BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM
The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade did not simply write a letter. For 58 days, CAFT ran protests at Etsy offices and affiliates across 17 cities, including a disruption of Etsy’s own presentation at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco in March. The campaign worked. From August 2026, Etsy will ban the sale of all products made from or containing natural fur from animals killed for their pelts, regardless of age or origin, covering raw pelts, finished garments, and accessories made with real fur from animals such as mink, fox, and rabbit.
“Etsy’s policy sets a new standard for online retailers,” said Suzie Stork, executive director of CAFT. “Fur is losing. Designers are dropping it, publications are not promoting it, and now, Etsy, one of the world’s largest e-commerce marketplaces, is banning it. The industry has nowhere left to hide.”
One ban in a cascade of them
Etsy’s decision is the latest in a year of industry movement that accelerated faster than most observers expected. In May 2025, Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein Marketplace banned fur and exotic skins, while Australian Fashion Week removed all wildlife-derived materials from its runway shows, and Asics committed to phasing out kangaroo skin from its footwear. Condé Nast pledged in October 2025 to remove fur from its publications.
By December 2025, the moves were coming in clusters. Poland enacted a national fur farming ban. The Council of Fashion Designers of America prohibited fur at New York Fashion Week. Hearst Magazines committed to no longer promoting animal fur across its titles. US designer Rick Owens announced he would remove fur from future collections. Sweden had already introduced an import ban on fur products linked to animal cruelty the previous June, and the European Food Safety Authority recommended cage-free fur farming in July 2025.
The shift reflects a longer arc. Since the 1980s, global awareness of the environmental and public health impacts of fur farming has grown alongside mounting evidence of animal suffering across the industry.
The EU is still deciding
The political picture in Europe is complicated. The European Commission has been expected to issue a proposal on the future of fur farming across the region, but has remained internally divided: some commissioners favour an outright ban in response to a 1.5-million-signature citizens’ initiative, while others prefer tightening existing welfare standards. Only five EU member states still permit fur farming, and the European Food Safety Authority has concluded that welfare problems in the sector cannot be resolved through regulation alone.
Not everyone is moving in the same direction
Across the Atlantic, parts of the fur industry are reporting something different entirely. Canada’s Fur Institute recently cited surging demand and record-breaking auction prices, with Canadian bobcat pelts rising more than 300 percent year over year at a recent sale in North Bay, drawing buyers from Europe and Asia.
“There’s a growing interest in quality, long-lasting fur and seal products,” said Doug Chiasson, executive director of the Fur Institute of Canada. “Canada is known for the resilience and dedication of its industry, which is rooted in the tireless efforts of Indigenous and non-Indigenous trappers throughout these lands over the centuries. The good that comes out of their work and the work of all in this industry has withstood the test of time.”
Who is next
CAFT has already named its next targets. “CAFT’s attention is now fully directed at Milan Fashion Week and LVMH,” Stork said. “All designers and affiliates who work with Milan Fashion Week should be paying close attention.”
Milan has been an ongoing site of anti-fur protests, and LVMH, whose portfolio includes Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and Christian Dior, remains one of the most prominent holdouts in the luxury sector. Whether the campaign’s momentum translates from marketplace policy to haute couture remains to be seen. The Etsy result does show that sustained, coordinated pressure on specific institutional targets can move faster than broad awareness campaigns working alone.
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