Guess the last time I was in JC Penney's was the last time I'll ever be in JC Penney's

[AZBlue]

Fur flies as Penney restocks dog-fur coats
Jackets pulled from stores, then put back on shelves; retailer blots out label

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16597610/

J.C. Penney Co. removed some fur-trimmed coats from its racks around Christmas after animal-rights activists objected that the fur came from wild dogs in China.

Last week, the department-store company put the coats back on the racks — but only after directing employees to use marker pens to blot out the line on the label that identified the trim as raccoon fur.

Who's buying coats made from raccoon either???

Turns out it's actually raccoon dogs...

Clothing made with raccoon dog fur has turned up at several retailers, according to Leppert of the Humane Society. She said she bought a St. John’s Bay coat in Maryland and sent it for analysis at a German laboratory, which said the fur was raccoon dog instead of raccoon.

Either way, it's disgusting.

[halobeam]

1. you know, that really IS disgusting.

I'm never going there again either. OMG... whats next!.. hamster gloves? holy crap.

[leftchick]

2. very disgusting

anyone who wears fur is dispicable in my book. FUR IS NOT A FABRIC!

[uberllama42]

3. I try only to buy clothes from Salvo.

So as to not contribute to the corporate system.

[HockeyMom]

4. Gross

I haven't owned a fur coat in over 40 years. I do own down coats and blankets, but they don't have to kill to get the down. The animal sheds naturally. I know my long haired cats certainly do (undercoat fur). If I saved all the fur around the house, I could absolutely make a nice coat or blanket.

[AlienGirl]

10. Actually, harvesting of down from live birds is very painful

It is inefficient and not cost-effective to wait and collect down that falls out naturally during a molt. How would they do it? Follow every bird around for days on end, collecting feathers that fall randomly on the ground, and then have to wash all those feather bits before using them? It is far easier to hold the bird in place and pluck its feathers out while it struggles and screams. Plucking out even one feather is painful (as anyone who's ever had to yank a broken blood-feather will tell you). The geese whose feathers are harvested for down are also often the ones being fattened for foie gras.

It is probably the more animal-friendly option to purchase down products that have been harvested from birds slaughtered for food, or to go to synthetics.

"Down" is plucked out of live geese who live in tiny cages unable to move the rest of the time.

Feathers are ripped from the birds’ bodies without anesthetic, then allowed to grow it back 4 or 5 times before they are slaughtered.

Plucking the geese causes them considerable pain and distress. The goose is held upside down, legs tied together and wings pinned back.

According to the National Humane Education Society, the birds struggle until they are exhausted, often tearing muscles and tendons or having their limbs broken as they fight against the pluckers.

http://www.pawsbc.com/down2.html

Tucker

[AndreaCG]

17. My mother bought me an eiderdown quilt more than a decade ago

It was very expensive because it is only the down on their undersides. According to this from ask.com it is gathered from the nest.

http://www.canlii.org/ca/regu/crc1035/sec32.html

[AlienGirl]

19. I stand corrected; eiderdown (different from ordinary goose down) is okay.

The regular ol' goose-down and ground-up-feather mixture in things not specifically labelled "eiderdown" is still suspect, though.

Tucker

[rgbecker]

5. Do you think they mean "Beagle"? n/t

[demrabble]

6. Disgusting

Disgusting doesn't begin to describe it.

Just thinking about wearing fur "harvested" from caged animals is beyond disgusting.

[Virginia Dare]

7. I gave up on J.C. Penney about a year or two ago...

they buy nearly everything from China now, and the quality of their merchandise is really bad.

[SoCalDem]

8. I can't believe people still want fur-trimmed anything..

[Rosemary2205]

9. And we laughed at Cruella DeVille........nt

[Double T]

11. The raccoon dog meat probably ends up in frozen dinners.........

made in china. Penney's was disgusting BEFORE this cruel story.

[demrabble]

12. An Ad For JC Penneys Here?

I just saw an ad for the JC Penney catalogue when I viewed this thread.

I'm totally surprized to see that here.

[AZBlue]

23. It's the google way of advertising.

It scans what you're looking at and brings up related links. It's creepy - and the reason I closed my google e-mail account!

[jilln]

13. Yuk. I won't be back either. Thanks for posting.

[Beaverhausen]

14. thanks for this info

I have some housewares stuff to buy and considered going there. Not anymore.

[Raine]

15. UGH, I used to shop at Penney's

but NEVER again! :mad: :grr: Wearing fur of any kind is stupid!

[Pithlet]

16. It's disgusting.

It's bad enough they've reintroduced the stock, but to flat out deceive customers about it? They won't be getting my business, either. I never would have bought the damn things anyway, because aside from the ethical reasons I don't like the look of fur, real or fake. But, I'm not going to support such business practices.

[and-justice-for-all]

18. Immoral behavior based on greed!

Exploting animals for dead presidents is appaling.

[Pied Piper]

20. My mom worked at JC Penney when I was a kid

They treated her very well - she worked M-Th, 10-2, and Friday evenings. She was home when we left for school, and she was home when we returned. Friday nights were for movies and pizza with Dad. When she asked for summers off, they told her no way, so she quit, only to reapply for the same job the next fall. After two years, they finally gave in, and let her take the summers off.

When I finished college with a BA and no idea what to do next, I worked at one of the catalog call centers. After the first 3 months, I only had to work 15 hrs/week to qualify for benefits (excellent, BTW) and profit-sharing. I was promoted quickly and soon became a trainer for the compter classes (the early awakenings of a future IT career). After three years, I moved to Boston for grad school, and when I cashed in my profit-sharing, it paid for the entire FIRST YEAR'S tuition.

My goodness! The world has certainly changed since the mid-80s...

[Quantess]

21. EEWW!

They can't afford to lose any more customers! JC Penney better watch out or they will fold like Mervyn's.

[AtomicKitten]

22. This is SUPPOSED to be banned in the US.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3011995.stm

[SanCristobal]

24. If I was in the market for a fur coat,

which I am not, I would definitely be turned off by labels blacked out with Sharpie. It seems to me the purpose of fur is to flaunt it, not hide it. I've actually worn fur, my boyfriend has a fur coat that was his grandmothers. It was a pretty big let down, very stiff and much less comfortable then I expected.

Also, raccoon dogs turn white in the winter. I learned that in 5th grade.

[AZBlue]

25. Welcome to DU!!

And, yes...excellent points about the sharpie! Can you imagine??

[SanCristobal]

27. Thanks, I love this site!

:party:

[uppityperson]

26. I have a 70 yr old fur coat I wear when it's really really cold

It has been passed down through several generations and people and I am not going to buy a petroleum based product warm coat so long as I have this one. I would not buy a new one, won't buy a new sheepskin coat even, but see nothing wrong with wearing this old one.

[Taoschick]

28. Last month

Macy's had to pull a bunch of jackets from Sean "Diddy" Combs line of clothing when it was found the fur trim was actually raccoon dog.

I don't think Raccoon dogs are banned from import into the USA. Although they're a member of the Canidae family, they're not closely related to domesticated dogs.

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. I stopped buying at JC Penney when I realized their clothes were cheap polyester shit

designed for cheap, tasteless midwesterners who don't care how they look (a "dress" shirt that's polyester and short sleeved? Really? Since when?!), so long as they got it cheap.