EU animal welfare framework law enjoyed support from 63 percent of the countries in the survey, while 87 percent said there is a need for additional legislation on areas where no detailed laws are in place at the moment. A whopping 91 percent answered that animal welfare should have a more central role in EU trade agreements with third-countries.
EU has not adopted any animal welfare legislation since the killing method regulation from 2009. It is widely recognised in Brussels circles that this is due to animal welfare simply not being high on the political agenda. The Finnish Presidency however, seems determined to change that with the likely outcome being a European Council conclusion by the end of Finland’s term. Conclusions are adopted by the by consensus between all EU Member States and used to identify specific issues of concern, and influence EU’s policy agenda.
"Animal welfare is clearly a common European matter, and all parts of our society is pointing in the same direction. We believe EU should take the cue and lead the way on animal welfare. When EU is passive on animal welfare they leave a room for all kinds of radical animal initiatives, and to be honest I think both people and animals are best off if we approach animal welfare with a base in scientific knowledge rather than emotional hysteria," Mette Lykke Nielsen said. She points out that EU already has the tools to efficiently improve animal welfare standards in Europe from the Welfare Quality project, the largest animal welfare project in the world to date, which set out to develop principles for animal welfare assessment from a multidisciplinary perspective. The European fur sector’s WelFur programme is based on and peer-reviewed against these principles.
"WelFur has already been validated and adopted in the European Commission’s database for self-regulations. Soon we will have the assessment data ready and thus a clear picture of our welfare standards. The extensive data set is also the starting point for future welfare improvements as well as new research, for example under the umbrella of the new animal welfare reference centre for fur animals. This is the real quality of WelFur and Welfare Quality," Mette Lykke Nielsen said.