I have a winter coat with a big furry hood that I wear all the time. The fur is fake, but it looks very real.

A few weeks ago, my four-year-old niece Morgan took one look at my hood and said, “Is that Bojangles on your head?” (She was referencing to my old family cat that passed away).

But who can blame her? It looks and feels like real fur. As it turns out, maybe it is.

Last year, P.Diddy was busted for selling “faux” fur coats that contained real fur from dogs that were barbarically killed in China. Even after that mess, fraudulent labeling is still going on.

A recent investigation launched by the Humane Society United States (HSUS), found some jackets labeled as faux or “ecological” fur currently for sale at major retailers in fact contain the real deal.

The outerwear, for sale at Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Dillard’s, and Yoox.com, and from brands like Burberry, Andrew Marc, Marc New York, Preston & York, Aqua, Ramosport and Adam+Eve, was tested in a laboratory by cutting open the lining. Where there should have been a mesh or cloth backing, investigators found animal skin.

Advertising the authentic stuff as faux is not only cruel, it’s illegal. So take a look at your own coat, and make sure it’s not a faux fur imposter.

On the other hand, we smell some deep discounts coming (not that we endorse that sort of thing).

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2007 at 11:29 am and is filed under Fashion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted by Jamie Bellavance on 12/27/07 in Fashion