Milan (AFP)

The first Italian luxury group, Prada, announced on Wednesday that it would no longer use animal fur in its collections, adding to the long list of big names in fashion that has given up in recent years.

While these decisions are symbolically important and welcomed by animal welfare associations, fur is generally a very marginal part of the turnover of these houses.

Prada did not specify a percentage, but for Gucci (Kering Group), which stopped fur from 2018, it accounted for 0.16% of its sales.

Prada said the move follows a "positive dialogue" with the Fur Free Alliance (FFA), an alliance of more than 50 animal welfare organizations in more than 40 countries, particularly the LAV and The Humane associations. Society of the United States.

This decision will take effect from his spring-summer 2020 women's collection.

"Innovation and social responsibility are among the founding values ​​of the Prada Group and the decision to adopt a policy + fur-free + (...) is an important step in this commitment", explained its artistic director Miuccia Prada, quoted in the statement of the Milan group.

"The research and development of innovative materials will enable the company to explore new frontiers in terms of creation, while meeting the demand for more ethical products," she added.

Animal welfare associations have welcomed this decision.

Prada, which also includes the Miu Miu, Car Shoe and Church's brands, "joins the ever-growing list of brands that ban fur to respond to consumers' changing attitudes towards animals," welcomed FFA President Joh Vinding.

- Seduce the millenials -

In recent years, the major Italian houses Armani, Gucci, Versace, Furla, the British Burberry, the American claws Donna Karan, DKNY, Michael Kors or the French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier have made similar choices.

"Stella McCartney pioneered this movement in 2001. As consumers become more informed about the destructive impact of fashion on the environment, industry players are facing increasing pressure to take a stand on issues. like cruelty to animals, "says Nina Marston, fashion expert at Euromonitor International.

"This commitment will help Prada increase the attractiveness of its brand to young luxury consumers, who increasingly prefer to buy brands that share their interests and values," she adds, noting that "millennials" are essential target for this sector.

According to KPMG, in 2025, the luxury industry will achieve 45% of its turnover among 18-35 year olds.

For its part, the fur sector has regularly denounced "marketing" operations on the part of houses announcing such decisions.

"I am surprised that a brand that is concerned about sustainable development is giving up a natural product such as fur, now consumers of Prada will only have plastic fur as an option, which is bad for the planet," said Wednesday. the President of the International Fur Federation, Mark Oaten.

He called on Prada to reconsider his decision and "trust his customers, letting them decide if they want to buy real or fake fur".

The movement touches many countries of the planet.

The Norwegian government intends to ban the establishment of any new breeding for fur and impose the dismantling of existing farms by February 2025.

In the United States, laws banning the sale of fur have already been passed in San Francisco and Los Angeles. A similar municipal bill in New York is controversial, with, on the one hand, animal advocates on the other, and an unexpected alliance of representatives of an economic sector with a long New York tradition and minorities attached to the wearing of fur.

? 2019 AFP