LONDON, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Customers now have the green light to buy and wear natural fur with total confidence with the launch of a comprehensive global certification and traceability system that guarantees animal welfare and environmental standards, Furmark^®. In the biggest industry shakeup to date, the fur trade is transforming the way it processes natural fur through its supply chain.

Available globally and developed by the International Fur Federation (IFF)—with input from LVMH Group (the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate), and key brands—Furmark^® products are traceable, verified, and guaranteed to have met recognised standards.

Furmark^® will change how fur is seen and open up fur to a whole new market and audience: it answers the unfounded accusations of those opposed to fur. The sector, industry leaders, scientists, sustainability leads, and welfare experts have come together to agree a set of recognised standards—based on science, independent inspection, and transparency—and a global labelling regime that is set to modernise natural fur.

Furmark^®-certified products have a unique alphanumeric label code that provides full traceability details (fur type; fur origin, animal welfare programme; manufacturer; and place of manufacture), ensuring consumers can buy natural fur with confidence.

Furmark^® certification means consistent standards across the supply chain: it only incorporates wild or farm-raised natural fur from the leading animal welfare programmes (including the first animal welfare programme to be promoted through the European Commission's Self-Regulation and Co-Regulation Initiative, WelFur) sold through the auction system.

Fully certified products must be processed by accredited dressers and dyers who meet the SafeFur Standard (covering sustainability, chemical usage, emissions, and product safety) which includes third-party testing. Furmark^®-certified products can only be manufactured by businesses that have passed due diligence checks conducted by brand protection and anti-counterfeiting experts. Each step of the process is recorded via a customer-accessible traceability component, ensuring transparency across the supply chain.

Each animal welfare and sustainability programme has a detailed, independently-developed, and science-based protocol or standard. The respective programmes are then subject to third-party assessment and certified by a recognised certification body. Strict, active enforcement is ensured via visits and assessments: those that do not meet standards are excluded from the certification programme and the Furmark^® system.

New global research showed that 70% of the public are "open" in some form to designers and brands using natural fur. A majority (65%) of those individuals responded positively to Furmark^® and more than half (56%) say it "very positively" or "positively" changes their view of natural fur.

Mark Oaten, CEO, IFF, said: "This is a game changer: if people had doubts about buying or wearing natural fur, then they have been answered with Furmark^®."

"Our centuries-old trade is undergoing its most significant transformation to date; traceable, sustainable products represent the real alternative to 'fast fashion.'"

It guarantees animal welfare and environmental standards and demonstrates our shared ambition to deliver a transparent, easy-to-understand certification. It means, in short, that people can confidently buy sustainable natural fur.

"Furmark^® delivers global, recognised standards, directly to the consumer."

NOTES TO EDITORS

The International Fur Federation (IFF), established in 1949, represents and regulates the global fur sector. It has 56 member associations in over 40 countries around the world. The Federation promotes the business of sustainable natural fur and, as such, actively works to develop, implement, and advance animal welfare and environmental standards.

LVMH Group has brought invaluable expertise and time over the past 4 years to help develop the Furmark® program: alongside other industry experts and stakeholders, sustainability professionals from both groups provided input and feedback on the requirements set in the protocols shaping the standards and certification schemes recognized under the Furmark program and shared their standards on safe use of chemicals in fur dyeing. Brands also collaborated with traceability platforms, including the ChainPoint system, through the supply of data to develop a robust reporting process. This work is endorsed by the Furmark® Steering Group, which follows strict governance rules.

Research quoted: 5,000 adults; key markets — US, UK, Italy, France, and Spain; March-April 2021; Mitchla Marketing on behalf of the IFF.

For general details of Furmark^®, please visit furmark.com^[1].

References

1. ^{^} furmark.com (furmark.com)