November Is Fur Month in Canada | “New look” furs drive 20% surge in exports

FUR COUNCIL OF CANADA PRESS RELEASE, OCTOBER 13, 2000

November Is Fur Month in Canada
“New look” furs drive 20% surge in exports

MONTREAL: The dramatic resurgence of fur as a hot international fashion trend presents special challenges and extraordinary new business opportunities for Canadian manufacturers and designers.

“Frankly, the speed with which top designers around the world have embraced the new image of fur caught even many people in our trade by surprise. We’re working hard now to keep up with the demand for lightweight, sporty styles and the new sophisticated fur look that is attracting a new generation of consumers,” said Alan Herscovici, Executive Vice-President of the Fur Council of Canada.

Industry Canada reports that the value of Canadian fur exports surged ahead by more than 20% in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period in 1999. Canadian fur garment exports topped $100 million in 1999, almost double the value of sales registered in the early 1990′s when economic problems reduced prices and demand in the USA, Europe and Asia. Almost 90% of Canadian fur exports go to the United States, while Europe, Japan and Russia are also growth markets.

“The growing consumer excitement about fur reflects the work designers have done to create a new fur look for modern, active lifestyles. The new furs are also perfectly adapted to today’s renewed fashion appreciation of high-quality natural and authentic materials treated in fresh ways,” said Richard H., an international trend analyst who is based in Paris.

Richard H. is working with the Fur Council to develop “FurWorks Canada”, an innovative “sportswear in fur” concept that will be featured in a special promotion at the Galeries Lafayette flagship store in Paris, in November.

Innovative designs will also be featured during the November “Fur Month in Canada” promotional campaign. Activities include an 8-page advertising insert (“Get Wild with Canadian Furs!”) in Vogue and other leading fashion magazines, a billboard campaign in major Canadian cities, media events, and the launching of the Fur Council’s new Fur Fashion Trend Book. (Available to consumers at http://www.furcouncil.com)

“We are proud to be promoting a distinctly Canadian interpretation of new fur design. The fur trade played a major role in the exploration and development of Canada; many of our cities began as fur-trading posts and even our border with the USA was carved out and defended by fur traders,” said Herscovici. Today, 80,000 Canadians are still actively involved in every sector of the trade, as trappers and fur farmers, or producing and marketing fur apparel.

“We also want people to know they can feel comfortable wearing fur. Our trade is extremely well regulated and endangered species are never used. In fact, when you buy fur you are supporting people who live close to the land and have a direct interest in protecting nature.” More than 2,000 Canadian schools have now requested Fur – The Fabric of a Nation, a 24-minute Fur Council video that explains the environmental role of the trade.

“The trade that helped to build our nation was also our first international export industry. Where once we exported only raw materials, however, today we’re showing that our designers can also compete successfully in the new global economy,” said Herscovici.

For further information, please contact: Teresa Eloy, Communications Director, Fur Council of Canada. Tel: 514/ 844-1945; Fax: 514/ 844-8593; e-mail: teloy@furcouncil.com; http://www.furcouncil.com