"The Prada Group is committed to innovation and social responsibility, and our fur-free policy — reached following a positive dialogue with the Fur Free Alliance, in particular with LAV and the Humane Society of the United States — is an extension of that engagement,” said in a statement.
In the meantime, the Prada Group said its inventory of fur products will be sold off "until quantities will be exhausted."
The fashion brand said it will continue to sell leather and other products that are considered to be a by-product of the meat trade, including sheepskin and calfskin.
Miuccia Prada said her company was following consumer trends against the wearing of real animal furs and the growing availability of synthetic materials to "allow the company to explore new boundaries of creative design while meeting the demand for ethical products."
Prada joins a long list of rival fashion brands like Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Giorgio Armani, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood who have made similar pledges to go fur-free.
The Fur Free Alliance, a coalition of around 50 animal protection groups in over 40 countries, helped convince Prada to follow suit.
“The Prada Group with its brands now joins a growing list of fur-free brands that are responding to consumers’ changing attitudes towards animals," Joh Vinding, chairman of the Fur Free Alliance, said in his own statement.
Besides urging luxury fashion brands to go fur free, the FFA also campaigns for national governments to ban the breeding and slaughter of animals for fur and for cities with high-end shopping districts to end the sale of fur products in their jurisdictions.
"Causing suffering and killing animals for a non-essential and even trivial reason as fashion contravenes public morality," the FFA organization says on its website.
The FFA also organizes the Fur Free Retailer Program that covers around 1,000 companies, including Gucci, Versace and shoe brand Jimmy Choo, that use "animal free" labels to help fashion buyers learn which clothing brands are against animal violence and exploitation, the organization says.
The Prada brand also held discussions, starting in fall 2018, with the Italian animal rights group LAV, which is part of the Fur Free Alliance and campaigns against animal cruelty and exploitation.
"The Prada Group’s decision to go fur-free is consistent with the new concept of ethical luxury and meets the expectations of new consumers who are more careful in choosing sustainable products that respect the environment and animals," Simone Pavesi, the manager of LAV's animal-free fashion initiative.
The campaign for Prada to go fur-free also included a petition by Care2, a global activist organization that includes animal welfare among its progressive causes.
"Animals are suffering on fur farms and in traps right now. Please take a moment to tell Prada to go fur-free," the Care2 petition urged.
Also taking credit for the Prada Group's decision to go fur free is the Humane Society of America, which also held a recent dialogue with the luxury brand.
"With the Prada Group’s fur-free announcement, one of the biggest names in fashion just became a leader in animal welfare and innovation for generations to come,” PJ Smith, director of fashion policy at U.S.-based Humane Society, said in a statement.
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