‘Chilling Cruelty, Unspeakable Suffering & Corporate Denial’ – The Real Cost Of Canada Goose Jackets
by Jeff Roberts.
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With sales expecting to
reach $30 million by the end of the year, the Canada Goose jacket has
earned its respected reputation in the winter attire industry.
Celebrities worldwide have been seen sporting the high-priced coat,
including Meg Ryan, Kate Upton, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Even
Canadian politician Justin Trudeau and his family were photographed
wearing the jacket in a family Christmas picture last year.
But all of the popularity surrounding
the coat comes with a bone-chilling price, one that many animal activist
groups are working diligently to expose.
Meg Ryan wearing a Canada Goose jacket.
Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone photographed wearing a Canada Goose jacket in New York.
‘Chilling Cruelty, Unspeakable Suffering & Corporate Denial’ – The Real Cost Of Canada Goose Jackets
by Jeff Roberts
Super model Kate Upton posing in front of her Sports Illustrated cover, sporting a Canada Goose jacket.
Last year, a disheartening video gained
popularity around the web which exposed the heinous truth behind the
production of the Canada Goose jacket. For those who don’t know, the
hood of the jacket is bordered with a thick ring of coyote fur, known to
avert the freezing cold temperatures of the northern climate.
According to animal rights activists,
behind every fur trimmed hood and down stuffed coat is a brutal reality
of Coyotes trapped and left to suffer in the wilderness.
Lindsay Rajt, Director of Campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told the DailyMail: ‘Canada
Goose uses exclusively Coyote fur on the trim of their coats and those
animals are trapped in a way that is just inherently cruel.’
The company has publicly stated that
coyote trapping has been ‘a way of life for hundreds of
years.’ According to a spokesperson for the firm: “The trapping
of fur-bearing animals is strictly regulated by the provincial and
territorial wildlife departments in Canada. We purchase coyote furs from
certified Canadian trappers, never from fur farms or endangered
animals.”
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Coyotes trapped for their fur
Yet PETA believes the company is avoiding an apparent truth. Mr Rajt said: ‘The company’s reference to AIHTS standards is meaningless and a way of placating and silencing people with valid concerns.”
“Leg hold
traps are still legal in Canada. Mother animals will chew off their
limbs in order to get back to their young. The trapped animal might be
there for days before the trapper comes and finds them, they are
frightened and starving and in pain during that time. And then they’re
bludgeoned or strangled to death or shot.”
Coyotes
do not wait quietly for the trappers to come by. They struggle to get
out of their traps, sometimes even biting through their leg to get back
to their young.
PETA has appealed that the company stop
using real coyote fur in favour of faux fur, as well as dump their use
of real down feathers.
“Additionally, we are asking
that Canada Goose dump down and opt for revolutionary synthetic
technology like the one recently developed by The North Face –
Thermoball, which mimics down but offers superior versality” said Rajt.
PETA has stated that they’ve tried
multiple times to reach out to the Canadian company, but to no avail. In
response to this statement, a Canada Goose spokesperson told the DailyMail “We’ve
corresponded with PETA on numerous occasions and it quickly became
evident that they were not interested in a constructive conversation.”
Canada Goose President Danni Reiss is a strong believer in their product, speaking for a corporate video he explains, “We
use Coyote fur for a number of reasons. Number one, Coyote fur works –
it’s functional, it provides warmth around the face in a way no
synthetic fabric can. It does that in the coldest places on earth and it
is important to realise that sometimes urban centres and cities can
feel like the coldest places on earth.”
In response to PETA’s accusations, Reiss sated, “We
understand PETA’s concerns and we respect the right of people to choose
not to wear fur, however, we know PETA does not respect our ethical,
responsible use of fur so further conversation won’t be productive.”
But Rajt doesn’t accept Reiss’s stance, “I
just don’t believe that half the people wearing these coats understand
what’s really involved in the making of them. And I just don’t believe
that they would make that same choice if it was an informed one.”
Final Thoughts
Perhaps part of the problem is that many
people simply are not seeing the real connection between the fur on
their jackets and the animal that underwent severe pain and suffering
for it to get there. If more people fully understood the process, would
it change their decision to buy these jackets?
Inside
a Canada Goose factory; by the year’s end, the revenue is expected to
hit $30 million. How will the continued growth of this company impact
animal conservation?
Like Rajt mentioned, there are
alternatives which could be used instead of the coyote fur and the down
feathers. We just need more people to be aware of this and to raise
their concerns to the company.
With the company going international,
the expected growth in the next few years is exponential. But along with
this revenue growth comes the increase in the death of more and more
helpless animals. Voting with your dollar couldn’t be anymore powerful
in situations like these.
Please help us spread this awareness to protect these beautiful animals. Much love.
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