The fur trade is unique among modern industries in supporting a remarkable range of cultures, traditional skills and lifestyles. It also plays an important role in environmental conservation and habitat management - as well as contributing to international business, providing employment and economic benefits to many countries.

Man and Fur
Man has always used the products of other species, and most people recognise our right to do so provided we behave responsibly and with respect, and ensure that natural productivity and habitats are not damaged. Modern society feels a particular impulse to ensure that the animals we use, whether for food, clothing, medical research, sport or pets, are treated humanely and with consideration. The fur industry, whilst rejecting the attempts by 'animal rights' campaigners to penalise people who wish to wear fur, has long recognised that farming and trapping techniques must take account of the scientific advice on welfare - and has invested major sums in research to this end. Though necessarily expensive, fur remains a supreme example of a fashion product that derives from a wholly natural sustainable resource, is long-lasting but ultimately biodegradable, delivers rare benefits in sustaining fragile communities and habitats, and which embodies traditions of human craftsmanship that few other modern products possess.

Fur has been traded for thousands of years, and the need to satisfy growing demand explains key developments in modern history. Furs were traded by the Phoenicians and other ancient Mediterranean civilisations. The search for fine skins (including sable) lay behind Russia's push eastwards in the 17th century, beyond the Urals into Siberia and the Pacific regions. The early history of North America turns around the commercial need to satisfy European demand, initially for beaver, leading to intense competition between French and English adventurers, traders and eventually governments. Aboriginal Americans caught and supplied the furs for this trade, and sold food and supplies to the traders. The fur trade was one of the few sectors of the European economy in which aboriginal hunters could participate while maintaining - and reinforcing - their traditional lifestyle and cultural values. Even today - and marking the strong link with history that characterises many aspects of fur - the trade is important for the livelihoods of many aboriginal Canadians, Alaskans, 'Cajun' Louisianans and Siberians. Many areas supportive of fur-bearing species are unsuited to agricultural development, and a bush-oriented lifestyle remains a viable, and sometimes the only, economic alternative. About one half of Canada's 80,000 trappers are aboriginals - Indians, Metis or Inuit.

Furs Conservation and wildlife management
The use of wild species for fur is strictly controlled, both nationally and internationally. The international fur trade uses no endangered species. The commercial demand for fur, and government regulation of trapping, have in fact ensured that trappers are effectively the modern world's eyes and ears in monitoring the ecology and environment of sensitive areas. Trapping communities, participating in scientific wildlife management programmes, use trapping to control animal overpopulation problems, avoiding imbalances that can bring disease and damage to both animal populations and their natural habitats. In many instances, commercially harvested fur-bearing populations are more stable and abundant today than 100 years ago - whilst the threat to other species endangered by poaching, habitat reduction, intensive agriculture and encroachment by rival species continues to cause concern. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which regulates trade in threatened and endangered species and the World Conservation Union (also known as the IUCN - of which IFTF is a member), are both important international conservation organisations. They seek to conserve the world's natural resources and ensure through international co-operation that man's use of them is sustainable. The international fur trade, through the IFTF, works closely with both organisations.

Farming
Farmed furs (mink and fox) are the mainstay of the fur trade, accounting for approximately 85 per cent of the industry's turnover. Most fur farming takes place (64 per cent) in Northern Europe and North America (11 per cent). The remainder occurs in countries as far apart as Argentina, the Baltic States, Ukraine and Russia. Fur farming is a well regulated farming activity.

Traditional Skills live on
European furriers have been organised in guilds, since at least the 14th century. For many centuries, furriers made caps, gloves, muffs, collars and linings for cloaks and coats. But it was only in the 19th century that fur garments were worn showing the hair on the outside. Many skills are involved in the transformation of fur from pelt to luxury garment. Before pelts come to auction they are scraped and dried to prevent decay. They can then be stored safely. Pelts must be dressed, which is a highly skilled operation. At the dresser, skins are soaked several times in tubs or tanks in brine or saline solutions to clean and soften them. Skin layers and other tissues are then removed. This is followed by placing the skins in a "drum" (known as a "kicker") for further softening. The skins are then "pickled", placed in a tanning bath where chrome is added, and then dried. Afterwards, skins are stretched and, if no dyeing is required, the goods are finished by ironing or hand combing and often plasticising to bring out the true lustre. If skins are dyed, blended or re-inforced, modern scientific techniques, often combined with further plucking or shearing, can transform furs into a multitude of colours, from conventional dark to very light pastel shades, and different textures. After processing, pelts are sorted and matched. Then, according to the designer's pattern, they are wetted, stretched and tacked to a blocking table, where the furrier works to shape and soften them. In many cases the pelts are let out (sliced) into narrow strips and then stitched back together using hundreds of intricate seams, in order to make a flowing, supple material - a technique demanding painstaking skill. Off-cuts are not discarded, but sewn to make "plates" which are then used to make less expensive garments or linings. As every pelt is unique, the making of fur garments can never be automated. The trade is still characterised by small-scale family-run businesses of specialist craftsmen. It can take months to produce a fine coat from the raw material to the finished product.

