Such an attack, whose aim is to gag freedom of expression and, in particular, that of the press, should not go unchallenged. Shame on those who seek to make an example of this emblematic magazine, born in France and whose name now shines around the world, which has courageously denounced the proven suffering of animals bred for their fur, by pillorying it and attempting to condemn it to silence.
In December 2021, ELLE fashion magazine and its international network announced that animal fur would no longer be allowed to appear in its pages, declaring its desire to “reject cruelty to animals”. A major decision in the fashion world, given the brand’s central role in France and the rest of the world. Alongside the other Fur Free Alliance members, One Voice welcomed this demonstration of a profound cultural change that accompanied societal reforms on the subject. This did not please the French Fur Trade Federation, which had already opposed their investigation publications on numerous occasions. Seeking to trample on freedom of expression, and particularly that of the press, the French furriers’ lobby sued ELLE INTERNATIONAL for denigration.
Not content with attacking the freedom of the press by trying to muzzle the ELLE brand, it is also denying the evidence. One Voice investigations have documented the injuries and infections, the cannibalism and agony of the mink due to the conditions in which they are kept, the lack of hygiene, the deleterious consequences for biodiversity and the disastrous impact of fur farms in France in terms of soil pollution. Let’s not even go into the barbaric methods of slaughter, by gassing or electrocution, shown by our partners. To speak of cruelty is nothing more than the most elementary common sense.
Two years after the vote on the law banning livestock farming in France, Paris Fashion Week has still not taken a position as clear as that of the magazine. We will continue to support brands that are committed to ethical fashion and to fight to ban the production, import, and sale of fur throughout the European Union: the public is on our side, we will never give up.
For mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and other victims of fashion, we are voluntarily intervening at the hearing on 28 February 2024 alongside ELLE, which has been unduly attacked for simply telling the truth and making use of a right that defines democratic countries.
