This week in The Frontlines we would like to talk about CAFT (Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade), which restarted in November 2020 making a huge dent against the fur industry.
Since its inception, CAFT has played their part to force fur-free policies on Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Alice + Olivia, and Monique Lhuillier. Alice + Olivia only lasted for 11 days when CAFT started targetting them when large nonprofits had been at it for the past ten years.
Their secret? Good old decentralised pressure campaigning and some strategic thinking.
CAFT insists that one of their key strategies is their decentralised campaign model. Instead of dictating, restricting or controlling what independent local groups decide to do, they aim to provide support, information and coordination. Any local group can organise against the target and the only agreed notion is the importance of consistent and focused action.
Secondly, they do not shy away from expanding their target pool. When a company is resistant to activist pressure, they will target secondary and tertiary businesses associated with the fur producing company. No one is safe; subsidiaries, investors and even board members are acceptable targets, and by destroying the company’s ability to do business in peace they manage to get the targetted company to drop fur from their portfolio.
For that reason, there have been many different and colourful actions to put pressure on the fur trade. From peaceful leafletting and demonstrations outside the store to in-store disruptions, writing messages in fake blood, attaching alarms to helium balloons to be released inside the shop and even noise demos in front of managers and corporate executives’ homes, local groups take initiative and decide by themselves what the best course of action is.
CAFT insists on a couple of important points, the necessity of security culture and the zero-tolerance policy against those talking to the cops, but also that they believe all their campaigns are 100% winnable using legal methods.
CAFT’s current campaign is against Moncler group (handy little store locator link just below):
https://www.moncler.com/en-gb/storelocator/
And they have recently expanded their target to Stone Island, being a subsidiary of Moncler. (also handy store locator below:)
https://www.stoneisland.com/experience/en/the-brand/stores/
They are asking for you to start a local group and put pressure on the business however you think is best, or if it already exists, to join your local group and take action!
You can find out more about them or donate to their campaign on monclerkillsfoxes.com, and you can find them on Facebook at Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade https://www.facebook.com/caftusa or on Instagram at @CAFTUSA.