Sean John Jackets Made From Dogs
 

Macy's Pulls Sean John Hooded Jackets
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer
16 HOURS AGO
NEW YORK - Macy's has pulled from its shelves and its Web site two styles of Sean John hooded jackets, originally advertised as featuring faux fur, after an investigation by the nation's largest animal protection organization concluded that the garments were actually made from a certain species of dog called "raccoon dog."

"First these jackets were falsely advertised as faux fur, and then it turned out that the fur came from a type of dog," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.

Pacelle added that the issue is an "industry-wide problem" and its investigation demonstrated that retailers and designers "aren't paying close enough attention to the fur trim they are selling." He added that the issue is especially problematic when "the fur is sourced from China where domestic dogs and cats and raccoon dogs are killed in gruesome ways."

Raccoon dogs _ which are not domestic animals _ are indigenous to Asia, including eastern Siberia and Japan, and have been raised in large numbers because their fur closely resembles raccoon, Pacelle said.

Orlando Veras, a spokesman at Macy's, a division of Federated Department Stores Inc., confirmed Friday that the retailer had removed the jackets, releasing a statement saying that it has a "long-standing policy against the selling of any dog or cat fur." He continued, "This policy is clearly communicated to all suppliers."

The Sean John jackets _ one a snorkel style, the other a classic version _ had been labeled "raccoon fur," but were advertised as faux fur, Pacelle said.

In a statement by Sean "Diddy" Combs released by his publicist Hampton Carney, the designer said: "I was completely unaware of the nature of this material, but as soon as we were alerted, the garments were pulled off the Macy's floor and Web site. I have instructed our outerwear licensee to cease the production of any garments using this material immediately."

Macy's removal of the coats comes on the heels of other tests conducted by the Humane Society of the United States on a range of fur-trimmed jackets from retailers such as Burlington Coat Factory, Bloomingdale's, J.C. Penney and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as from designers and clothing lines such as Baby Phat, Andrew Marc, MaxMara and Calvin Klein. Those tests revealed that most of the jackets labeled as "raccoon" or coyote" from China in fact contained fur from raccoon dogs.

Of the 10 garments tested by the Humane Society, nine tested positive as raccoon dog fur and were mislabeled, a violation of federal law.

The Humane Society is also calling upon Congress to amend the Dog and Cat Protection Act _ which bans the sale of dog or cat fur in the United States _ to include raccoon dog, since the organization says these dogs are so "inhumanely" killed and their species are similar to domesticated dogs.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://finance.comcast.net/www/news....h=itn_seanjean

:eek: :shocked: :mad: :distress: and yeah. Sure he didnt know. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I know I totally believe him.

And I love that they were advertised as "faux fur." Bastards.

that's disgusting.

Looks like he treats animals like he treats his employees....like ****te.

i was reading this yesterday & it made me so sick, what an ass!!!~

come on you guys do you really think he knew? I cant imagine he's that much of an expert in fur, he probably just took the label at face value.

But I think this proves a good point, that since China doesnt have the same sort of protections (or ethical guidelines) that are standard here in the US, that a BOYCOTT of any animal or "faux" animal products from China be implemented.

Also, this shows to me at least, the folly of outsourcing to foreign countries. I think it would be safer to use USA products, USA workers and keep the entire process within our own borders, from start to finish.

UGH:mad: this really pisses me off.

As though I needed another reason to dislike this guy. And not knowing is no excuse, no one apologizes for mistakes anymore, they just point fingers. Not that I would ever expect him to be a model of character.

He's a rapper, what do you expect?:lol:

I allow no excuse for the use of any kind of fur. You'd have to have been living under a rock or on another planet all your life to not know where such fur comes from or how these animals are treated.

And these raccoon dogs that are being used for these jackets? I've seen footage of how they are kept, skinned and killed. It was enough to give me nightmares for weeks. I've seen some pretty gruesome footage of animal abuse, but this takes the cake.

The dogs are kept in tiny cages. Then dragged out by their feet, slammed on the ground, and beaten and stomped on until they die or are rendered immobile. Then they are hung up and skinned, often while still alive and fully conscious. One piece of footage showed a freshly skinned raccoon dog lift its head up and face the camera.

I won't post any links, but this footage can be seen on YouTube and I'm sure at the websites of organizations like PETA. I found several examples on YouTube by searching for the phrase "skinned alive."

Fluff Diddly is a slack jawed no talent bastard. Not a surprise.

I can't even bring myself to watch, but I literally just started crying from reading that. It makes me want to vomit.

Well, it never occurred to me to question the origin of this fur but then I dont buy fur so I dont think about it. If that means Im living under a rock, so be it.

I havent been to the PETA website in a looooooooong time, so I wasnt aware there were even such animals as raccoon dogs. I dont condone any use of fur, but that's not the point I was trying to make: my point was that I dont think Sean KNEW. To vilify HIM for common practices in China is misplacing your anger IMO. I think what we should do is pester congress to disallow any trade with China that violates domestic practices (ie, no cats or dogs used for fur, etc)

I remember first hearing of racoon dogs on the anime "Inu Yasha", since one of the minor characters "Haji" is a racoon dog, And sure 'nuff he is drawn accurately to the real thing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racoon_dog

Raccoon Dogs are native to Japan, southeastern Siberia, and Manchuria but now range as far as Scandinavia and France; in 2005, sightings were reported in Italy as well. Average adult head and body length is about 65 cm (2 ft) and weight ranges from 4 to 10 kg (9 to 22 lb). Average litters consist of 5 pups. Longevity is 3–4 years in the wild and 11 years in captivity. They are found in both plains and mountainous regions and are especially common in woodlands. Raccoon Dogs are commonly seen near villages and in rural areas.