I found this in the local free paper. I can't even bring myself to watch the video because the description freaked me out so bad. I realize the video doesn't directly implicate J-Lo, but it still got me thinking. It's from www.metrotimes.com and the piece was written by Sarah Klein. The name of the article is 'Cruel Couture' and the link contains extremely graphic and disturbing footage of the fur industry.


As a child of the ’80s, I remember the days when fur was a formidable fashion faux pas. Stepping out into the streets in a floor-length mink was an open invitation to having a can of red paint chucked at you. Models and celebs participated in splashy, sexy anti-fur campaigns. It seemed the sartorially inclined masses were filled with compassion for our furry friends … or was it just the latest bandwagon to board?

Sadly, it seems as though the latter proved to be true, as fur is now making a huge comeback.

During New York’s Fashion Week, fur was everywhere — a trend that was heavily reflected a week later in London’s version of the event. Fur has also experienced a tremendous resurgence on the catwalks of Paris and Milan, and is more popular than ever in Japan, Russia and Germany. Recently, the Metropolitan Museum of Art put together Wild: Fashion Untamed, a historical retrospective of our use of animals, pelts, skins and feathers in fashion. The exhibit was primarily sponsored by Roberto Cavalli, an Italian designer who makes heavy use of fur.

The controversial, in-yo-face animal activist group, PETA (peta.org), has been none too pleased about the resurgence of fashionable fur — but the straw that broke the camel-hair cardigan came from none other than Miss Publicity herself, Jennifer Lopez. When J. Lo recently unveiled “Sweetface,” the latest collection of her own clothing line, it was rich in fur, to the point of sheer absurdity: mink shorts, for example.

PETA naturally flipped its collective lid — and then went straight for the jugular. Lopez’s new line was announced at the same time PETA obtained some shocking undercover footage from a fur farm in China. So PETA threw together www.jlodown.com, along with the catchy phrase “Say Hell No to J. Lo” and the video of the fur farm investigation.

I started watching it, and couldn’t even make it halfway through. To say the footage is horrifyingly graphic is an understatement. It shows fox dogs picked up by the tail and slammed into the ground, their heads stomped on or crushed with a blunt instrument. When they are strung upside down to be skinned, some are still alive. As one worker draws a deep incision and begins peeling away the fur, the still-conscious animal flails desperately while the worker continues, unaffected. The camera then pans to a pile of discarded, skinned bodies. One animal is still alive, breathing in ragged gasps — bloodied and completely stripped of its fur, the skinned dog lifts its head weakly, and stares into the camera for a few heart-wrenching seconds before collapsing.

Watching, I nearly threw up — and then I couldn’t stop shaking. It’s been eating away at me ever since.

“There’s no way to put a pretty face on an animal being skinned alive,” says Lisa Franzetta, campaign coordinator for PETA. “Sometimes it takes people being shocked to shock them out of their complacency.”

Franzetta says over the years PETA has repeatedly written the pelt-lovin’ Lopez — who once wore eyelashes made of fur — to change her ways. The clothing line was the last straw, and now it appears PETA has declared war on the “heartless diva,” as Franzetta refers to her.

“I think what PETA’s doing with the J. Lo campaign is pretty interesting,” says Cat Clyne, editor in chief of Satya magazine, a publication for animal activists. “They’re trying to shame one of the biggest celebrities in our culture into having a heart.”

But perhaps the bigger question is, why did Lopez not blink a mink-lashed eye at releasing a fur-heavy line? Why are designers now flocking to pelts in droves? Why are hipsters proudly sporting fox-trimmed boots and vintage rabbit fur jackets? What social morals in our culture have shifted, to make this once profoundly taboo trade acceptable again?

Both Clyne and Franzetta think it’s the result of a very calculated move on the part of the fur industry.

“They weren’t going to take the ’80s lying down,” Clyne says. She says fur proprietors went underground during the ’90s, worked to entice new young designers into working with fur, and threw their collective weight into print ads and advertorials.

“And we’re seeing the multiple fruits of that now,” Clyne says.

And perhaps fake fur is an inadvertent culprit. In response to the no-fur era, fake fur became all the rage, showing up on everything from pant hems to throw pillows. We become accustomed to the look of it.

“The fur industry is attempting to market itself in a different way,” Franzetta says. “We’re seeing a lot more fur trim on boots, bags and accessories. It’s much more subtle than the old full-mink coat. And they’re weaving fur and dyeing it bright colors, styling it so it looks fake. They’re trying to distance the fur from the animal that was killed for it.”

Vintage fur is more popular than ever in young hip circles; it’s often deemed as more socially acceptable, because it doesn’t support the current fur industry.

“Just because the animal died 50 years ago doesn’t mean it didn’t suffer,” Franzetta says. “Vintage fur still promotes the idea that animals are ours to use as fabric.”

I must admit, I used the same logic in justifying the vintage fur I found for $20 in high school, but I’ve since changed my tune. And to avoid being hypocritical, I’m also re-evaluating the other animal derivatives in my wardrobe, namely, wool, leather and feathers.

I simply threw my fur away, but there are apparently more beneficial avenues: The Humane Society takes donated furs and uses them to help raise abandoned wildlife, the coats serving as a sort of stand-in mommy. To learn more, go to hsus.org and search for “fur coats.” PETA also accepts fur donations, and gives them to the homeless.

This issue clearly opens up a huge can of worms, but the simple fact remains: Fur is a vanity item, one made at the expense of animal lives. And I still simply can’t wrap my mind around why someone would want to wear it, especially when so many synthetic alternatives are available.

