The fur trade broadly welcomes all efforts to give consumers more information through the labelling of textile products. Following the vote in the European Parliament on May 11th to introduce labelling of “non-textile parts of animal origin”, the fur trade calls on the European Commission to work with industry stakeholders. The Commission will be responsible for implementation once the legislation has been adopted by the Council of Ministers. Industry stakeholders have the expertise and experience necessary to ensure that new labels are not only informative and accurate for consumers but also workable in practice.

For many years the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) has encouraged labelling; it already promotes two industry-led labelling programmes:
• A voluntary initiative for all fur products to be labelled with the correct scientific Latin fur species name as well as the English and/or local language common name
• The Origin Assured (OA™) label, introduced by the IFTF and its global industry partners in 2006, which assures consumers that the fur used in a product is from a country where national or local standards or regulations are in force
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• Having already introduced our OA™ label and encouraged fur species labelling, the IFTF is well placed to help the Commission ensure that new labelling initiatives are implemented properly and without too much costly red tape,” says Andy Lenhart, Chairman of the IFTF. “We in the fur trade are strong believers that consumers themselves have the right to choose and that choice should be based on accurate information.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About IFTF
International Fur Trade Federation is a federation of 42 national fur trade associations and organisations from 35 countries. Through its work and the activities of its members, the IFTF seeks to protect fur trade interests and to promote innovation, high standards, in addition to a positive and factual image of the fur industry internationally.

The IFTF promotes strict codes of practice that meet or exceed established and accepted standards for animal welfare for both wild and farmed fur. The IFTF supports governments in creating and implementing sound animal welfare legislation and international standards, such as the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS). The IFTF fully supports the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and has been a full voting member of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) since 1985.
International Fur Trade Federation website: www.iftf.com
About Origin Assured (OA™):

Developed voluntarily in 2006 by the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) in collaboration with leading auction houses: American Legend Cooperative, Finnish Fur Sales/SAGA Furs, Fur Harvesters, Kopenhagen Fur and North American Fur Auctions, the Origin Assured (OA™) label gives consumers confidence about the provenance of the fur they are buying. It is an assurance that the fur comes from a country where national or local welfare regulations or standards governing fur production are in force.

OA website: http://www.originassured.com/
Contact address:
Origin Assured
nternational Fur Trade Federation,
PO Box 495, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 8WD, UK.
Phone numbers: +44 (0)20 7427 1417
Contact Details:
PO Box 495, Weybridge, Surrey KT13 8WD