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With the announcement, Macy's becomes the first major American retailer to ban "unethically sourced" fur.
- Macy's, Inc. has announced that they will stop selling fur products that are not ethically sourced by the end of fiscal year 2020.
- The ban includes every brand and subsidiary owned by Macy's Inc., including their namesake
retail chain and Bloomingdale's department stores, which the company owns. - The term "unethically sourced" stems from the fact that often, animals popular only for their fur and not commonly used for food - such as foxes, rabbits, and minks - are put through "cruel" conditions for their fur, the New York Times reports.
- As result, Macy's, Inc.'s new fur policy will be in compliance with the Fur Free Alliance guidelines, which allow "ethically sourced" fur products from animals ethically raised for food, such as sheep and cattle, per CNN.
- The company is just the latest to move away from "unethically sourced" fur, following Gucci and the state of California.
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Macy's, Inc. - and all of its stores, subsidiaries, vendors, suppliers, and private brands - will be fur-free by the end of fiscal year 2020.
In a press statement released on their website, the company announced a new policy that complies with the guidelines set by animal rights organization Fur Free Alliance, which bans the use of all animal furs except "fur that is a by-product of domestic farming to feed our society."
"We curate our assortment based on the wants and needs of our customers. Our customer is migrating away from natural fur and we are aligning with this trend. With the rise of new fabric technology, alternatives like faux fur and other fabric innovations make this a seamless transition for our customers," the retail company wrote on its website.
The fur ban is effective immediately in Macy's private brands
The company's other brands and subsidiaries will be fur free by the end of fiscal year 2020. This also means that the company will be shuttering all Macy's Fur Vault and Bloomingdale's Maximillian locations, which store and otherwise service customers' furs.
"We remain committed to providing great fashion and value to our customers, and we will continue to offer high-quality and fashionable faux fur alternatives," said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy's, Inc., in the company's press release.
Macy's, Inc. is just the latest entity in the retail sector to step away from selling fur, following luxury brands Gucci, Chanel, and Burberry. The state of California also enacted a ban on the sale and manufacture of new animal fur products starting in 2023.
"We applaud Macy's, Inc.'s forward-thinking and principled decision to end the sale of fur by the end of fiscal 2020," Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement for the same press release. "This announcement is consistent with the views of countless consumers in the marketplace, and other retailers should follow. With so many designers, major cities and now a state taking a stand against the sale of fur, we're that much closer to ending this unnecessary and inhumane practice."