(10/09/2003) Labelling Initiative Promotes Professionalism Among Fur Trade

A new fur labelling initiative to improve consumer information has been introduced by the British Fur Trade Association (BFTA) and other European members of the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF).

The scheme means that customers will know exactly what type of fur they are buying at the point of purchase.

The new label will clearly identify the species of fur using its common English name along with its scientific Latin name.

BFTA spokesperson, Andrea Martin, said: "This is an initiative from the trade that is essentially a simple identification scheme. It has been in the pipeline for some years but it takes time to develop a professional scheme upon which all European member associations can agree. Happily, this is now the situation and we have a scheme that I believe can only benefit the consumer and the trade."

The Italian Fur Trade Association pioneered the design and registration of the label under UNI (the Italian National Standards Institute) Standard 11007. The BFTA has based its own label on the approved Italian specification.

The BFTA spokesperson continued, "This is really accountability at all levels and demonstrates the level of professionalism at which the fur trade operates. Fur products have become an integral part of modern fashion, as consumer sales figures continue to show.

The BFTA hope that the scheme will extend to non-membership organisations selling fur because of consumer pressure to provide the same level of information.

The BFTA also see another advantage to the scheme. "For many years, we have been criticised or wrongly accused of trading in endangered species. In fact, we have strongly supported the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since it entered into force in 1975. By showing exactly the species with the proper scientific name, this kind of confusion and misrepresentation of the fur trade will not continue."

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Issued by the British Fur Trade Association.
Press contact: Andrea Martin
e-mail press@britishfur.co.uk

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Notes to editors:

The Italian label was introduced in conjunction with the Icec (Quality Certification Institute for the Leather Industry).
A list of fur species and their scientific Latin names has been issued to all members of the BFTA Fur Labelling Scheme and is available on the BFTA website at www.britishfur.co.uk.
The scientific Latin names are being used as well as the English common name to ensure that there can be no misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the common English names.
Details of the scheme are available to organisations selling fur, which are not members of the BFTA.
The BFTA represents the majority of the fur trade in Britain and is a member of the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF).
EU sales figures for the year 2001/2002 have reached US$4,652 million. In the UK sales of full fur garments, fur trim combinations and accessories for 2001/2002 are up 35% over the previous year.