Fur Policy

Animal Welfare

We at Moose Knuckles care deeply about animal welfare. In addition to only sourcing animal by-products from animals raised for the food industry, in 2022 we stopped producing garments with fox fur as part of our commitment to this global initiative. All remaining inventory of fox fur, found on garments available online and in stores, are from Saga-certified farmed fox produced prior to our current animal welfare policy.

Fur

Because it is so uniquely effective at protecting against cold and wet conditions (with several layers of hair for insulation and for repelling rain and sunlight), fur has been used by humans for millennia. Today, commercially-used fur might be from farmed animals, animals trapped in the wild, or from skins recovered from other uses.

Some Moose Knuckles customers want garments with fur for function (protection against the elements). Some choose fur for fashion (such as on trim, pom poms). And some customers choose to avoid fur entirely. We respect everyone’s right to make that choice for themselves, and we make great products to satisfy them all.

Moose Knuckles’ fur is almost entirely from farmed fox. Like down, all of our fur has been certified to a standard that protects the welfare of the animals. We rely on the certifications provided by the Saga/WelFur program to ensure the same five freedoms for the farmed animals. Administered, audited, and verified by third parties, the Saga/WelFur program addresses these elements of each farm’s operations:

• Animal well-being and health, through preventative and responsive practices;
• Conditions that encourage normal behaviours, safety, and stimulation for the animals;
• Farm hygiene to promote the welfare and comfort of both animals and the farmer;
• Breeding practices that promote health and well-being;
• Environmental management to minimize the impact of certified farms especially through best practices for manure, waste management and the watering system;
• Feed management that assures nutritional needs are met, and with preference for domestic raw materials; and,
• Training and preparation for exceptional situations

Fur-bearing animals are sensitive and social beings and they deserve our compassion and humanity. We will only ever purchase fur that comes to us through suppliers that agree with that ethical perspective, and whose practices are transparent, traceable, and audited by third-parties.

Other Animal Products – Leather, Shearling, Wool

We also sometimes use leather, wool, shearling, and other animal products in much smaller quantities. For these products, we apply the same ethical framework described above for down and fur: we prioritize and try to exclusively use animal products where the humane treatment of the animals is proven through rigorous standards, third-party verifications, and supply chains that are transparent and traceable. Important partners for us in this regard include, for example:

• The Leather Working Group
• The Responsible Wool Standard
• The Responsible Mohair Standard

To repeat ourselves, none of us have control over the inevitability of death. But each of us -including us here at Moose Knuckles - has some ability to affect the quality of the lives around us – human and non-human. We take that opportunity and responsibility seriously. We aren’t perfect at Moose Knuckles, but we’re trying and we’re constantly improving.

We hope you’ll be with us on that journey because we know that you, like we, really, really give a f*ck.