European Union follows U.S. in reinforcing truth in fur labeling

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2011:
STRASBOURG, WASHINGTON D.C.–Updated European Union and U.S.
truth-in-fur-labeling legislation will be in effect by the start of
the 2011-2012 “fur season.”
Beginning the day after U.S. Thanksgiving, called “Fur-Free
Friday” by anti-fur protesters, and ending at Valentine’s Day, the
“fur season” annually accounts for two-thirds or more of all retail
fur garment sales.
The new European Union regulation requires that clothing makers
must include the phrase “contains non-textile parts of animal origin”
in labeling any garment containing fur, leather, feathers, or any
other material of animal origin.

“Many people presume that animal fur will be automatically
listed on a garment’s label, but until now there has been no legal
obligation in the EU for manufacturers to do this,” said Humane
Society International EU director Joanna Swabe.
Introduced by the European Parliament’s Internal Market and
Consumer Protection Committee, the new EU regulation was adopted by
the Council of the European Union despite having failed on first
reading.
The new U.S. Truth in Fur Labeling Act cleared Congress and was
signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2010, three
months after then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a
similar bill that had been approved by the state legislature. The
U.S law updates a version in effect since 1952, which exempted
garments priced at $150 or less.
“HSUS investigations have found jackets trimmed with animal fur
being sold across the country without labels or falsely advertised as
‘faux fur,'” said Humane Society Legislative Fund president Mike
Markarian. The updated law took effect in March 2011.