NEW YORK—Hearst Magazines International, in collaboration with Humane World for Animals, announced today that it will eliminate all promotion of animal fur across its global platforms, which includes all print pages, websites, social media, editorial content and advertising, effective immediately. Hearst’s portfolio includes more than 25 U.S. brands, 175 websites and over 200 magazine editions worldwide, among them Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Town & Country and Esquire.
According to the sustainability section of the Hearst website: “Across our portfolio of wholly owned global brands, Hearst Magazines prohibits the promotion of animal fur in editorial content and advertising. (Our guidelines recognize defined exceptions and apply to all new business and future content).”
The policy that now covers all Hearst publications is the same one adopted in 2021 by ELLE magazine in collaboration with Humane World for Animals. In 2018, Humane World for Animals worked with InStyle magazine and then editor-in-chief Laura Brown to announce a similar policy.
PJ Smith, director of fashion policy at Humane World for Animals, said: “Bravo to Hearst Magazines for making compassion for animals a lasting fashion trend. Fur’s fast fall from relevancy and status can give us all hope that the fashion world can become more humane without sacrificing creativity. Bio-based and animal-free fur alternatives are already available, and they’re getting better precisely because the fashion industry at-large took a stand.”
Earlier this month, the Council of Fashion Designers of America revealed that it will end all promotion of animal fur across official New York Fashion Week events including its Fashion Calendar, social media channels and website, a decision shaped by discussions with Humane World for Animals. Additionally, Conde Nast, including its publications Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair and several others, announced a fur-free policy last month.
Hearst’s announcement comes amid historic political and social momentum worldwide to end the global fur trade. Earlier this month, Poland—once the second-largest fur farming nation in the world—became the 24th country to ban fur farming, following similar bans in Romania (2024) and Lithuania (2023), a full list can be found here. Over the last decade, the number of animals killed for their fur has dropped by 85%, falling from 140 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2024.
