By Lalinda De La Fuente

I always loved shopping at BCBG/Max Azria. I love the thought of it even more now. The international fashion house BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP has pledged to end the sale of fur by Fall 2008. The decision came after the fashion powerhouse sat down with Humane Society of the United States representatives.

The BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP encompasses 15 brands, including BCBG, Max Azria and Herve Ledger by Max Azria. The group operates retail and wholesale stores in more than 13,500 points of sale throughout the world!

The group joins other fashion heavy hitters such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein who both made the same pledge just this last year. To check out a list of fur-free designers and retailers visit www.humanesociety.org/furfreeshopping. This list currently has more than 75 companies that have all pledged to go fur-free.

Visit the Humane Society’s fur-free campaign to sign the fur-free pledge. Join the more than 115,000 people who have pledged to tell the fashion industry that the animals need their fur more than we do.

Here are some facts from the HSUS web site on the sad reality of the fur trade:

“On fur factory farms and squalid backyard operations around the world,over 45 million animals, including raccoon dogs, rabbits, foxes, mink and chinchillas, spend their short lives in tiny wire cages until they are killed by methods such as neck-breaking and anal electrocution. Raccoon dog fur from China—where the animals are smashed to the ground, and live skinning takes place—is being sold in the U.S.”

“Over two million dogs and cats are victims of the fur trade—primarily killed intentionally for their fur, but also injured and killed in traps set for other animals.”

“Canada's annual seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet. Hundreds of thousands of seals are killed for their pelts each year, with many skinned alive.”