Personally, I’m annoyed by people who go barging up to a fur-cloaked woman in public and begin verbally assaulting her — you’re not going to change minds by doing this, you’re just going to piss someone off.

However, I’d like to find one person out there who can watch that entire PETA video from start to finish, and still slip into a fur coat. I can’t imagine anyone remotely human would be able to do so.

that's sad about the animals
[Edited 3/20/05 19:46pm]

Tessa said:

I think the use of animals just for fur should be illegal, but PETA is nothing but a terrorist organization, so fuck those guys.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Why? Do you say that because the fur is being used to make something that's aesthetically pleasing to some people? How do you feel about meat then? By that same standard, it would be immoral to gain pleasure from eating a steak.

What about leather? What about my caribou skin gloves? They are absolutely the warmest things I've ever worn in my life - and that's something I need in our -50 degree mornings.

Anyone with the emotional capability to skin an animal alive as it screams and struggles in their hands should be instantly given a 'wee jag'.

There are some hardcore motherfuckers in PETA but at the core, in my opinion, they are right. I do not wear leather or fur and am damn determined to give up eating meat some day and oh, yeah.....

I can't fucking stand Jennifer Lopez. Did she ever apologize for using the N word in one of her songs?

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Jenny's from The Block, so she's been there, seen things, and knows what it's like to be oppressed and stuff. She is therefore One With The Homies and that solidarity gives her N-word rights. Right Jenny? Right.

Unfortuately we eat & wear animals...but we dont have to torture them to do it.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Same here. I was nearly there for a couple years, but for health reasons I couldn't sustain that diet. But I will get there.

So...I'm almost afraid to ask. Has anyone actually watched the video?

GangstaFam said:

I haven't been able to do it yet...

it sounds just too scary....

endorphin74 said:

Same here. I don't think I could watch it. I couldn't get to sleep last night cuz this upset me so much.

damosuzuki said:

Most people need meat for food cuz it has nutrients you can't get from cabbage. And as animals, it's natural to eat meat. But using animal fur as clothing is fucked up because we're not cave men anymore and these articles of clothing can be made from synthetic material. Leather is a different story because we already use cows for food.

endorphin74 said:

I got goosebumps just reading that decription...

I hate humanity sumtimes.

I honestly believe that humanity will only treat each other with respect when we treat other species with respect.

GooeyTheHamster said:

this is why I will never again buy a J.Lo album or single or anything that supports her

Watch the damned video. A good shapr shock is a great wake-up call from your day-to-day complacency.

What are you so afraid of? Being so outraged and abhorred you'll actually get off your ass and maybe do something pro-active that could make a difference? Or will you just let this one slip by too because, hey, 'someone else will take care of it'

It's not as if YOU have anything to lose but 5 minutes of your precious time.

Confront your fears

Alternatively, ignore this post, don't even try to make a difference, and go stick your head back in that comfortable ground of yours.

Stay safe. It's a new day tomorrow people.

BinaryJustin said:

I think that would be the other way around. Atleast I would hope so.

NothinG said:

I already am quite pro-active about my beliefs regarding animals. I could barely handle the written description of what happened in the video so I know that watching it would absolutely disgust me. I don't have to see it to know how awful it is. For some people it takes a shock. For others it takes information. And some just have an innate belief system that doesn't have to be taught or shocked into action. I'm just spreading the information.

i won't watch the video. we all know how fur is made and we either think its ok or don't think its ok. personally, i'm not big on fur coats but i do love my fur lined gloves. hey, they keep me warm. peta is a nightmare as far as i'm concerned...whoever said they were a terrorist organization is dead on.

for the record, i also love my leather shoes and, honestly, they're better than the animal friendly shoes out there since the animal friendly shoes make use of plastics that are bad for the environment in which those animals - not to mention people - live.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

No, she never apologized. She did say that she isn't racist but, didn't feel the need to apologize because she said she "didn't even write the song, Ashanti did".

SassyBritches said:

Well, I for one don't. We all know where it comes from, but I bet very few of us know how it's actually made. And whether or not we think it's okay, don't you think there has to be a better way to go about getting it?

GangstaFam said:

fur is made by killing the animal from which the product is made. most fur companies humanely kill their animals - do to do it barbarically the way peta says its done - would be counterproductive to the fur company. if the fur is damaged it is useless. do some people kill the animals inhumanely and incredibly cruelly? sadly, yes, they do. it is, however, the rare example and peta simply exaggerates this to make it look as though its the only way these animals are killed.

fur companies should have to meet strict standards - like those of farms - and be shut down if caught abusing the animals or killing them inhumanely. peta, on the other hand, should be shut down or fined for providing VERY biased and misleading information.

SassyBritches said:

Extreme measures for an extreme cause, I guess.

I watched it, I think they should gas the animals before they pull off its fur. Thats a very ugly thing to do. God (according to the Holy Bible) does allow us to use animals for meat and fur, but im pretty sure he frowns on skinning ANYTHING alive. However people let us not forget that this footage is allowing us to see just exactly what the Nazi's were capable of.....

cbastriani said:

He does not frown on the lambs bled to death? Is the same. Still his 'holy' bible says it's okay.

Your god is a god to humanity only, there are no animals allowed into your god's heaven. Just so you know.

GooeyTheHamster said:

'Divine rights' get people into a lot of trouble.

what a fucking shame. it still hasnt gotten through peoples heads how inhumane it is to torture these poor animals...it makes me so fucking mad.

If God intended for us to wear fur then we all wouldve been furry.

This kind of info makes me cringe and burn with furor. Im adamantly against animal cruelty and fur, etc.

CherrieMoonKisses said:

Hopefully there's a serious backlash. And soon.