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May 11, 2001
Nothing soft and cuddly
about cut-throat fur business
Nunavut seal skins
see little demand at Montreal Fur Expo.
JANE GEORGE
Nunatsiaq News
Rannva
Simonsen of Iqaluit helps Maureen Doherty try on a dyed seal-skin
jacket at the North American Fur and Fashion Exposition in Montreal
this Monday.
(PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)
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MONTREAL Despite furs legendary warmth and softness,
the international fur market is a tough, cold place.
In this market, tradition means nothing, intellectual property
rights dont count, and being different can lose you money.
This week Nunavuts fledgling seal-skin industry came face
to face with the hard-edged global fur market, where fashion,
not fur, rules.
Nunavuts Department of Sustainable Development was in Montreal
to promote the territorys seal-skin vests, coats and other
products at the North American Fur and Fashion Exposition. This
yearly event attracts 5,000 buyers who place $100 million of orders
for fur fashions.
The booth housing the Nunavut Inuit 2001 collection received
polite interest at the show, but there were few orders.
Thats because the nature of seal-skin and traditional designs
actually works against their success in the global marketplace:
Theyre responsible for the functionality and beauty of Nunavut-made
garments, but that isnt what fickle fur buyers want.
Meeting market demand
Protestors
from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or "PETA," North
America's most prominent animal rights organization.
(PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)
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This season, luxury, glamour, and far-out retro styles from the
1970s are "in" for fur. "Le rose sexy" is
the hot colour. Like the pouty-lipped, half-dressed runway models
who flaunt them, fur needs an attitude to sell and its
better if the fur doesnt look or even feel like fur.
With the most expensive item in the Nunavut Inuit collection
running about $2,000, buyers should have been flocking over.
But its not easy to market products that draw heavily on
tradition, look like fur and are actually warm.
"Traditionally, youre always looking back," reflected
Larry Simpson, senior advisor on sealing for Nunavuts Department
of Sustainable Development. "Internationally, youre
always looking ahead. You have to anticipate whats going
to be in style."
Theres the ivory calfskin parka, with a snug fur-trimmed
hood, in which some designer has a model strut down the runway.
Its lined in brown and white cowhide. Now, who would think
of that, or wear it?
By Northern standards, the Nunavut 2001 collection is still quite
innovative take the white seal-skin vest with white fox
trim designed by Aaju Peter, or the natty blue seal-skin and silver
fox hat by Rannva Simsonsen, or Bessie Sitataks seal-skin
vest with diamond shaped inserts.
Theres also a spectacular floor-length seal-skin coat,
jackets in bright hues, and even seal-skin-covered hiking boots.
The Northwest Territories and Yukon also promote their furs at
the Montreal show. The NWTs Dene Fur Clouds collection,
by designer DArcy Moses, manages to combine mainstream style
and traditional elements but its no easy sell to
buyers, either.
The Yukon is promoting its furs, such as wild lynx and plush
marten, in an effort to grab a niche as a producer of high-quality
Northern furs from the wild.
US law hobbles seal-skin trade
Another challenge for Nunavut seal-skin products is the US Marine
Mammal Protection Act. This legislation stopped the import of
marine mammal products into the States in 1972, and makes it illegal
for American fur wholesalers and retailers to import Inuit seal-skin.
In the booth manned by Alberto Gu
i of the Montreal-based fur
dressing and tanning company Tanbec, piles of dyed seal-skins
in fluorescent shades all from Nunavut attracted
only a very limited number of buyers.
"We have a big obstacle Its the Americans,"
Gu
i said.
Those who stop by Nunavuts booth, but cant buy seal
skins, are handed a questionnaire on the MMPA. Among other questions,
it asks, "If the MMPA disappeared tomorrow and you could
freely import Nunavut seal products, how would you describe your
interest in buying seal-skin products?"
Sustainable Development Minister Olayuk Akesuk attended the show,
too, to hand-deliver the GNs message on the need to amend
the MMPA.
Activists: "Wear your own skin!"
Animal activists also hurt the marketing of seal-skin and wild
fur through their continued opposition to the harvest of animal
pelts. A small group demonstrated outside the Montreal show, clad
in beaver, bear and cow costumes and waving signs with slogans
such as "Wear your own skin."
"Traditionally, youre always looking back. Internationally,
youre always looking ahead. You have to anticipate whats
going to be in style."
Larry Simpson, senior advisor on fisheries and sealing
for Nunavuts department of sustainable development.
An organizer from the Global Action Network said that while she
didnt have anything against the subsistence hunt, theres
"no humane method to strip a skin from an animal."
This group also believes the for-profit fur trade isnt
part of traditional native culture. An information sheet passed
out at the demonstration says natives dont benefit from
a fur industry thats in it for the money. The fur industry
is using the native communities to market its cruel furs, activists
say.
A learning experience
At a press conference at the exposition, fur show organizer Alan
Herscovici hyped the Canadian fur industry as sustainable and
environmentally conscientious. Native-trapped furs, however, only
account for a small percentage of furs sold commercially in North
America. The rest are farmed fur, such as chinchilla or mink.
Canadian fur exports have risen 26 per cent since 1999, but so
far the financial bounty has not reached Nunavut.
Based on this years experience, Nunavuts marketing
next year will focus on a more diverse seal-skin collection. Any
strategy will likely have to downplay the "Inuit-ness"
of the product to be competitive, so buyers wont think they
have to be Inuit to wear seal-skin.
The cost to the GN of attending the fur show around $30,000,
excluding salaries is well worth the investment, Larry
Simpson said.
"The northern market is a safer one," Simpson said.
"But here is where we get our toe into the international
market."
And the show is a good experience for Nunavuts fur designers,
such as Bessie Sitatak of Kugluktuk, who said she was both overwhelmed
and inspired by what shed seen.
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