Think about that faux fur collar that lines your or your friend's jacket. Stylish, isn't it? Almost everyone you know has one. You never really think about where this fake fur comes from. You just assume that it's made from synthetic materials, assembled in a domestic factory and attached to that Sean John, Rocawear or Baby Phat coat. Even the haute couture labels like Calvin Klein, Max Mara and Michael Kors use faux fur on their jackets. You think it's the trendy, and ethical, thing to do.

Well think again. Recent findings by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have discovered some very disturbing facts regarding this so-called fake fur. According to ABC news, a sampling of twenty-five coats, which included the brands mentioned above, has revealed that twenty-four were incorrectly labeled; they either contained real fur after being advertised as fake, or the real fur came from an animal different from the one listed on the label.

What's scary is the source of the real fur. As if the mislabeling of real fur as fake weren't bad enough, HSUS claims that the majority of real fur is actually raccoon dog, a canine (yes, dog!) species indigenous to Asia, where many American garments are produced. Although the raccoon dog bears a striking resemblance to the raccoon, make no mistake about it: it is in the canine—as in dog—family.

Raccoon DogThis revelation was first made public by HSUS in December of 2006, when it began testing jackets sold in legitimate department stores like Macy's, Burlington Coat Factory, and J.C. Penney. After the discovery that many faux fur jackets did in fact comprise real fur, the tests also revealed that real fur was being mislabeled. Both faux and real fur used on brands like Sean John, Rocawear and even Beyonce's House of Dereon were using raccoon dog fur, a violation of the Fur Products Labeling Act.

In an article published on December 22, 2006 on the HSUS website, Sean "Diddy" Combs, the mogul behind Sean John clothing, released a statement that asserted his ignorance in the faux-fur matter: "I was completely unaware of the nature of this material". He also stated that the Sean John snorkel jacket, which tested positive for raccoon dog fur but was advertised as faux, would be pulled from shelves.

Sean CombsMany other designers have maintained their innocence. In an article posted on December 20 on HSUS, a spokesman for Calvin Klein stated that the company was unaware of raccoon dog fur in one of their jackets, sold at Burlington Coat Factory under the guise of containing real raccoon fur. However, he stated that Calvin Klein is committed to eliminate fur in their collection by 2008.

Tina Knowles, Beyonce's mother and one of House of Dereon's designers, also condemned the mislabeling: "We don't want to have to guess about what types of products we are using and consumers shouldn't have to guess either."

However, there are several plaguing questions that remained unanswered. The most obvious is, of course, why these high-profile clothing companies did not know the nature of the product they were selling. This has a lot to do with the garment industry in general. Clothing is often produced overseas as a cheap, but not ethically sound, practice. Clearly, animal welfare is not a top priority in places where minimum wage is a fraction of that in North America, and where workers' rights are seemingly non-existent.

There is also the matter of traditional cultural practices that have yet to be revised. In addition to the questionable practice of killing raccoon dogs, which HSUS claims are often skinned alive, many high-profile clothing manufactures still use seal fur and skin, killed in the annual Canadian seal hunt. Although seal products are banned in the U.S., many high-profile design houses, such as Gucci, Prada and Versace, still feature seal products in their European collections. HSUS has an on-going pledge to protect the Canadian seals and end the seal hunt.

For the time being, HSUS wants the U.S. Congress to amend the Dog and Cat Protection Act, which does not currently include raccoon dogs. The Protection Act bans the sale of dog and cat fur in the United States. If anything, this unfortunate controversy has rightfully attracted the attention of several American politicians, who have vowed to add raccoon dog fur to the list of illegal furs.

The scariest part of this controversy is the revelation that even if you wanted to go fur-free, there exists the possibility that fake fur still contains real fur. Until stricter regulation is implemented on overseas clothing manufacturing, this is a serious problem that will not simply go away with time. So beware of all fur, faux or not.

By Laura Stone