SIBIU, Romania―The Feeric Fashion Week, the oldest still running fashion event in Romania, has accepted the invitation of Humane Society International/Europe to join the Fur Free Retailer programme. It will have its first fur-free edition between July 19-23, 2023 in Sibiu. Among the fashion brands and designers participating in the Sibiu fashion festival, there are students from fashion universities from Eastern and Central Europe, Central Asia and Northern Africa.

HSI/Europe, who represents the Fur Free Retailer programme for Romania, welcomes the newest member, which is also the first fashion show to join it.

Andreea Roseti, Romania country director for HSI/Europe, said: “It is an excellent message that a well-known fashion festival in Romania has decided for the first time to promote brands not using fur in their clothing products. With the help of events like Feeric Fashion Week, we are changing perceptions in Romania about fur and making people aware that the suffering of animals bred for their fur must be stopped. Our hope is that the Chamber of Deputies will soon vote for the legislation to close fur farms in our country.”

Elise Allart, corporate engagement director at HSI/Europe, added: “The Romanian fashion industry clearly shows that the future of fashion is fur-free. Feeric Fashion Week is the first fashion event in the world to join the Fur Free Retailer programme and commit to banning fur fashion from the runway. The event is a great addition to the growing list of Romanian fashion brands that are already part of the programme, including Ioana Ciolacu, Muse um Concept, REDU and OCTAVIA CHIRU. Last weeks we welcomed KATERINI and HOOLDRA. We call on all designers, retailers and events to join the fur-free fashion movement in Romania, contributing to the overall European effort to give up fur fashion.”

Mitichi, president of Feeric Fashion Week, said that sustainability and care for the environment have been major concerns for the organisers of the event for many years, stating: “We are now in our seventh year of promoting sustainable fashion, but 2023 is the first year that we are focusing on promoting fur-free clothing creations. We decided that we needed to take on the role of informing the public and helping to build a cleaner environment and a better future for the fashion industry, one that does not involve animal cruelty.”

This Feeric Fashion Week marks its 15th edition, being the longest running fashion event in Romania and one of the most important in Central and Eastern Europe. Feeric Fashion Week has also proved over time to be a platform for the promotion of young talent, with students who study fashion design having the chance to present their creations and be noticed by representatives of established brands in the fashion industry.

Fur facts:

• The Fur Free Retailer programme is the world’s leading initiative to connect fur-free businesses with customers looking for ethically sourced products. The programme is free to join and aims to advise and encourage companies to go fur-free and further the spirit of ethical consumerism. Almost 1,600 fashion brands, retailers and designers in 25 countries around the world are part of the program, including Gucci, Moncler, Prada, Adidas, H&M and Zara. The program is initiated by the Fur Free Alliance, an association of more than 50 animal welfare organizations, and is represented in Romania by Humane Society International/Europe.
• Romania remains one of the last EU member states with no restrictions on the keeping of animals for fur.
• Last year, an undercover investigation by HSI/Europe exposed the living conditions on Romanian chinchilla farms. Animals were found living in small, dirty mesh cages. Female animals were forced into permanent reproduction and animals were killed by breaking their necks or in improvised do-it-yourself gas chambers. Following the HSI/Europe investigation, a bill to ban the farming of mink and chinchilla was tabled in parliament, voted on by the Senate and is currently debated by the Chamber of Deputies.
• Public demand for an EU-wide ban on fur farming and fur imports has also been clearly demonstrated during the past year as the Fur Free Europe petition collected more than 1.5 million verified signatures from EU citizens. The European Commission is expected to respond to the demands of the petition by the end of the year and take action accordingly.
• More than 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year worldwide—that is equivalent to three animals dying every second, just for their fur.

Fur farming has been banned in 19 European countries including the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland, Estonia, France, Italy and, most recently, on 22 September 2022, Latvia. Political discussions on a ban are also underway in Romania, Lithuania and Poland. Two countries (Switzerland and Germany) have implemented strict regulations effectively ending fur farming, and three other countries (Denmark, Sweden and Hungary) have imposed measures that have ended the fur farming of certain species.

ENDS

Media contacts: Andreea Roseti, Romania country director at Humane Society International/Europe, 0741 188 934