Hugo Boss To Be Fur-Free Starting in 2016

Hugo Boss has pledged to go completely fur free starting with its 2016 Fall/Winter collection.

The German luxury brand has been partnered with The Free Fur Alliance and the Humane Society of the United States and after announcing their promise of a fur free future, Hugo Boss is receiving praise by animal welfare groups.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock“We have decided to adopt a different route and we are therefore giving our sustainable corporate strategy—in this case animal protection—precedence over the ‘fast’ and ‘simple’ route to success,” wrote Bernd Keller, brand and creative director of sportswear at Hugo Boss, in the company’s latest sustainability report.

Keller went on to explain in the report how it conducted a survey whose results showed their customers’ expectations for the luxury giant. The survey revealed that quality and sustainability, especially animal protection, rated highly for their customers.

Photo Credit: Hugo Boss“Therefore, if we connect our quality requirements with sustainability, our customers receive a special statement which they are able to pass on: luxury imbedded with values,” Keller divulged in the same report. “We demonstrate through our products that premium and luxury are able to integrate ethical and environmental issues.”

Along with its decision to be fur free, Hugo Boss is also avoiding down feathers from force-fed, live-plucked geese and give preferential treatment to wool suppliers who do not utilize the technique of mulesing when harvesting wool, which is a procedure that pulls strips of wool-bearing skin off a sheep without painkillers. Hugo Boss hopes to be 90-percent mulesing free by 2020.

“Hugo Boss’s firm commitment to go completely fur-free sends a really powerful message to other luxury brands, that animal cruelty is never fashionable,” Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International/UK, said to Express.co.uk. “So by setting a new trend of compassion, Hugo Boss is showing that it is never acceptable for animals to die for the catwalk, and that’s a fashion craze we really hope other luxury brands will follow.”