<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3sKqkf_1GqfzXrN00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3sKqkf_1GqfzXrN00" width="800" height="450" >Editor's note: “All Strings Attached” is a biweekly column that tackles fashion from all different lenses — from the environment, to politics, to our culture at UW and in Seattle at large.Winter is creeping up on Seattle. We can feel it in the air, on our skin, and in our bones. The “Seattle freeze” is not just a social concept anymore. With a current average high temperature of around 52 degrees in Seattle, locals are scrambling to pull out their warm clothing. While many pull out their windbreakers and their Arc’teryx,some turn to the age-old method of keeping warm: fur. Fur has been used for hundreds of years to regulate temperature in colder temperatures like ours. The discovery of a 120,000-year-old leather-making site implies that animal products in clothing predates civilization. Why wouldn’t it? One of the most important evolutionary purposes of fur was to keep mammals warm in frigid temperatures. It’s only natural that we, as humans, took ideas from the nature around us and used the resources it gave us to keep ourselves alive. However, if we take a look around today, very few clothing items are actually made of fur, or animal products at all. Maybe you have a wool sweater, or a very expensive leather bag, but what used to be made of leather or other animal fibers is now polyester, nylon, or cotton. Mass production of durable items has allowed us to ask ethical questions in regards to fashion. We have the ability to wonder if our clothing is worth an animal’s pain, as our health and safety doesn’t depend exclusively on animal products anymore. We do our best to boycott cruel practices like animal testing and leather farming. All of this is good progress, and we should keep striving for equality and fairness in fashion. The Washington fur industry has historically been troublesome. The fur trade, especially for otter pelts, was extremely lucrative in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-to-late 1700s. Otter pelts were easy to turn into clothing, extremely good at conserving heat, and most importantly, water-resistant. These aspects made them highly desirable in foreign nations. Otters were constantly hunted in Washington, until they went extinct in the state from 1911 to 1969. It is strange to think that the demands of the fashion industry can have such devastating environmental impacts. This keystone species is essential to the biodiversity of Washington, especially as otters keep sea urchin populations in check and allow kelp to flourish along our shores. Fortunately, conservation efforts have allowed this species to make a gradual comeback, with their population growing by about 8.2% annually. Having seen the effects of overhunting these species, careful limitations on otter hunting have been established.Good thing we have faux fur, an ethical alternative that allows us to stay warm at half the price of natural fur. What many people don’t realize, however, is that the alternative we run to has its own negative impacts on the environment, and the effects are closer to us than we think. Faux fur’s reduced cost to our wallets is not reflected in its environmental price. This alternate fabric, designed for durability, will outlast us and our use of it. We may discard a faux fur piece because it takes a lot of maintenance. Faux fur that becomes too patchy, eroded, or matted due to improper washing is hard to reuse. It leaves our house in trashbins, but it stays in the environment for years, far longer than real fur would persist. According to The Truth About Fur, members of the North American fur trade buried a mink stole and a faux fur vest of equal size in 2016 in order to observe the decomposition processes of both. After a year, the dug up remains showed that the real fur had decomposed a substantial amount, while the synthetic fur was still clearly visible. Fur’s organic makeup of keratin allows it to return to the natural systems it came from, while faux fur, synthetic and incompatible with the environment, degrades into smaller particles. Reborn as fiber pollution, our faux furs travel the world and its oceans. Seattle is not exempt from the effects of faux fur. In an article published in Volume 41 of “Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry,” researchers collected water from locations near the Seattle Aquarium to inspect for microparticle presence. Throughout the data collected over multiple weeks, fibers were the most common microparticle present, implying that textile and fabric microparticle waste already have a significant presence in Washington waters. The ghosts of our stylistic choices come back to haunt us through the waters surrounding our city, and the Sound that gives us so much of our cultural identity. Really, there is no way of winning. Though we can learn about the effects of fur, both faux and natural, it is highly unlikely that we will start consuming ethical natural fur en masse, especially due to prices. However, we can be hopeful that people will put more consideration behind last-minute winter purchases, and make their best effort to preserve the faux fur that they do buy, so it doesn’t come back to affect the animals and nature it intends to protect. Reach columnist Neetra Chakraborty at arts@dailyuw.com. X: @NeetraC. Bluesky: @neetrac-thedailyuw.bsky.social.Like what you’re reading? 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Editor's note: “All Strings Attached” is a biweekly column that tackles fashion from all different lenses — from the environment, to politics, to our culture at UW and in Seattle at large. Winter is creeping up on Seattle. We can feel it in the air, on our...

The fur debate affects us right here in Washington

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Editor's note: “All Strings Attached” is a biweekly column that tackles fashion from all different lenses — from the environment, to politics, to our cultu

The fur debate affects us right here in Washington

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