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Feb 5, 2008 5:38 pm US/Eastern
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Legislation Demands Truthful Labeling About Furs
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) ―
An investigation by the U.S. Humane Society finds fur trim coats labeled as fake were actually real animal fur. Now legislation has been introduced in Maryland requiring truthful labeling.
A state delegate tells
Suzanne Collins consumers should know what they're buying.
The Humane Society has released video of an undercover shopper. She picks out a variety of fur trimmed coats at well-known national retailers, some with designer labels. The coats were tested.
"We found every single one was labeled as fake fur when they were real or from one species when in fact they were dog or just not labeled at all," said John Goodwin with the Humane Society.
One of the coats tested was supposedly nylon coyote fur but the test shows it's actually the fur of a domestic dog.
A number of the coats had fur from a raccoon dog. The Humane Society provided a video showing an unusual Chinese breed, raised on fur farms in China for their pelts.
Another coat is actually trimmed with raccoon dog, but it's labeled polyester.
Delegate Tom Hucker, who is introducing the bill, wants to prevent this mislabeling. He said the federal law on fur imports has loopholes.
"It's a basic consumer bill. It's truth in labeling and consumers have a right to know what they're buying and what they're wearing. They think they know, but sometimes they don't," Hucker said.
He says it's confusing at first to understand the motivation for calling something fake fur when it's from a real animal.
"My first thought was why would you ever substitute fake fur for real fur 'cause real fur would cost more. I think that's a fair assumption. The truth is real fur doesn't cost more if the fur's from a dog or cat," he said.
After the first undercover test results were released in 2006, some big retailers said they were misled by manufacturers. A follow-up test done last month showed coats are still being mislabeled.
Several other states have already passed this fur labeling bill.
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