Sean "Diddy" Combs wound up in the proverbial dog house over the weekend after it was revealed that his supposedly imitation fur hoodies actually came from real-deal canines.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) announced late Friday that clothing in Diddy's Sean John fashion line, along with garments made by other name-brand designers, contained the pelt of a domesticated coyote known as a "raccoon dog" that's typically found in Asia.
The nation's largest animal rights watchdog made the determination after a series of mass spectrometry tests.
After the results were made public, a Sean John Hooded Snorkel Jacket sold at Macy's stores and at macys.com and advertised as sporting an "imitation rabbit fur collar" was yanked from shelves.
"I was completely unaware of the nature of this material, but as soon as we were alerted, the garments were pulled off the Macy's floor and Website," Diddy said in a statement released by publicist Hampton Carney. "I have instructed our outerwear licensee to cease the production of any garments using this material immediately. I appreciate the tireless work that the Humane Society does and would like to thank them for bringing attention to this issue."
A spokesperson for Macy's, a unit of Federated Department Stores, confirmed that the mislabeled items had been removed and said the company has a "long-standing policy against the selling of any dog or cat fur" and goes to great lengths to ensure all of its suppliers are clearly aware of that policy.
Sean John wasn't the only label going to the dogs. Eight other fur-lined garments from the likes of Calvin Klein, Baby Phat and MaxMara sold by such retailers as Bloomingdale's, JCPenney, Saks Fifth Avenue and Burlington Coat Factory were also tested and found to have raccoon dog fur.
"First these jackets were falsely advertised as faux fur, and then it turned out that the fur came from a type of dog," said Wayne Pacell, HSUS' president and CEO. "This is an industry-wide problem, and our investigation demonstrates that retailers and designers aren't paying close enough attention to composition of the fur trim they are selling. It's especially problematic when the fur is sourced from China's where domestic dogs and cats and raccoon dogs are killed in gruesome ways, even skinned alive."
Per HSUS, Combs' couture violated the Fur Products Labeling Act, which prohibits the advertising or sale of any fur product that is falsely or misleadingly labeled and could lead the Federal Trade Commission to impose criminal penalties such as fines of up to $5,000 per violation and the seizure of products.
Pacelle said he hoped the scandal prompts Congress to take action by amending the Dog and Cat Protection Act, which prohibits the selling of dog or cat fur in the U.S., to also include raccoon dogs, which are bred in China, where animal-welfare laws are lax.
His group is also calling on Puffy to protect Muffy by removing any kind of fur, real or otherwise, from his line—something the rap impresario might find difficult to do given the widespread popularity of fur coats among his fellow hip-hopsters.
Aside from the fur flying, Combs' celebrated the holiday weekend with his new twins by longtime galpal Kim Porter. Daughters Jesse James and D'Lila were born two minutes apart Thursday in New York, and according to Combs' camp, are, unlike the raccoon dogs, doing "just fine."
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
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Watch the footage and learn how to help at:
www.furfree.hsus.org
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