High End Parisian Designer Goes Fur Free
FOUR PAWS helps design ba&sh animal welfare policy
Paris/Vienna, 21 June 2023 – Designer Parisian clothing brand, ba&sh, have announced that it has joined the Fur Free Retailer initiative, committing not to use and market animal fur in its designs.
More than 1,500 brands worldwide have renounced fur fashion and joined the international Fur Free Retailer programme.
FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organistion, who have helped develope ba&sh´s animal welfare policy said that this was another “step in the right direction” for ending the fur trade once and for all.
Pierre-Arnaud Grenade, CEO of ba&sh: “From removing fur from our collections in 2019 and banning mulesing to setting ourselves the goal of sourcing 100% of our wool from supply chains with certified animal welfare standards, ba&sh has demonstrated its commitment to prioritising the comfort and well-being of animals. Today, we are honoured to become a “Fur Free Retailer”, an achievement that motivates us to persevere with our work to promote animal welfare alongside our partners One Voice and FOUR PAWS.”
Joh Vinding, Chairperson of the Board of the Fur Free Alliance: ”The Fur Free Alliance is delighted that ba&sh, a French company that has already adopted an ethical business approach, has confirmed this commitment through recognition by the Fur Free Retailer programme, supported by our international coalition to stop the production and sale of fur worldwide.”
Muriel Arnal, president of One Voice: “As the representative of the Fur Free Alliance in France, One Voice is thrilled to welcome ba&sh to the cause. The brand thoroughly deserves to join the Fur Free Retailer programme and we are proud to see that our fight for more ethical fashion and the end of fur is making progress in France and around the world!“
Last week saw the Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which aims to achieve an EU-wide ban on keeping and killing of animals for the sole purpose of fur production, officially surpass the one million validated signatures that are requirement for a potential law change.
Earlier this year, thirty-eight major apparel brands, including ba&sh, Hugo Boss, OVS and Marc Cain, wrote to the European Commission to support the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) Fur Free Europe which highlights the need for an EU-wide ban on fur farming and a ban on the import of farmed fur products into the European market.
Background
Fur Free Europe was launched in May 2022 and received the support of more than eighty organisations from all around Europe. It closed on March 1st, earlier than its official deadline, thanks to a record number of signatures collected: 1,701,892 in less than ten months. The ECI also successfully reached the signatures threshold in eighteen Member States, nearly three times the minimum requirement of seven Member States.
About ba&sh
ba&sh was launched in 2003, the brand name a contraction of the first names of the founders, Barbara Boccara and Sharon Krief, with the support of Dan Arrouas and Vog Group.
About the Fur Free Alliance
The Fur Free Alliance is an international coalition of more than 50 animal rights organisations based in more than 35 countries worldwide that deploys entirely peaceful means to bring an end to fur farming and trapping. https://www.furfreealliance.com/
About FOUR PAWS
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded by Heli Dungler and friends in Vienna in 1988, the organisation focuses on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With sustainable campaigns and projects, such as its own sanctuaries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term protection for suffering animals. https://www.four-paws-org/
About One Voice
Founded in 1995 by Muriel Arnal under the patronage of Théodore Monod, One Voice is an apolitical and independent French association. With the support of more than 15,000 members, One Voice actively campaigns in France and around the world to defend animals and their basic rights. It has represented the Fur Free Alliance in France for more than twenty years and runs the Fur Free Retailer programme in the country. https://one-voice.fr/en
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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org