Why The Fur Trade Is Declining In China

ACTAsia, a non-profit organization that supports long-term positive change for animals and the environment, has researched the fur trade since 2017. Their 2024 report offers updated statistics on and insights into China’s fur industry, and raises awareness of the negative impacts of producing fur on animals, humans, and the planet.

As a proportion of total global output, China is the largest mink (31%), fox (91%), and raccoon dog (nearly 100%) fur producer in the world. This fur is primarily sourced from animals raised on factory farms.

Due to the country’s fur market boom in the 1980s and 1990s, China has a large supply chain network from production through to retail. Different regions in China have different climates and regulations associated with fur production, with most producers located in the northeast of the country. The very cold climate means that the animals have thicker fur and the people living there have a greater demand for fur products. China is also a significant exporter of fur clothing to other parts of Asia, Russia, Africa, and the United States.

Despite the strength of its position in the global fur industry, there has been a significant and rapid decline in fur production in China in recent years. From 2021 to 2022, production dropped by 18%, and then decreased a further 54% from 2022 to 2023. Fox fur production declined the most (-64%), followed by raccoon dog (-60%) and mink (-33%) fur production.

From 2023 to 2024, the number of fur production businesses in China decreased from 18,053 to 10,707 — an estimated 41% bankruptcy rate. China’s fur clothing export also fell by 61% between 2019 and 2022, with an especially sharp decline in exports to Russia.

In its report, ACTAsia points to a number of reasons for this downward trend, highlighting the complexity of the industry’s issues:

• Global opposition to fur farming is growing, with restrictions, phase-outs, and bans being implemented in Europe and other regions like Japan, New Zealand, and parts of North America.
• China is facing issues of oversupply and strong international competition, as well as lower domestic demand. While e-commerce and social media are driving fur product sales in the country, shedding, odors, and poor stitching are common. These quality issues, alongside the mislabelling of fur, has caused consumer mistrust. Consumer preferences are also changing, with some shifting towards artificial fur products.

ACTAsia’s report also explores the continued negative impacts of the fur industry in China (and globally), including:

• Human health risks: Fur farming increases the risk of future pandemics, such as coronavirus and avian influenza viruses. This is because minks, foxes, and raccoon dogs farmed for fur can easily contract and transmit infections. Since 2020, reports of disease outbreaks in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland have proved that human health suffers from current fur farming practices. At the same time, the processing of fur requires the use of hazardous and polluting chemicals, which are extremely dangerous for humans, potentially contributing to greater cancer risks in both consumers and workers.
• Environmental harms: Fur farming has significant negative environmental consequences as the industry uses more water and has a higher carbon footprint than other material types. The environmental degradation is apparent too as pollutants contaminate nearby water sources.
• Animal welfare concerns: In China, animals farmed for fur are classified as livestock, not wildlife, and are therefore not well protected under the law. Current welfare certifications also fail to protect fur-farmed animals. Reasons stem from conflicts of interest as these schemes are funded and influenced by the fur industry, as well as poor criteria and scoring systems for ensuring animal welfare.

Although ACTAsia has demonstrated that raising awareness of these issues does make a difference to consumer behaviors, further work is required. An innovative example is their educational course, Compassion in Fashion: Sustainability and the Global Fur Trade, which launched in 2020. The course has seen enrollments increase, with Chinese students making up a notable 71% of total enrollments in 2023. This is particularly encouraging as the international fur industry closely collaborates with academic institutions in China to promote fur in fashion design and information on animal welfare, environmental impacts, and health concerns of fur is often lacking in fashion student education.

Finally, the report offers a number of recommendations that animal advocates could focus their attention on:

1. Minks, foxes, raccoon dogs, and other animals farmed for fur need to be better protected in China through improved legislation and enforcement.
2. More bans of the fur trade across the world are essential for human health. In the meantime, biosecurity and disease surveillance on fur farms need to be improved.
3. Everyone in the fashion industry should adopt a fur-free stance, or provide a timeline for doing so. Greenwashing should also be identified so that consumers can make more informed decisions.
4. An increase in public education schemes and the use of animal-free, next-gen materials in global clothing production is also crucial for the long-term sustainability of the fashion industry.

Advocates can therefore play a role in this awareness-raising to further support the decline of the fur industry and to improve the possibility of a fur-free future.