You know this parka. It has nearly suffocated you standing next to it in a subway car; that whole French family was wearing it when they asked you to take their picture in front of the M&M’s store; Drake wears one. It is big, it is puffy, it has a fluffy collar, and it costs $1,000 dollars. And if you’re like me, you likely assumed it’s made from a Canada goose (or several), because that is what it’s called: Canada Goose.
If this is the case for you, then I imagine you, too, were shocked to discover that Canada Goose is not just a goose (or several), but that it is coyotes. The parka is coyotes. Yes, there is goose down inside the parka, but some of the hoods on the parkas are made from coyote fur — or they will be until 2022, sort of. The company announced today that, starting then, it will no longer buy new fur from trappers and will only use reclaimed fur (which is already in the supply chain), and will start buying back the fur hoods from its customers’ old parkas in order to recycle it.
That the goose was coyotes is not news to animal-rights groups, which have long lambasted Canada Goose for its use of both goose down and coyote fur. The brand has remained unabashed about its commitment to fur even as others have pledged to stop using it and states like California have banned it altogether. Even in announcing today’s no-new-fur promise, a spokesperson told the Times it was not a decision influenced by activist pressure but part of an ecofriendly sustainability initiative timed to Earth Day. No word yet on whether it will make enough of a difference to the angry people who often congregate at the Canada Goose location in Soho, sometimes wearing coyote masks, apparently. In a statement emailed to the Cut, PETA called the announcement an attempt on the part of Canada Goose “to ‘humane wash’ its image” and to get around the California ban, which goes into effect in 2023.
Anyway, I don’t know why I never thought about what the fluffy hoods were made of, but I didn’t, and for some reason I can’t get over the fact that Canada Goose is also coyotes. Or will be until 2022, when it will be “reclaimed” coyotes.