Fur products can be made responsibly. We source our fur with a zero-waste philosophy and create products in small-batches by hand.
 

 
Fur is a beautiful, high performance material which can be sourced responsibly. All Tallis fur products are made from responsibly sourced fur. What does that mean?  We think it comes down to saying yes to two questions. Do you know where the fur has come from and how the product was made? And; would you be comfortable wearing it based on what you know? To us, it’s about enabling our customers to make an informed decision based on what criteria are important to them.
 

We describe clearly on each product page how we’ve sourced the fur and why we trust it. What constitutes a trustworthy source for Tallis? It should either:

• Be sourced as a by-product of the food industry,

• Transform a waste product to give it value, such as the reclaiming fur from animals culled for environmental management,

• Minimise waste by re-manufacturing vintage pieces or using surplus manufacturing material, instead of only using new material.
   

Types of ethical fur

 
All the fur in the current Tallis collection falls into one of the following categories:
 

Food industry by-products

This is fur which comes from animals which have been bred for their meat.  The pelt or skin of the animal is a by-product when the meat is produced and can be used as a raw material in clothing or home textiles. Examples of this include sheepskin or cow hide leather from livestock. On the other hand, wool comes from shearing the live sheep or goat, not using its skin; but note that wool can come from the annual shearing of animals being raised for their meat, and so still be intrinsically linked to the food industry.

Alpine Hare : Tallis is one of very few brands to uses rabbit skin from food producers based in Switzerland.  This fur is a waste product of rabbit meat production and is treated and dyed in Switzerland.

Food industry fur in collection: sheepskin, Tibetan lambskin, Alpine Hare (rabbit)

Re-manufactured vintage fur products

This is fur we get from vintage fur garments sourced in England and Switzerland via re-sellers. Fur can last 100 years, we select only items which have been well cared for so that the hide remains soft and pliable for the re-manufacturing process. We only use vintage fur made pre-1975.

Vintage fur in collection: mink

 

Reclaimed fur from environmental management programmes

New Zealand Possum : In 1837, possums were introduced to New Zealand from Australia.  With no natural predators and an abundance of vegetation, possums continue to have a huge impact on their non-native New Zealand. As a result, the Department of Conversation commits resources to control their population. Read more from the New Zealand Government Department of Conservation.

Swiss Red Fox : Following the extinction of the wolf, lynx and bear in Switzerland, and a successful vaccination project by the Swiss government, the native red fox has thrived in the absence of natural population controls. In order to healthily regulate the species, a control system has been introduced by the government. The fur is typically destroyed and wasted, so the Swiss Association of Professional Furriers has begun to buy and promote it as an alternative fur for fashion.  Read more from the Swiss Fur Association.

By-product fur in collection: possum wool

Swiss red fox

Pre-consumer surplus

Some of the sheepskin that we use for our hats comes from surplus (odd shaped ends and small pieces) from a UK manufacturer of sheepskin garments.

Pre-consumer surplus fur in collection: sheepskin

Shop all Tallis ethical fur and sheepskin.