By Teresa Platt, Executive Director, Fur Commission USA

(This article first appeared in the December 1999 edition of "Fur Farm Letter", monthly newsletter of FCUSA, and is reproduced with permission of the author)

Plus: Just What Is Evolutionary Fur?

HO, HO, HO! SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN. But this year, according to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and fashion designer Oleg Cassini (inventor of the talking watch), Santa will abandon his fur-trimmed wool garments. Santa will wear synthetics to keep warm while charging through the sky exploiting reindeer. Oooops. Perhaps next year Santa will abandon animal power in favor of petro-chemical solutions, such as diesel, for fueling his sleigh, completing the leap from natural animal-based products to politically correct ignorance.

From acrylic to modacrylic to polyester, polymers, monomers, nitriles and acrylonitriles, HSUS believes that all these non-organic, man-made chemicals will help Santa make an evolutionary jump to a "kinder, gentler," albeit more polluted, world.

Cassini states, "Fur is the most ancient part of the human culture, [from a time] when humans had to protect themselves against the cold and they had to kill to eat. But we are not at that stage anymore. We can choose a different way. Evolution has permitted us to look at new horizons." (HSUS News, Fall 1998). Cassini calls his new fake fur "Evolutionary Fur" because, in common with HSUS and many others, he believes modern, urban, civilized, moral man has evolved beyond killing in order to live, that we don't need to kill animals anymore. We can all live, bloodshed free, on grains and vegetables, wearing synthetics. Can't we? Shouldn't we?

The Basics

Although much has changed in the last million years, some things have remained constant. Water, undrinkable salt water to boot, still covers 75% of the Earth's surface. About 10% of the land mass - or just 2.5% of the planet - can support agriculture to feed and clothe us. The other 97.5% of the planet can support grazers and predators and birds and fish, animals which consume what are to us inedible plants and animal life and convert them to food and clothing for our use - but we must kill the animals to reap these benefits.(1)

HSUS is working hard to make all animals off-limits for human consumption, to ensure that humans abandon the life found on 97.5% of the Earth's surface. That vision means that we will not comfortably eat cake. With their populations off limits, animal stocks will naturally peak and crash in endless cycles, negatively impacting the environment with each turn, as mankind stands by and freezes or starves to death. That is the reality of nature.

Political Correctness Can Kill

Politically correct choices advocated for the blind by the clueless can even kill you. A recent report published in the British Medical Journal of a study done in the freezing cold of Siberia, found that about 40,000 more Britons die each winter than in summer, a fact the authors attribute to inadequate winter clothing.

In Yakutsk, Siberia, the world's coldest city, temperatures routinely fall to minus 40°C - cold enough to cause frostbite in minutes. Yet there is no increase in winter death rates. Contrast this with Britain where deaths rise as soon as the temperature falls below 18°C. Notably, deaths begin to occur when people do not bundle up warmly for short stints outdoors, such as waiting for buses.

Inhabitants of Yakutsk put on an average of 4.26 layers of clothing before venturing outside, one of which will be a fur. And there is no rise in deaths exhibited in winter. A whole generation of Britons, meanwhile, may now be paying with their lives as the PC price for giving up fur.

The lesson to be drawn from this research is simple. Humans survive better in cold weather when they wrap up warmly, and fur is a first-rate natural insulator. But when the story broke in the British press, Independent correspondent Jeremy Laurance provided "another solution to the British problem of excess winter mortality. Get the buses to run on time"! PC but clueless.

Leaving the Building

In a personal communication with Teresa Platt of FCUSA, retired Animal Liberation Front spokesman Dave Wilson stated, "I strongly feel that in order to save every living being on this planet, we must change the current system. Our survival depends upon it. We don't need heavy winter coats. We have cars and live in heated houses. This certainly isn't the Stone Age."

