Keeping Their Coats On

Kim Basinger makes a plea for the furry ones

According to a press release from PETA, the leading Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto has received a letter from Academy Award-winning actress Kim Basinger about his use of fur.

"By making the kind choice to shun fur (and fur trim, which helps to keep the cruel fur trade alive)," wrote Basinger, "you can be a leader in fashion and compassion, setting a wonderful example for the rest of the industry to follow."

"Animals trapped for their fur often suffer excruciating pain for days before trappers stomp on their chests or break their necks," according to PETA.

"On fur farms, animals spend their entire lives confined to tiny, filthy cages, where they suffer physical and psychological distress before they are poisoned, gassed, or anally or genitally electrocuted or have their necks broken."

Many of the world's leading designers have refused to use fur, including Stella McCartney, Betsey Johnson, Anne Klein, Vivienne Westwood, Comme des Garçons, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Bouwer, Chloé, Perry Ellis and Todd Oldham.

GET INVOLVED

• Sign a PETA letter to Yohji Yamamoto asking him to stop using fur in his designs

RELATED POSTS

• Exclusive Interview with Francois Hugo, Founder, Seal Alert-SA (July 15, 2009)
• Death Row Baby Seals Find A Friend in Canada's Senate (March 15, 2009)
• The Devil in Human Form (March 7, 2009)
• The Gloomy Dean (January 30, 2009)

image: Swift fox (credit: CBurnett)