The fur trade kills more than 100 million animals each year. Animals used for fur are either trapped in the wild, where they remain in cruel leghold traps for days without food or water, or they are raised in cramped cages for their entire lives and then killed by electrocution or gassing. Photo by Alamy

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Diane von Furstenberg’s namesake brand, DVF, has become the latest luxury fashion company to drop fur from its lineup, with CEO Sandra Campos announcing today that it is “time for us to make this change and accept responsibility to ensure that we don’t promote killing animals for the sake of fashion.”

“I am so excited that technology has provided us a way to feel as glamorous with faux fur,” Von Furstenberg said in today’s announcement.

Ms. Von Furstenberg, once named the most powerful woman in fashion by Forbes and one of the 100 most influential people by Time, is a thought leader and a pioneer. She chairs the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), and is known for having introduced the wrap dress.

When someone of her stature concludes people just aren’t buying fur anymore and the alternatives are just as good as the real thing, it sends a signal to other designers and the entire fashion world that the transition away from fur must accelerate. There are viable alternatives, and if we don’t choose them, we are knowingly contributing to cruelty.

The new DVF policy will take effect at the beginning of 2019, and will include exotic skins, mohair and angora. Our fur-free campaign team at the Humane Society of the United States worked with Ms. Von Furstenberg on this decision. Last year, we had the opportunity to sit down with her in New York City, and it took her only moments to decide that she was done with fur. By interesting coincidence, the luxury brand received its new line of faux fur coats the morning of the meeting.

Steven Kolb, president and CEO of the CFDA, which plans to work with DVF to focus on innovative textiles as fur substitutes, has also pledged to establish a roadmap that allows DVF to maximize ethical and sustainable practices.

The fur trade kills more than 100 million animals each year. Animals used for fur are either trapped in the wild, where they remain in cruel leghold traps for days without food or water, or they are raised in cramped cages for their entire lives and then killed by electrocution or gassing.

Increasingly, consumers have been turning away from fur. Two U.S. cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco, have announced their decisions to ban fur, along with a couple of other California communities. In Europe, Gucci, Burberry, Versace and Armani have all announced that they too will drop fur from their lines. There is an unmistakable movement toward fur-free fashion, both here in the United States and globally, and the addition of DVF to these ranks will hopefully inspire many more to embrace the cruelty-free fashion trend.

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