Fashion retailer Boohoo has been warned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) after it was caught advertising clothes containing animal products as fake fur.

A complaint from Humane Society International (HSI) claimed the pom poms on a women’s jumper sold by Boohoo contained animal fur, yet the company was misleading customers by advertising it as faux fur.

HSI tweeted: “SHOCKINGLY CHEAP FUR = SHOCKING CRUELTY Rabbit fur sold as FAKE fur for £2.69 and £7.00 by retailers. @ASA_UK ruling upholds our complaint this is misleading & unacceptable.”

Investigation

The ASA carried out tests and found the company breached advertising rules about ‘misleading advertising’ and ‘substantiation’.

Boohoo said in a statement it had a strong commitment against the sale of real fur in any of its products, and that the company was led to believe the product was free from animal fur.

According to reports the jumper was obtained from an external supplier had signed a contract pledging not to supply any animal products.

The jumpers have been removed from sale following the warning.

A Boohoo spokesperson said: “We uphold our commitment against the sale of real fur in any of our products and continue to investigate the matter internally and with the supplier in question, and we do so as a matter of priority.”

Boohoo is not the only firm which came under fire for misleading advertising. An Alter Ego Faux Fur Pom Pom Headband made by Zacharia Jewellers was also found to contain real fur. 

Fur Industry

Recently, many top fashion designers and retailers have ditched animal fur – including Burberry, Gucci, Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg and John Galliano.

Also, vegan celebs including Kendall and Kylie sisters, Pamela Anderson, Lucy Watson, Penelope Cruz, Alicia Silverstone and Ruby Rose have spoken against the use of animal fur.

And an ethical fur advert was also banned by the French Board of Advertising Ethics in November last year as activists celebrated the ‘inevitable demise’ of the industry.

• Read: Slovakia bans fur following overwhelming public demand

What do you think of Boohoo’s faux fur jumpers? Tell us in the comments section below!

Anu Kondal

Anu Kondal is a digital writer at Totally Vegan Buzz. Anu specialises in informative articles about vegan food, drink and general plant-based knowledge. Anu is an accomplished researcher and educational writer and is an expert on vegan trivia.

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