Dressing and Dyeing Companies

After animal skins are sold at one of thefive international auction houses, the first link in the value chain is the dressing factories.

The dressing and dyeing process uses a limited number of chemical substances that are non-hazardous (e.g. sea salt, alum). Nevertheless, the process is tightly regulated by the Technical Regulation of the Customs Union, the European Union’s REACH directives2. In the US,the use of chemicals is regulated by the Environmental Protection Act. In Canada, the corresponding regulation is the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

Fur auction houses have made it a priority to work with dressing and dyeing companies and to support trials of more environmentally friendly dyeing methods. This is one example of the cooperation across the fur value chain that is pushing the sector in a more sustainable direction.

The fur sector is also looking carefully at the global standards improving the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Severaldressers and dyers have gone through a process of testing and verification with Oeko-Tex, a leader in apparel certification. This certification addresses key priorities including: the environmental sustainability of the factory; the chemicalsused in processing, and consumer confidence in relation to absence of any negative impact on the wearer. The industrywill continue to engage with this type of certification bodyto demonstrate that fur dressing and dyeing operates to the highest environmental standards.