Recently, my family passed down my late grandmother’s floor length faux fur coat and it got me thinking about a major subject in the fashion industry.

Every year, designers have the debate about using real fur or faux fur in their winter collections. The topic of how cruel the animals are treated to make real fur garments is always the topic of discussion. Some animals are suffocated and skinned alive just to make a fur coat or a leather belt. So why are designers still choosing to use real fur when they can use faux fur?

Most designers chose real fur because the hair  is softer and has a longer life., but the quality of faux fur has recently improved. Karl Lagerfeld told November’s Harper’s Bazaar, “The material is beautiful and new in a way, because it was not that perfect before. It looked OK, but it felt stiff and harsh. Now the technology has advanced so much that you can hardly tell fake fur from the real thing.”

Garments that are made with real fur are nice, but is it worth the cruelty the animals have to go through just to look chic. Some designers, like Karl Lagerfeld, and fashion houses, like Balenciaga and Chloe, have chose to use faux fur in their winter collections rather than the real thing.