Furmark® has been developed by the International Fur Federation (IFF) with a roundtable of Luxury Brands, all of whom work with Natural Fur as part of their supply chain or offering.
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There are three key principles around which Furmark® is operated; Science, Independent Inspection and Transparency. In order to deliver these principles across the industry, we must collectively ensure that our Certification Programmes along with their individual protocols must all be Science-based and additionally they must be approved by a panel of independent experts. All of our Furmark®  Certifications must also be verified by third parties whilst being publicly available and also maintaining the pre-agreed standards around Sustainability, Relevance, Accessibility, and Traceability that have been set out since its inception.

Leading experts from across the industry have come together to develop a solution for both the manufacturing and retail industries in this sector for far too long. Incorporating ChainPoint Traceability Technology. Furmark® is able to ensure full integration and ongoing transparency across its entire supply chain which benefits retailers as well as consumers. All our labelling is explicitly linked to individual products and stock, allowing all distribution to be tightly controlled and monitored which in turn helps to protect and preserve the integrity of the certification system.

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The difference for Manufacturers:

For Manufacturers to create Furmark® certified products, they must have completed a stringent and dedicated Furmark® due diligence exercise. To help ensure the integrity of Furmark® and also at manufacturing and retail level, this particular due diligence exercise also incorporates all of the necessary high level checks to ensure they are operating within the required and relevant national regulations and rules.

In order for us to support our objective of delivering genuine and reliable garments to the market, all materials include anti-counterfeit measures to ensure not only security, but credibility of the Brand overall, this will be supplemented with post-implementation checks which will be in place across the supply chain from beginning to end.

How does this impact on Retailers?:

At retail level, Furmark® have nurtured a genuine partnership with like minded and relevant sellers and retailers around the globe, off the back of which a labelling system has been developed specifically for Furmark® in order to ensure it is fit for purpose and easily adoptable immediately following its Global 2021 launch.

We are aware that retailers across the industry are an essential source of Fur related information for the wider public. Retailers have demonstrated that they are able to proactively and reactively inform, advise and even assist those who may be opting to purchase sustainable, natural garments, home furnishings or accessories. Additionally, these retailers and ‘furriers’ also play a vital role when it comes to refreshing, remodelling or even repairing garments, providing a great opportunity to educate both new and existing customers.

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Interested in joining Furmark® or finding out more?:

By joining and working with Furmark®, you are not just making a commitment to the highest standards around sustainability and animal welfare, you will also receive a host of other benefits, including access to:

● Guaranteed Furmark® accredited furs from both farmed and wild origins.

● A fully traceable system able to identify your furs as they move through the supply chain.

● The latest research, data and best practice.

● Communication and marketing support including Furmark® branded materials

● Practical support from Furmark® and it’s partners.  

Download the Furmark® membership document (sample here) and contact the IFF directly to discuss your application.

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Welcome to Furmark® - please read on to find out more about our Certification and Traceability programs and our overall mission to change natural fur industry forever. We hope you will join us on our journey to raise standards across the sector and ensure that consumers can access the highest quality, verified, and traceable certified natural fur products.

We recognise that the public, regulators and those in the fashion world do not always have the clearest understanding of the fur trade. This is why the International Fur Federation (IFF) has created a single certification framework for natural fur; Furmark®. We are a new global certification and traceability system for sustainable natural fur that ensures the highest animal welfare and environmental standards across the industry, and your business can be part of it too.

But how does it work?

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With Furmark® all products are traceable, verified, and guaranteed to have met recognised standards. Furmark®’s system encompasses a number of individual certification programmes. Each programme has a specific, independently-developed science-based protocol or standard. These respective programmes are then subject to third-party assessment and certified by a recognised certification body. This system also includes a traceability component along with a quality mark to indicate its certification, which most importantly for the future of the industry, is accessible to the consumer.

Consumers, suppliers and producers alike can feel at ease with Furmark® knowing that all stages of the supply chain are subject to stringent certification, third-party assessment, and traceability throughout the product life cycle. The traceability system has been designed and developed by a team of independent experts experienced in textile traceability. The objective of this is to trace fur from its origin to its endpoint, ensuring the same level of confidence and assurances exist across every stage of the supply chain for everyone involved.

Getting in touch to join:

By joining Furmark® you are not just making a commitment to the highest standards around sustainability and animal welfare, you will also receive a host of other benefits, including access to:

- A fully traceable system able to identify your furs as they move through the supply chain.

- The latest research, data and best practice.

- Communication and marketing support including Furmark® branded materials

- Practical support from Furmark® and it’s partners.  

