House of Fraser under fire for selling real fur items

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Nov 20, 2019

House of Fraser has been criticised after clothing items containing real fur were spotted on its real and virtual shelves, contradicting a no-fur policy initiated before it was bought by Sports Direct last year.

Customers found coats lined with raccoon and rabbit fur both in-store and online, although unlike some retailers that have been found to be selling real fur, they weren’t labelled as faux.

Press reports said a Pyrenex coat in-store at HoF has a 100% raccoon fur trim, prompting a social media backlash. There are also a number of other pieces online from the label with real fur trims. Some customers said they would boycott the chain over the crucial Christmas shopping period as a result.

That may not be the biggest issue on Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley’s mind as he continues to battle a wider retail downturn and specific problems at the HoF chain. But nonetheless, a PR nightmare is the last thing HoF needs as it tries to trade its way back to health.

The retailer had launched a no-fur policy under previous owner Sanpower following an exposé in 2017 that found items tagged as faux fur by the chain were actually the real thing. A number of other retailers had the same problem at the time.

The company had said that such issues damaged its reputation and went against its values. 

Several anti-fur groups said they’ve contacted the retailer to try to clarify whether it has abandoned its no-fur policy or whether the items on sale had simply slipped through the net.