Well, Dave, sooner or later we have to leave the building. And we are as dependent today as we were in the Stone Age on animals for food and clothing - all 6 billion of us and counting. The only difference is that modern man generally hires others to do his killing, behind closed doors, out of sight. Even vegetarians, who oppose the direct harvesting of animals, are unwittingly supporting the taking of animal life in the production of food and clothing. Agriculture is the leading cause of wildlife habitat loss worldwide, and hundreds of millions of animals die in crop fields each year to pesticides and at harvest time. So much for cruelty-free pasta and veggies.

To survive we need access to more than the 2.5% of the Earth's surface that can support agriculture. We need land and seas teeming and heavy with life. The fur trade, domesticated and wild, gives animals and animal habitat real economic value and is a vital component of ensuring abundance of animal stocks, healthy habitats and a sustainable harvest.

Modern, urban, civilized, moral man must recognize himself for what he really is: the human animal. Man is the only animal that appreciates and values the rest of the world's animals. Man is the only animal able to manage and domesticate, the only animal capable of applying a moral code in his treatment of other animals.

But a plastic-coated Santa spewing diesel fumes? For the Earth's sake and our own, let us hope it never comes to pass!

I can't wait to welcome Rudolf and his fellow reindeers pulling Saint Nick "dressed all in fur".(2) I've been a very, very good girl. Ho, ho, ho!

Just What Is "Evolutionary Fur"?

"Evolutionary fur", fake fur, faux fur, is plastic by any other name.

For his plastic, designer Oleg Cassini relies on Monterey, Inc. of Janesville, Wisconsin, which offers a range of "furs" such as Seal #1201, 100% Acrylic, available in such colors as white, black, camel and brown. Camel-colored seal?

Fox #379 is 40% Acrylic, 60% Modacrylic and comes in widths of 58-60 inches on 20-yard rolls, available in 032 White and 705 Dark Palimino [sic]. Sorry, no silver, red or black - might be too realistic and remind someone that once upon a time foxes were animals, not plastic polymers.

Monterey's "Natural" Bear" #217 is 80% acrylic, 20% modacrylic and comes in 790 Ginger, 727 Nutmeg and 798 Chocolate. No brown, black or polar white bears.

And followers of the wild cat debates should take a sobering look at the 7/16" pile, 100% acrylic Jaguar #8684, available in #933 Cream/Butterscotch/Dk. Brown, and Tiger #8290 available in #922 Butterscotch/Black. Sorry, no tigerstripe.

What Is Acrylic / "Evolutionary Fur"?

Acrylic fiber is a synthetic fiber polymerized from acrylonitrile, a combination of acrylic resin and nitrile. Nitrile is used to make acrylic rubber for common gaskets, seals and nitrile/PVC rubber-combos for insulation. The Federal Trade Commission States, "Modacrylic fibers [are] manufactured fibers in which the fiber-forming substance is any long-chain synthetic polymer composed of less than 85 percent but at least 35 percent by weight acrylonitrile units except when the polymer qualifies as rubber."

Who Regulates "Evolutionary Fur"?

While fur farmers are regulated by humane statutes for animal care, manufacturers of "Evolutionary Fur" are regulated by the Clean Air Act. The Act's 1990 Amendments were designed to reduce emissions of air toxics from the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (pet) polymers and certain styrene-based thermoplastics.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states: "These polymers are used to produce such products as polyester fibers, soft drink bottles, automotive plastic parts, appliance parts, packing materials, and plastic toys. ... Air toxics are those pollutants that are known or suspected of causing cancer or other serious health effects. There are about 66 facilities nationwide that manufacture polyethylene terephthalate polymers and certain styrene-based thermoplastics that will be affected ...," and the EPA added "another polymers and resins source category (nitrile resins) to the list of source categories regulated under the Clean Air Act's air toxics program."*

Oh, and "Evolutionary Plastic" - sorry, "Fur" - or modacrylic are the first inherently flame-retardant synthetic fibers. Amazing. So chestnuts roasting near an open fire and this product are a safe combo?

Should Fur Farmers Switch Careers?

