LONDON — Harvey Nichols has turn into the most recent luxury name to say “no” to fur, vowing to go pelt-free by the top of 2023.

The U.K. retailer is the most recent in an extended list of luxury names to reject fur and the choice is unlikely to dent sales.

Harvey Nichols sells little or no fur and most of it features as trim on parkas by brands which have already began phasing it out.

The shop’s most costly fur item is a Yves Salomon black mink coat priced at 7,185 kilos. Even that brand has begun searching for alternatives to fur. Two years ago it transformed its secondary line Meteo into a completely fur-free collection. The French furrier has used natural materials, similar to shearling and woven wool, for the gathering.

The remaining of the fur on the Harvey Nichols shop floor comes because the trim on coats by Moose Knuckles, Canada Goose and Moncler, all of which have already phased out fur or are within the technique of doing so.

On Friday, Harvey Nichols said it was “committed to sustainable and responsible practice” across all areas of the business, “and ethical trading is a crucial a part of this program.” 

The corporate said it made the choice as a part of an ongoing review of its practices and continued sustainability initiatives and “will phase out the sale of fur or fur-trimmed products each online and in stores, to be completely fur-free by the top of 2023.”

The retailer said that this yr, because it begins eliminating fur, it would proceed to require any brand using fur to stick to the Animal Sourcing Principles as set out by the Responsible Luxury Initiative.

The International Fur Federation said in a press release to WWD that Harvey Nichols’ decision to eliminate fur “will diminish the selection that it would have the opportunity to supply to their customers, particularly for environmentally sustainable materials. 

“The fur sector had regular contact and meetings with the senior management team inside Harvey Nichols. Throughout, they fully recognised and supported the steps taken by the industry around welfare and certification. It’s disappointing that they were, nevertheless, unduly influenced by the continued campaign within the U.K. run by a small variety of animal rights activists attacking fur. We might urge them to reconsider this decision so they can meet the demand for natural fur that continues to be strong within the U.K.”  

Harvey Nichols follows retailers including Selfridges, Mytheresa, Neiman Marcus and a slew of brands including Burberry and Gucci on the no-fur path.

Pressure from activists, and most people, about sustainability, animal welfare practices and the environmental impact of farming and producing pelts for fashion have forced many corporations to reevaluate their approach to fur.

The industry, and the perception of fur, was dealt a hammer blow through the pandemic after a mutation of the COVID-19 virus was detected in Denmark’s mink farms. Farmers were forced to cull the country’s entire mink population leading to the closure of major fur businesses, including the world’s largest auction house, Kopenhagen Fur. The cull stirred huge controversy each inside Denmark and outdoors as some questioned whether killing all the mink population was excessive.

At the identical time, textile manufacturers have been working to provide synthetic, sustainable and biodegradable fur fibers. Most fake fur currently is made from plastic, which just isn’t biodegradable.

Stella McCartney, a longtime animal rights activist, has said her aim is to work with fur that’s made exclusively from recycled or natural raw materials. Her brand is currently working with a recent plant-based material called Koba, which it has been codeveloping with DuPont and its faux fur suppliers.