Winter is here – and so is the fashion! While everyone is gearing their bank accounts to order their bulk Shein haul, I am going to teach you how to avoid fast-fashion trends and remain timeless and stylish during this winter season.
As I talked about in my email newsletter, fur is back and better than ever. But which option is better – real fur or faux fur? There are reasonable arguments for both, obviously – but the best option is real fur – and I will tell you why. It all matters with how you choose to purchase your fur. If you are buying real fur from fur companies, then that is unethical (still sustainable because it lasts a long time – but ethicality and sustainability can go hand in hand sometimes). The money you use to purchase that real fur is only promoting the companies to continue to kill and skin the animals they use to make that fur. So how do you buy real fur sustainably? You utilize second-hand shopping applications such as Depop, Poshmark, Mercari, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace.
By buying real fur from a real person on second-hand applications, you are providing support for that person instead of the fur companies. Buying real fur second-hand gives that fur coat a second chance at life. Real fur is a natural material; therefore, if you take good care of your coat, it should last you many years and many winter seasons. Plus, real fur looks more chic than faux!
The argument for faux fur is that there is no animal cruelty involved in making the coat, so it is ethical and “sustainable.” People often use the term “sustainable” loosely. Still, in reality, faux fur production is highly unethical because it relies on chemicals to create the faux fur, making it an unnatural product. The wear time for faux fur is significantly less than that of real fur, meaning you have a limited time to use the fur (probably 2-3 seasons, if you’re lucky and take good care of your clothes). Faux fur is highly unsustainable and often appears less expensive than real fur.
Some people like to argue about price since faux fur is far less expensive compared to real fur. But what they do not know is how cheap real fur is online. I have a brown mink real fur coat that I purchased on Facebook Marketplace for less than $150. This fur is of exceptionally high quality, looks luxurious, and is sustainably sourced. Plus, this coat holds a story. The coat was the seller’s grandmother’s fur coat, and the seller had never worn it, so it had sat in her closet, unused, for over 20 years. If I had not bought the coat, the animal’s life would have been wasted to make a coat that no one loved or cared for – it would have been useless. Now that it is cold, I hold that fur close to me and appreciate the animals that had to be sacrificed to make this coat. I try to make its life worth living by wearing and showing it off.
Now, I encourage you to buy real fur from second-hand sources. Refrain from buying faux fur that is expensive and won’t last. Ensure you stay sustainable and stylish this 2025 winter season!
