Turns out the faux fur on fashion designer Marc Jacobs' clothing may not actually be so "faux" after all.
According to a new report from the Humane Society and NY State Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), the popular discount department store Century 21 in New York City was caught selling Marc Jacobs "faux fur" jackets that were actually made with hair from raccoon dogs, an East Asian canine species.
The undercover investigation also found that the big-name NY store sold an unlabeled infant sweater that contained rabbit fur, the Humane Society said.
In September 2012, Humane Society investigators purchased three Marc by Marc Jacobs jackets online that advertised their trim as "faux fur." Upon laboratory testing, it was determined the made-in-China trim was actually from a raccoon dog, according to the Humane Society.
Century 21 responded with the statement, “Century 21 does not create garment labels, the manufacturers do." Marc Jacobs had not released a public statement at the time of this post.
Under the federal Fur Products Labeling Act, all clothing trimmed with animal fur must provide not only the name of the animal on the tag, but the country in which the animal was killed. It is a violation to misidentify the species of animal fur.
"The Humane Society of the United States is releasing these findings during National Consumer Protection Week to warn consumers that animal fur, including from raccoon dogs who may be skinned alive in China, is being sold unlabeled or as faux fur," Pierre Grzybowski, research and enforcement manager of the fur-free campaign for The HSUS, said in a press release.
Check out the undercover investigation at Century 21 below.
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