Fur trade today
Fur is an international business today, adding value to many different economies on its journey from its origins to luxury shops of North America, the Far East and Europe.

Auction : Pelts normally enter the international trading system through one of the modern international auction houses located, traditionally, close to producing areas. Auction houses operate in Copenhagen; Helsinki; New York and Seattle; Toronto, North Bay and Vancouver; St Petersburg; Frankfurt and Leipzig, and Hong Kong. The farmers and trappers who ship the raw skins to the auction houses - either direct or through local collectors - receive the price paid at auction less a small commission for grading and handling. The buyers at auctions need to exercise high levels of skill, experience and commercial acumen in selecting and bidding for the furs, which are traditionally sold in graded and assorted 'lots'. Buyers may be furriers buying in their own right, but are more likely to be brokers using their skills to buy on behalf of furriers, or dealers whose companies sell finished skins to furriers or manufacturers around the world. Fur wholesalers and merchants, buying at auction to supply manufacturers, operate as truly international enterprises and hold stocks in North America, London and the Far East. The high value and volume of the skins handled means that entrepot trade can have a high economic impact in countries which are not, in themselves, traditionally large markets for finished furs, for example the United Kingdom.

Manufacture : The auction houses release the skins to the buyer after payment. After dressing, the skins will then make a further journey to the furrier or manufacturer, often working to the patterns of world-famous designers. Important furriery skills still operate close to traditional markets, such as the USA, Canada, Greece, France, Germany, Austria, Italy and the Nordic countries. But many top quality garments are nowadays also made in Hong Kong and China, drawing on Asian traditions of meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail. (Indeed, Northern China has nurtured a tradition of finishing skins and creating fur garments going back many centuries).

Markets : Markets for fur garments have traditionally existed in North America, Europe, Russia and the Nordic countries and these remain important. But in recent years sales of furs have greatly expanded in the prospering economies of Japan, Korea and China. Supply and demand fluctuates and can be cyclical, like that for most manufactured products, the main factor being levels of economic confidence - though periods of successive warm winters can also depress sales. 1996 and 1997 saw a major revival, with many markets showing an increase in retail sales. Fur retailing is traditionally a small, family-run business, often drawing on skills passed down the family through several generations. Large department stores are also important outlets for furs, both for full-fur fashion garments and for pieces using fur as a trim or accessory.

Fur and fashion trends
Fur is clearly in fashion as demonstrated by the fact that sales of fur are on the increase. Moreover, the number of leading designers and/or design houses working in fur, shearling or fur trim has grown impressively over the past five years. They value fur's unique ability to add texture, glamour and sensuality to an ensemble. Over 170 fashion designers are currently working with fur including Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gianfranco Ferre, Gucci, Michael Kors, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves St Laurent, Valentino and Versace.

Economic Impact
The fur industry extends so widely that it is almost impossible to quantify its global economic impact. However, some examples include:

• In the European Union it is estimated that the fur trade employs some 175,000 people directly, plus a further 50,000 working in supply trades. The total retail trade turnover of the EU in fur is estimated at over $6 billion.
• Annual retail fur sales figures for the US alone increased by ten per cent in 1995 to $1.2 billion with a further five per cent increase in 1996. The US fur industry comprises approximately 1,400 retailers and 100 manufacturers and employs over 50,000 people.
• In Canada, the entire fur industry adds some $600 million to the Canadian economy annually. There are about 80,000 trappers in Canada, of whom about half are aboriginal people.
• Hong Kong is the world's leading exporter of fur clothing. Total exports surged by 48 per cent to HK$ 2,359 million in 1996, reflecting buoyant sales to most major markets, including Japan, South Korea, the USA and Canada.