What Is Faux Fur?
While the look of fur is consistently popular, many people have ethical problems with how it's obtained, and it is so costly to produce that many can't afford it anyway. However, faux fur, also known as fake fur or fun fur, has a similar look and feel, is less expensive, and does not harm animals in the making. Faux fur is used to make a variety of products and simulates nearly every fur imaginable, including fox, leopard and mink.
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History
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First developed in 1929, the early attempts at faux fur resulted in a product that was gray or brown and nowhere near as desirable as real pelts. However, realizing that it was both cheap to produce and warm, the manufacturers kept trying. The breakthrough came in the 1950s with the introduction of acrylic polymers, which were lightweight and easy to dye. In the late 1950s, modacrylics, or acrylic polymers combined with other polymers, were developed to make a flame-resistant product the most similar yet to real fur.
Identification
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With so many fur-like products on the market, it can often be difficult to distinguish faux fur from the real stuff, but there are several tests you can use to help identify a fake. First, try the feel test, running the fibers between your finger and thumb; real fur should feel silky while fake fur feels rougher. Next, you can try the burn test, putting a few hairs to a flame and smelling them; real fur should give off a human hair-like odor, while faux fur will melt and have a plastic smell. Finally, you can push a pin into the fur backing; if the fur is real, the leather base will be difficult to puncture, but it will be much easier on a fake fur.
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Uses
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Although it was first created for clothing purposes, faux fur appears in many items including blankets, rugs, handbags and even toys such as teddy bears.
Advantages
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Fake furs may not be quite as soft as the real thing, but they have several advantages: They are easier to clean and store, are much cheaper to buy, are available in any color imaginable and are more ecologically friendly.
Disadvantages
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Faux fur technology is advancing so quickly that someday perhaps it will be nearly impossible to tell it's fake; however, current disadvantages are that it is not as warm as real fur, it can shed, and the higher qualities are not always readily available.
Popularity
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As animal rights issues have become more important to people and faux fur has become better, it has grown in popularity. Famous high-fashion designers, including Mark Bouwer and Ralph Lauren, as well as chain brands like American Eagle use fake fur in their collections while celebrities such as Natalie Portman advocate its use.
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References
- Photo Credit fur #2 image by Adam Borkowski from Fotolia.com