Furmark® is also working with FACT, who will conduct due diligence checks on all potential Furmark® members. FACT are aligned with societal values and the expectations of contemporary consumers whilst also undertaking the necessary checks to ensure that Furmark® members are meeting their commitments.

Furmark® and its members strive to act with integrity at all times. In practice, this means there is a dedicated Code of Conduct for members. This covers, among other matters, a commitment to the mission, specific aims, and strategic principles of Furmark® as well as a requirement for responsibility and transparency. Compliance is an essential part of Furmark® and ensures that organisations downstream in the supply chain are making the same efforts as those upstream in the supply chain.

It is this combined commitment from all elements of the chain that will help us redefine industry standards and in doing so, ensure a more sustainable, transparent and trustworthy trade is continued moving forwards.

 
Download the Furmark® membership document (sample file) and contact the IFF directly to discuss your application.

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Furmark ® LAUNCHES: GAME CHANGER FOR FUR SECTOR GUARANTEEING ANIMAL WELFARE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS, ANSWERING CRITICS

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Customers now have the green light to buy and wear natural fur with total confidence with the launch of a comprehensive global certification and traceability system that guarantees animal welfare and environmental standards, Furmark®. In the biggest industry shakeup to date, the fur trade is transforming the way it processes natural fur through its supply chain.

Available globally and developed by the International Fur Federation (IFF)—with input from LVMH Group (the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate), and key brands—Furmark® products are traceable, verified, and guaranteed to have met recognised standards.

Furmark® will change how fur is seen and open up fur to a whole new market and audience: it answers the unfounded accusations of those opposed to fur. The sector, industry leaders, scientists, sustainability leads, and welfare experts have come together to agree a set of recognised standards—based on science, independent inspection, and transparency—and a global labelling regime that is set to modernise natural fur.

Furmark®-certified products have a unique alphanumeric label code that provides full traceability details (fur type; fur origin, animal welfare programme; manufacturer; and place of manufacture), ensuring consumers can buy natural fur with confidence.

Furmark®certification means consistent standards across the supply chain: it only incorporates wild or farm-raised natural fur from the leading animal welfare programmes (including the first animal welfare programme to be promoted through the European Commission’s Self-Regulation and Co-Regulation Initiative, WelFur) sold through the auction system.

Fullycertified products must be processed by accredited dressers and dyers who meet the SafeFur Standard (covering sustainability, chemical usage, emissions, and product safety) which includes third-party testing. Furmark®-certified products can only be manufactured by businesses that have passed due diligence checks conducted by brand protection and anti-counterfeiting experts. Each step of the process is recorded via a customer-accessible traceability component, ensuring transparency across the supply chain.

Each animal welfare and sustainability programme has a detailed, independently-developed, and science-based protocol or standard. The respective programmes are then subject to third-party assessment and certified by a recognised certification body. Strict, active enforcement is ensured via visits and assessments: those that do not meet standards are excluded from the certification programme and the Furmark® system.

New global research showed that 70% of the public are “open” in some form to designers and brands using natural fur. A majority (65%) of those individuals responded positively to Furmark®and more than half (56%) say it “very positively” or “positively” changes their view of natural fur.

Mark Oaten, CEO, IFF, said: “This is a game changer: if people had doubts about buying or wearing natural fur, then they have been answered with Furmark®.”

“Our centuries-old trade is undergoing its most significant transformation to date; traceable, sustainable products represent the real alternative to ‘fast fashion’.”

It guarantees animal welfare and environmental standards and demonstrates our shared ambition to deliver a transparent, easy-to-understand certification. It means, in short, that people can confidently buy sustainable natural fur.

“Furmark® delivers global, recognised standards, directly to the consumer.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS

The International Fur Federation (IFF), established in 1949, represents andregulates the global fur sector. It has 56 member associations in over 40countries around the world. The Federation promotes the business of sustainablenatural fur and, as such, actively works to develop, implement, and advanceanimal welfare and environmental standards.

LVMH Group has brought invaluable expertise and time over the past 4 years to help develop the Furmark® program: alongside other industry experts and stakeholders, sustainability professionals from both groups provided input and feedback on the requirements set in the protocols shaping the standards and certification schemes recognized under the Furmarkprogram and shared their standards on safe use of chemicals in fur dyeing. Brands also collaborated with traceability platforms, including the ChainPoint system, through the supply of data to develop a robust reporting process. This work is endorsed by the Furmark® Steering Group, which follows strict governance rules.

Research quoted: 5,000 adults; key markets — US, UK, Italy, France, and Spain; March-April 2021; Mitchla Marketing on behalf of the IFF.

To arrange a visit to a fur farm included in Furmark®, please contact: support@furmark.com

For further information and interview requests, please contact: support@furmark.com