Are mink false eyelashes fuelling the fur trade and future pandemics?
As a coronavirus mutation on a Danish mink fur farm shocks the world, a new report by Moving Animals reveals how popular brands are still selling false eyelashes made from mink fur.
Last week, the news broke that a coronavirus mutation had jumped from minks to humans. Scientists feared that this could hamper the effectiveness of a future vaccine, and panic ensued. The mass culling of the country’s 15 million mink was ordered, and the fur farming industry was thrown into the spotlight once again for the world to scrutinize.
The images of the cull haunted us for days. They showed piles of bodies being offloaded from trucks into mass graves, and dead minks being wheeled towards incinerators. The cruel reality of fur farming also received global attention; more than 100 million animals suffer and die at the hands of the fur trade each year, and the majority of fur is produced by intensively farming animals in cramped battery-cages.
At Moving Animals, we work to get animals’ stories in front of those who need to see them. As well as photojournalism and film, we also conduct original research and investigations, to craft stories that will help catch the world's attention with animal issues. After news of the mink cull hit, and with people in the UK asking the question “who still wears mink fur?”, we decided to look into the retailers still profiting from this horrific trade.
Our research revealed that it’s not just small, independent fur shops in the UK that sell mink fur, but also a host of leading brands and household names that have mink fur products still for sale too. The world-famous Harrods, for example, has everything from a Fendi Kids Fun Fur Mink Blanket (retailing at £4,590) to Isaak Azanei Fur-Trim Sweatpants (£450).
“A far cry from the stale and outdated mink fur coats owned by previous generations, mink eyelashes are fully on-trend and favoured by a whole host of popular celebrities and social media ‘influencers’. ”
And perhaps one of the most overlooked fur products is mink-fur false eyelashes. A far cry from the stale and outdated mink fur coats owned by previous generations, mink eyelashes are fully on-trend and favoured by a whole host of popular celebrities and social media “influencers”.
Despite so many synthetic, animal-free alternatives available, some leading beauty brands are still choosing to use mink fur for their false eyelashes. Lilly Lashes, endorsed by the likes of Kylie Jenner and James Charles, still sells the cruel product and has been condemned for “misleading” consumers by mislabelling their mink fur products as 'cruelty-free’. As PETA points out, it’s impossible to farm mink fur ‘ethically’, with “minks confined to small, depressing, cramped wire cages in highly unsanitary conditions”.
The tide is turning though. Thanks to increased public awareness and consumer demand for animal-free beauty products, more and more brands are phasing out real mink fur lashes.
Leading UK brand Tatti Lashes, who our research named as one of the retailers currently selling mink fur, told us that they are taking “drastic steps” to becoming a 100% synthetic eyelash brand. The popular brand confirmed that they have not introduced any new mink eyelash styles in two years, and instead launched 36 new faux styles in the same time frame. They aim to become a 100% synthetic eyelash lash brand in 2021.
Similarly, Falseeyelashes.co.uk made the decision earlier in the year not to order any more mink lashes. “The lash industry has seen a lot of innovation recently and there's a bright future for all things false lashes - mink lashes are not a part of that bright future”, the brand told us.
Finally, leading beauty publication Glamour magazine, covered our research and concluded to its thousands of makeup fans: “Our verdict? Steer clear and opt for truly cruelty-free lashes by having synthetic ones applied, instead.”
This progress away from mink fur couldn’t come quick enough. The coronavirus pandemic has reasserted that the consequences of how we interact with nature is not only an animal issue - it is also a human issue, a global issue, and one that affects us collectively.
As for Lilly Lashes? Over 100,000 people have already urged the company to drop mink fur eyelashes, and the brand’s Instagram page is currently flooded with animal advocates speaking out against their cruel products.
Together, by raising awareness and speaking out against the fur industry, we are closer than ever to making fur farms a thing of the past.
Journalist Paul Healey and award-winning documentary photographer Amy Jones are the duo behind the media project Moving Animals. They work on the ground to document animals used for food, entertainment, fashion, and vivisection. The project’s mission is to bring animals’ stories to mainstream media and policymakers through powerful photography, film, and investigative journalism.
Their work has been featured in more than 150 news outlets around the world, including The Guardian, The Independent, and Channel News Asia. Follow Moving Animals on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Visit their website at www.movinganimals.org.
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