Dutch Advertising Standards Agency Rules Furlab Claims of ‘Ethically Sourced Fur’ Misleading

For Immediate Release:

9 June 2016

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

DUTCH ADVERTISING STANDARDS AGENCY RULES FURLAB CLAIMS OF ‘ETHICALLY SOURCED FUR’ MISLEADING

Following a PETA Netherlands Complaint, Dutch Fur-Marketing Company Furlab Is Ordered to Remove ‘Unsubstantiated Claims’ From Website

Amsterdam – Furlab, an initiative set up to sell fur and promote its use, has been found to be in breach of the Dutch Advertising Code by misleading consumers with the claim that its products are “100% ethically sourced”. The ruling comes in response to a complaint by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Netherlands.

On its website, Furlab stated that the welfare of animals used to make its products can be “guaranteed” because they were all reared and killed in countries featured on the “Origin Assured” list – a questionable hallmark created by the International Fur Federation, whose sole purpose is to promote the use of fur. However, in a detailed letter of complaint to the Advertising Standards Agency, PETA Netherlands – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – referenced investigations of fur farms in Origin Assured countries, which documented that animals were imprisoned in small, barren cages; covered with faeces; and driven insane by the confinement.

The standard methods of killing animals throughout the industry include causing a concussion before slitting the throat, electrocution until a heart attack is induced and carbon monoxide poisoning in gas chambers.

The Advertising Standards Agency agreed with PETA Netherlands that Furlab’s claims are wholly unsubstantiated and could lead consumers into making purchases they would never have made otherwise. The agency has instructed Furlab to remove the misleading claims from its website.

“The Dutch fur industry’s attempt to dupe the public into believing that raising and killing millions of animals every year for their fur can ever be anything but a violent and bloody business has failed miserably”, says PETA UK Director Mimi Bekhechi. “With the Dutch ban on fur farming due to take effect in 2024, it’s time for the fur industry to accept that there is no future in torturing animals for their skin and find a more humane way to make a living.”

For more information about the fur industry and the Origin Assured label, please visit PETA.org.uk or http://petauk.org/originassured.

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