action request!

[keryx]

Lane Bryant, which is one of few widely available fat grrrl clothing stores, has taken to selling fox fur. I am really, really not down with the production & sale of new fur, and I sent a message to say so.


Dear (person),

Thank you for your recent email.

Our fur items were introduced in direct response to customer requests for these fashion-forward items. As with any fashion item, they may not appeal to all of our customers. We hope that those who do not wear fur will continue to choose Lane Bryant for other great fashion options.

We appreciate your concern about the products we offer and hope that you will continue to shop with www.lanebryant.com.

Sincerely,

Melinda
lanebryant.com Customer Service
www.lanebryant.com

Wait, I thought fur was a fashion disaster from the eighties? Since when is cruelty "fashion forward"? I mean, I realize I wear some leather shoes, and I certainly eat a share of meat, but wearing fur isn't simply being too lazy to respect animal life - it's going out of your way to be mean. Unless you kill your animal, eat it and then wear its skin.

Even if your gender, size or taste keeps you from shopping there no matter what, would you consider contacting them? I'd really really really like it for Lane Bryant to be inundated with anti-fur letters.

Comments

[crafting-change.livejournal.com]

not to be the obnoxious vegan,
but you do know that the cows they use for leather are different than the cows you eat, right?
I'll definitely be sending them a 'please don't sell fur' email though.

[peregrin8.livejournal.com]

I sent them an email. Thanks!

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Yes, of course I know that. Leather and meat are about the same in my estimation of animal maltreatment - in that I think most of us are aware they're cruel, and when we use those products, it's because we think the inconvenience to ourselves outweighs the meanness. The exception to killing/eating/wearing an animal in my mind is for the rare, non-industrial animal killer. The average leather & meat user doesn't even remotely fall in that category.

But fur is still vastly worse, IMO.

[peregrin8.livejournal.com]

you do know that the cows they use for leather are different than the cows you eat, right?

not that I eat cows, but... I actually didn't know this. Do they throw away the skins of the cows they slaughter for meat?

[keryx.livejournal.com]

PS - they also sell the occasional leather jacket, so if you wanted to include that in your protest, by all means, do so.

[luna-littleone.livejournal.com]

I wonder if PETA is aware of this.

*envisioning Lane Bryant Stores covered in Red splashs of paint*

[cyprinella]

Geez, and it's an ugly coat at that! I'm so glad that I'm almost at a point where I can shop at other retailers because their clothes just don't make sense half the time.

Real fur makes sense to me if your a high end retailer and, well, snobby rich folk want the real thing. But an ugly coat? Trim on an ugly coat? When teh real stuff is practically indistinguishable? Ridiculous. And that's what I said in my letter.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I'm sure someone else can answer more clearly - but as I understand it, the hides from slaughter are used for rough leather (i.e. heavy boots, sometimes furniture). The leather we generally use in our shoes and bags and stuff is typically calf leather, and I think is "farmed" entirely for leather.

[peregrin8.livejournal.com]

Oh. Yuck. Thanks!

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Good reason to go for the "manmade upper" shoes, ain't it? I mean, I know I wouldn't kill baby cows for veal (EWWWW), so why should I do it for shoes?

I'm still working on this, of course. I have loads of leather shoes. :(

[peregrin8.livejournal.com]

oh yeah, I have leather shoes too. But I don't think i'll be adding to the collection...

[cyprinella]

Hm. didn't know that. Of course, I don't see the logic in spending as much money as leather bags cost for the care that they need. However, for things like horse tack or heavy boots and the like, I jsut find that it's a better material than manmade stuff. To me it's a fine balance between an object of quality that's going to last for a while that's not the most ethical thing in the world or a bunch of cheaper, plastic objects that aren't goign to last and create as much or more pollution. Neither is great, but in this case I go for my Docs.

[crafting-change.livejournal.com]

The way that the skin is cut makes for bad leather, so I think it is often used to make glue, and other weird things.

[crafting-change.livejournal.com]

I can totally understand that perspective, I was just making sure you knew the deal since you added in:
Unless you kill your animal, eat it and then wear its skin.

[crafting-change.livejournal.com]

heheh, I'll use that broad 'animal product' approach!
thanks again for the heads up!

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there I meant basically "if you're Grizzly Adams or something". :)

[fancymcsnazsnaz.livejournal.com]

I've spent a fair bit of money in their stores this past few years (not recently because their clothes have started to be unbearably frumpy) - I'd be quite happy to tell them I'm not going to be spending any more of it if they're selling fur.

[attrice.livejournal.com]

I told them I wouldn't be shoppin there while they were selling fur. Honestly, that may or may not be true. Fat women don't have tons of options unfortunately. But they don't have to know that.

[fancymcsnazsnaz.livejournal.com]

That's the problem I've got too: it's nigh impossible to find manufacturers of fat clothes that don't slaughter animals, use sweatshop labor, or treat their retail employees like indentured servants. I try to buy secondhand when I can, but I swear there must be a fat-girl day at the thrift stores that no one tells me about, because I have a wretchedly hard time ever finding anything in my size that's work-wearable.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

That's the thing that really gets me, in an odd way. Clearly I'm just living in a bubble where being fat is strongly correlated with being at least liberal enough to hate the fur, if they actually have customers requesting that shit.

[chubbyninja.livejournal.com]

oh dammit...
that means my leather jacket is probably multiple calfs(calves?) worth...

no good.

[chubbyninja.livejournal.com]

where being fat is strongly correlated with being at least liberal enough to hate the fur

not trying to spark anything, but im not sure i understand how one affects the other.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Someone else once theorized that what actually happens is fat women who wear remotely cute clothes all keep those clothes forever. Cause they have to hoard, basically - in case they run out of shopping options.

Anyone who's seen my closet would probably beg to differ, and I do give things away once a year or so - but I bet the supply of clothes available at thrift stores is way lower than the demand.

[fancymcsnazsnaz.livejournal.com]

That makes a lot of sense. I definitely hoard basic stuff - jeans, plain shirts, just about anything black. The trendier stuff gets purged and thrifted at least once a year, though - I have very tiny closets!

[cutegaychick.livejournal.com]

Done. I told them I wouldn't shop there again until they quit with the fur. I'll even try to force Cricket into the boycott as well, although that's a bit harder.

Actually, I haven't shopped at LB in awhile anyway. They're way expensive and if I'm persistent enough, I find I can usually find one or two Walmart sweatshop items that fit me each season.

Plus, I want to add a different LB gripe. Ever notice their manakins? Look at their backs and you'll notice that they've pinned Size 20 clothes to fit on a Size 12 manakin. LB doesn't carry sizes small enough to fit its own advertising. I mean, I think the LB manakins are a tiny bit larger than regular skinny-girl manakins, but not much and they're certainly way too small for any of the sizes that LB actually sells. *grumble* That's always bugged me.