HSUS and Cassini believe the fur industry will "eventually die" as more synthetic alternatives are developed and the "profit incentive shifts away from animal fur" to the chemical industry.

The Chemical Economics Handbook offers a 66-page report on acrylic and modacrylic fibers for $1,500. The abstract states:

"... world demand for acrylic fibers in 1995 was almost 5 billion pounds valued at over $4 billion. Total consumption of acrylic fibers worldwide is expected to increase to almost 5.6 billion pounds in the year 2000, representing an average annual growth rate of 3.8% ... with most of the increase occurring in the People's Republic of China.

"In 1995, Asian countries accounted for 42% of world production capacity ... In 1995, over half of the world's acrylic fiber supply was produced by only thirteen companies ... The top ten companies account for 44% of total production.

"... In 1995, the Asian countries (excluding Japan) together consumed about 2 billion pounds, more than 50% more than the combined 1.4 billion pounds consumed in the United States, Western Europe and Japan."

Should fur farmers consider switching from animal husbandry to raise tiny acrylics and cute little polymers? Could there be a more fulfilling future for us in plastic production?

What Does DuPont Say?

DuPont defines "synthetic" as "Man made; not made from a natural process." And DuPont ought to know.

DuPont's Carpet Reclamation webpage states: "You can recycle your Acrylic carpet [but not your 'Evolutionary Fur' coat] back into raw materials for automobile parts, soundproofing, industrial flooring, etc." DuPont "guarantee[s] that the used commercial carpets we take back will not end up in a landfill" and recycling is the "environmentally right thing to do with used carpet."

"Evolutionary Fur" has no recycling program in place. Perhaps US fur farmers could be advisors to the plastics industry since our mink and fox recycle over a billion pounds of agricultural by-products annually into a stunningly beautiful, 100% natural insulator.

DuPont also talks frankly about the "potential role of carpet in the expression of various human health effects" which fall into ...

"two general areas: 1) exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from new carpet and 2) exposures to bioaerosols from older carpet. ... For older carpet, the area of concern is airborne suspension of irritants or allergenic material that either grows or accumulates in the carpet over time. ... In situations where humidity is high or water has intruded into the building, the potential for mold growth is greater regardless of flooring material. ... Obviously, it becomes necessary to routinely remove this debris from the carpet via vacuum cleaning and periodic deep cleaning."

So, those who buy an "evolutionary" fake fur should invest in a good vacuum cleaner, stay away from water, wind, snow and remain cautious near fire, and replace and recycle their plastic coat, along with their carpet, every few years. Oh, and look out for extremists releasing those tiny acrylics and cute little polymers into the wild!

Notes:

(1) See 12 Myths & Facts About Beef Production Outside link to the National Cattlemen's Association. In particular, see Myth 1: Food Resources.

(2) From The Night Before Christmas.

And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

(3) Polymers DotCom has the following to say on the biodegradability of plastics:

"More than 30 billion pounds of plastic wastes are generated by American consumers each year, clogging our landfills and polluting our beaches and oceans. These plastics eventually break down into harmless products, but only after up to several hundred years. Stimulated by public demand and state and federal legislation, industry has begun to develop bio- and photo-degradable plastics. So far, however, none of these degradable plastics meets all of the criteria for success--adequate physical and mechanical properties for the desired use, cost-effectiveness, and 100% degradability."

See also:
Santa in Synthetics Ecologically Incorrect Letter to the Dayton Daily News (Ohio), Jan. 9, 1999.

Teresa Platt, executive director of Fur Commission USA, represents 600 mink and fox farming families, and serves on the boards of the National Animal Interest Alliance and Alliance for America, groups working to restore people and common sense to the environmental equation. For further information contact: Teresa Platt, Executive Director, Fur Commission USA, PMB 506, 826 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118-2698 USA, (619) 575-0139, (619) 575-5578/fax, furfarmers@aol.com, www.furcommission.com.