In addition to complete garments such as coats being made of the pelts of skinned animals (it takes the pelts of about 40 minks to make one fur coat), real fur is also very widely used as trim on winter jackets, pets' toys, hair trinkets, shoes, handbags etc. These products are sold very widely in South African shops every day. See under 'What you can do to help' on this website how to tell the difference between real fur and faux fur. We recommend, however, that you avoid fur altogether, so as not to perpetuate the belief that animal fur looks good on people. As long as people wear fur -- even faux fur --, more people will be buying real fur, either intentionally or unintentionally. Also speak politely to the proprietors of shops selling fur products, or let us know their details, so that we can write to them. If there is no market, the trade will have to stop.

 With your help, Fur Free is trying to find real fur wherever it is sold. We then inform management of the horrors of the fur trade, and try to persuade them to remove the items from their shelves or to phase them out as quickly as possible.  If they agree, we list them on our website (see the 'Wall of Fame'), and if they refurse, they are blacklisted (see the 'Wall of Shame'). If possible, we also distribute fliers in the vicinity of their shop to make shoppers aware of the facts.