Tighten rules on labels for animal fur: Green Sense
Green Sense calls for regulations to be improved after rabbit hair is found in furry samples tested
Rabbits are enduring "horrible" treatment on mainland farms as the use of their fur to make clothes and accessories grows, a green group says.
Angora rabbits may have their fur plucked by hand as often as four times a year because their coats grow quickly, according to Green Sense.
The group was speaking after it conducted tests that found rabbit fur in half the samples of items it collected from Hong Kong shops - including those of big-name brands.
"Most Hong Kong consumers don't care much about the materials used for these clothing decorations," Green Sense executive Vicki Wong Pui-chi said. "Buying clothes with fur indirectly encourages animal cruelty."
The group said animal hair was often hard to distinguish by eye from plant fibre and customers should avoid buying such items unless they were sure which was used.
Its research found that most brands did not label the materials they used for trimmings, such as edging on hoods and shoes.
But of the 66 samples that Green Sense tested - 51 items from 18 well-known brands and the rest from street shops - 38 were made from animal fur, 27 from plant fibre, and one, a mixture of both.