By Nicole Rivard

 

Canada Goose is not only trapping and killing coyotes to make its $900-$1,695 parkas and coats—targeted at status- symbol loving hipsters—it’s trapping customers with its lies about it’s “ethical” use of animals and profiting greatly from it. Last year, the Canadian manufacturer reported a revenue of $291 million, with $103 million of that coming from misled U.S. consumers.

The Toronto-based company, which went public in March and opened stores in New York City and Boston, claims it’s doing a public service by slaughtering coyotes. “We only use the best quality fur from the Northwest regions of Canada and the United States, where coyote populations are confirmed to be highly abundant,” the company claims on its website. “In fact, in many regions of North America, coyotes are considered a pest as they attack livestock, endangered prey species, pets and sometimes even people.”

But the real fact is, Canada Goose is getting away with murder, and that sucks. So we are telling it like it is with our new “Canada Goose Sucks” buttons.

We are asking our supporters to wear them on the shoulders or chest area of their cruelty- free coats (where the Canada Goose logo would appear) this winter to raise awareness about the company’s lies. We are also calling for a boycott of this company, which is expanding internationally while profiting off the exploitation of coyotes, goose and ducks.

In addition to putting ghastly coyote collars on their garments, Canada Goose fills them with down. Once again, it misleads customers by touting its Canada Goose Down Transparency Standard, which would have the public believe it cares about geese and ducks because its down is a by-product from the poultry industry and not from live-plucked or force-fed birds.

Canada Goose may be a global brand these days, but its marketing department will never be big enough to hide its atrocities. No amount of “standards” can ever prevent the animal cruelty inherent in the poultry and trapping industries.

To process living, feeling birds into food the poultry industry relies on high–volume production, with birds treated the way companies would handle any object in an assembly line. Producers often mutilate animals to make them easier to manage in a group.

Coyotes are not pests
Coyotes are intelligent, social, emotional creatures who have thrived and expanded across North America despite campaigns of annihilation by ranchers and Wildlife Services. They should be respected for their ingenuity and resilience. In Dan Flores’ book Coyote America, he writes, “Few animals in the world come closer to mimicking us and our own unique abilities.” One of the reasons is coyotes and humans are among the few mammals in the world who have evolved fission-fusion societies—the ability to live singly or communally.

Canada Goose claims its jackets are built for the coldest places on Earth and that down and fur are the only choices. But Friends of Animals knows better as we have been educating the public about how the fur industry destroys living, feeling animals for no reason for decades. There are plenty of cold-weather materials that are just as warm as a Canada Goose jacket, but without the cruelty!

Vaute Couture, for example, the first all vegan fashion label to show at New York fashion week, makes winter coats with classic moleskin shells (100% vegan made of tightly woven cotton fibers) with a snow- resistant finish. The company’s signature coats are insulated with Primaloft ECO, which is a down alternative insulation that is slim but very warm. They are also lined in a windproof ripstop made from 100% recycled fibers, because the company knows wind creates a lot of the chill.

Flip of fur with Friends of Animals

In addition to calling out Canada Goose, Friends of Animals is continuing its Flip Off Fur campaign this season, which uses an image of a fox and a hand gesture aimed at rejecting an entire industry that condones and profits off of animal pain, suffering and death. This year we feature the fox image on a new T-shirt.

We are hoping our supporters will wear it year-round, not just during the fur-buying season. It is necessary to strike out at new attempts to portray fur as glamorous. The industry has gotten busy renovating its image after fur became a fashion faux pas in the 80s and 90s when designers began signing pledges to reject fur.

One trick of the trade to keep fur relevant is to position fur as stylish accessories or use it as trims on garments, as though fur were some versatile fabric.

In May, Vogue featured a piece called, “Who Said Mink Was Just for Winter? 14 Ways to Wear Fur All Summer Long,” which portrayed fur-lined pumps, slide sandals, handbags, T-shirts, collars, vests, key chains and trousers. And who can forget when fur-loving Rihanna sported a bright red, heart-shaped, Saint Laurent fox fur coat while out in New York City on Labor Day weekend.

But the truth is, those scraps were once part of a breathing being. A brand like Canada Goose, and an entire industry that supports the skinning of animals, can never have their best interest at heart. No matter what feel-good message they try to portray, there is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Canada Goose sucks.

Join our campaign by taking a picture of you wearing our button and tag it #CanadaGooseSucks on Instagram or Twitter so we can share it!