Macy's, Bloomingdale's to stop selling fur

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Oct 22, 2019

Macy’s Inc. has announced that it will stop selling fur by the end of fiscal 2020, a policy that will extend to all Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s private brands, as well as items sold from brand partners. 

In addition, fur will no longer be sold in Macy’s Inc. off-price stores, including Macy’s Backstage and Bloomingdale’s The Outlet, the company said in a press statement. As part of the commitment, Macy’s will be closing its ‘Fur Vaults’ and salons.

“Over the past two years, we have been closely following consumer and brand trends, listening to our customers and researching alternatives to fur,” said Jeff Gennette, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s Inc.

“We’ve listened to our colleagues, including direct feedback from our Go Green Employee Resource Group, and we have met regularly on this topic with the Humane Society of the United States and other NGOs. Macy’s private brands are already fur free so expanding this practice across all Macy’s, Inc. is the natural next step. We are proud to partner with the Humane Society of the United States in our commitment to ending the sale of fur. We remain committed to providing great fashion and value to our customers, and we will continue to offer high-quality and fashionable faux fur alternatives.”

The no-fur plan marks the end of an era for Macy’s, whose history as a golden-era department store was often defined by its array of decadent fur coats. 

The decision is also a testament to the rapidly growing industry shift away from fur, with brands like Prada and 3.1 Phillip Lim ,as well as companies like Farfetch, each announcing their own plans to stop using fur this year. The companies, however, are latecomers to the fur ban, compared to industry names like Stella McCartney, Michael Kors and Asos. 

More recently, anti-fur policies have expanded beyond brands and retailers to entire cities, states and countries, with California becoming the first U.S. state to ban the sale of fur last week and Ireland becoming the 15th European country to ban fur farming in June. 

“We applaud Macy’s Inc.’s forward-thinking and principled decision to end the sale of fur by the end of fiscal 2020,” said Kitty Block, president and chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States.

“This announcement is consistent with the views of countless consumers in the marketplace, and other retailers should follow.”