vw Going Fur-Free Means Asking Questions (NAPSA)—Consumers everywhere are being encouraged to think about the choices they make when it comes to the lives of animals while shopping for clothes. The HumaneSociety of the United States (HSUS) suggests that everyone keep fur animals in mind and pay especially close attention to fashions that may contain animal fur. These facts may help: Traps kill millions of animals in the United States and worldwide more than 30 million captiveraised animals are killed for their fur each year. But there’s no need to wear fur in this day and age. Choosing cruelty-free clothing and gifts is a great way to help animals. That’s whyit’s important not to get trapped by what appears to be fake fur. The fur industry tries very hard to confuse the buying public by making fur appear more like a fabric than like animal skin. Fur is dyed, sheared and tailored in styles unlike traditional fulllength coats. That’s why it’s important to pay close attention— real animal fur is used in linings and interwoven with other fabrics. Altered fur can look synthetic—it can even fool salespeople. If it aUEREES iain THE REAL THING? Altered fur can look synthetic. If you don’t wear fur, it’s important to ask a lot of questions about clothing before you buy it. feels like fur and the store can’t tell you for sure that it isn’t, don’t buy it. While it’s easy to equate a full-length fur with the brutal deaths of countless animals, it’s easy to forget that just a little trim on the collar or cuffs is the product of animal suffering and death. Ask a lot of questions about the clothing and fabric and let the department store staff know that you don’t wear fur and hope that they don’t stock it. Many consumersare helping to spread the word that fur is not consistent with a happy shopping experience. Be fur-free in the new century. For more information about the HSUS Fur-Free Century Campaign, please visit www.hsus.org.
