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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.

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(PHOTO BY JANE GEORGE)

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MONTREAL — Despite fur’s legendary warmth and softness, the international fur market is a tough, cold place.

In this market, tradition means nothing, intellectual property rights don’t count, and being different can lose you money.

This week Nunavut’s fledgling seal-skin industry came face to face with the hard-edged global fur market, where fashion, not fur, rules.

Nunavut’s Department of Sustainable Development was in Montreal to promote the territory’s 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.

That’s because the nature of seal-skin and traditional designs actually works against their success in the global marketplace: They’re responsible for the functionality and beauty of Nunavut-made garments, but that isn’t 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.

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(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 it’s better if the fur doesn’t 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 it’s not easy to market products that draw heavily on tradition, look like fur and are actually warm.

"Traditionally, you’re always looking back," reflected Larry Simpson, senior advisor on sealing for Nunavut’s Department of Sustainable Development. "Internationally, you’re always looking ahead. You have to anticipate what’s going to be in style."

There’s the ivory calfskin parka, with a snug fur-trimmed hood, in which some designer has a model strut down the runway. It’s 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 Sitatak’s seal-skin vest with diamond shaped inserts.

There’s 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 NWT’s Dene Fur Clouds collection, by designer D’Arcy Moses, manages to combine mainstream style and traditional elements — but it’s 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 — It’s the Americans," Gu i said.

Those who stop by Nunavut’s booth, but can’t 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 GN’s 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, you’re always looking back. Internationally, you’re always looking ahead. You have to anticipate what’s going to be in style."

— Larry Simpson, senior advisor on fisheries and sealing for Nunavut’s department of sustainable development.

An organizer from the Global Action Network said that while she didn’t have anything against the subsistence hunt, there’s "no humane method to strip a skin from an animal."

This group also believes the for-profit fur trade isn’t part of traditional native culture. An information sheet passed out at the demonstration says natives don’t benefit from a fur industry that’s 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 year’s experience, Nunavut’s 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 won’t 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 Nunavut’s fur designers, such as Bessie Sitatak of Kugluktuk, who said she was both overwhelmed and inspired by what she’d seen.

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