Canada Consumers Want Fur Trim Labeled Now.!

Petition to the Competition Bureau of Canada

We, the undersigned, as Canadian consumers, demand protection from false or misleading labels as found in clothing.

While most of the legislation that has been put into place has enforced clear and specific information on the materials and fibres used in clothing, there are two vague and ambiguous sections in the Textile Labelling Act that could easily mislead Canadian consumers. These two sections create a gaping loophole for unscrupulous makers and importers of clothing items to hide material content or make vague declarations.

Section 26(1)B
(b) the hair or fur removed from the skin of an animal other than an animal referred to in paragraph (a) is %u201C(name of the animal) hair%u201D, %u201C(name of the animal) fibre%u201D or %u201Cfur fibre%u201D;

This section is open to abuse in that makers and importers,knowing full well that the fur used is not from the groups of animals listed in the Textile Labelling Act, can therefore hide under the general veil of "fur fibre".
We demand that clear and specific names of the animals from where the fur or fur fibres came from, must be provided on the label that is attached permanently to the clothing.

Trimmings

36. (1) Where a consumer textile article contains trimming in an amount greater than 15 per cent of the total outer surface area of the article, the textile fibre content

(2) The textile fibre content of a consumer textile article that contains trimming in an amount 15 per cent or less of the total outer surface area of the article shall be shown
(a) exclusive of the trimming with a clear indication that the textile fibre content of the article is being shown exclusive of the trimming; or

(b) as prescribed in subsection (1).

This section is open to abuse by makers and importers that trim their product with animal fur as they can get away without making any declaration at all, as to the animal origin of the trimming.

We demand that, for all products containing animal fur or fur fibres from animals, that these products be exempt from this loose legislation.

We further demand that, for all products containing animal fur or fur fibres from animals, that full and factual declarations be made on the permanently attached content label, regardless of the percentage of their makeup of the total garment.