Jelmoli bans fur

In spring 2019, the renowned department store Jelmoli will become fur-free. After initial criticism, the Zurich Animal Protection organization was able to motivate the traditional company through competent consulting to make a consistent, step-by-step reduction of its fur offering.

The goal is a voluntary renunciation of real fur, because the production, which involves animal cruelty in cruelly cramped cages (approx. 85%) or through brutal traps (approx. 15%), is ethically unacceptable.

«If you first publicly pillory these companies, you raise their awareness and their willingness to engage in open dialogue,» says Nadja Brodmann from the Zurich Animal Protection.

Collaborative trust

After public criticism from the Zurich Animal Protection between 2014 and 2016, Jelmoli was open to discussions on the topic of fur in November 2016. Over two years of trusted collaboration, meetings took place at which Jelmoli explained its fur assortment with complete transparency.

Step-by-step reduction of the fur offering

At the end of 2016, Jelmoli decided to stop using real fur from China entirely from 2017 onwards, as fur production there is particularly brutal and cruel. In addition, real fur was banned from the children’s department.

«We bear the responsibility to act sustainably and to offer our customers an environment with which they can identify 100 percent. The exit from fur is an important milestone within the framework of our sustainability strategy,» says Franco Savastano, CEO of Jelmoli.

Jelmoli as a role model for other fashion retailers

«With Jelmoli’s groundbreaking exit from fur, pressure is mounting on other fashion retailers to finally show their true colours and delist animal-cruel fur products,» says Nadja Brodmann. More on Animal rights.