MILAN – Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), the exclusive owner of the “Milano Fashion Week®” trademark, announced today that it will no longer promote fur at any official Milan Fashion Week event, including on social media. The announcement comes after engagement with LAV (Lega Anti Vivisezione), Collective Fashion Justice and Humane World for Animals.
CNMI has produced Guidelines on the Use of Fur During Milan Fashion Week, calling on brands to go fur-free. While CNMI will not prevent brands or designers from using fur in their collections outside of Milan Fashion Week, the organization hopes that by calling on brands to go fur-free, and refusing to promote fur products during MFW, it will drive innovation for more ethical and sustainable materials.
This statement comes as the European Commission is overdue to respond to the European Citizen’s Initiative calling for a Fur Free Europe.
New York and London Fashion Week, as well as fashion weeks in Copenhagen, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Helsinki and Melbourne have already announced fur-free policies. While CNMI’s fur guidelines for Milan Fashion Week don’t go as far as other fur-fee fashion weeks, we support the progress made and will continue to work with CNMI to strengthen its position in the future.
Simone Pavesi, Head of Animal Free Fashion Unit at LAV: “The CNMI guidelines will help make the Milan Fashion Week runways become fur-free. This guidance is an ethical and responsible choice, consistent with the sustainability commitments made by its members, most of which have already banned animal fur. Meanwhile, the few that still use fur, in keeping with the commitments made by Camera Moda, will be encouraged to eliminate it”.
Emma Håkansson, founding director of Collective Fashion Justice: “CNMI’s fur-free guidelines are historic for the Italian fashion industry’s shift beyond unethical and unsustainable fur. It is an important step forward that CNMI will not actively promote fur at Milan Fashion Week. Without a fur-free policy like those in place at New York and London Fashion Week, cruelty is not assured to be off the runway in Milan, but we hope this fur-free statement encourages greater use of next-generation bio-materials that are both beautiful and responsible. We look forward to continuing engagement with CNMI towards further protecting vulnerable animals who do not exist to become clothing.”
PJ Smith, fashion policy director for Humane World for Animals: “It’s clear CNMI believes that confining and killing tens of millions of wild animals every year solely for their fur is outdated, unnecessary and unfashionable. Italian fashion brands looking to be relevant in today’s world would be smart to follow this fur-free trend. This is also great news for the future of material innovation. Announcements like this inspire creativity and innovation that is better for animals and the planet.”
Carlo Capasa, CEO of CNMI: “The adoption of these Guidelines is a further step in the drive for responsibility and sustainability that Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana has been carrying forward for over a decade now in support of Made in Italy. This initiative reasserts CNMI’s determination to approach the evolution of the fashion industry with full awareness and a sense of balance in line with the strategies we already have in place.”
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