The fur industry never seems to surprise and fascinate me, a study that was released yesterday revealed that the fur industry is now valued at more than 40 billion dollars internationally, which is approximately the same as the international Wi-Fi industry.
This is the first kind of research that has studied the fur sector extensively, not just analysing the amount of sales, but also valuing the extensive economic value of fur farming and production. These measures have been quite difficult to analyse in the past. This analyse demonstrated that worldwide retail sales of fur are approximately 35.8 billion dollars! Farming is merited at 7.8 billion dollars, and this sector accounts for over one million jobs. Just amazing!
This study was commissioned by the International Fur Federation (IFF), and executed by PwC Italy from 2012 to 2013. The countries that are top contributors to this sector are Greece, Russia, China and Denmark. The fur sector is a huge contributor to their economies as it gives jobs to tens of thousands of people in these particular countries.
Mark Oaten, CEO of IFF, stated: “These figures, unveiled for the first time, show that it’s been a great couple of years for the industry. While of course there have been challenges, such as the recent economic slowdown in China and the fluctuating price of fur at auction, the recent cold weather in North America and its increasing popularity on catwalks globally has once again thrown our sector into the spotlight.
“This study demonstrates the unquestionable value the fur trade brings to the global economy. It’s easy to get caught up in the emotions the business can generate, but the truth is that the fur trade is an economic cornerstone in Europe and beyond. Much of the fashion and increasingly the soft furnishings world relies on fur – and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”
The IFF is due to launch a worldwide global advertising campaign in The Economist magazine in today’s issue, March 28th that highlights the true economical value of the fur industry. Fur is not only something fashionable, but creates jobs in several different sectors, as well as creating economic stimulation. I love fur!!
What do you think about this? I would love to here all of your fur thoughts..
