Business News and Information

Macy's, a division of Federated Department Stores Inc. (FD), and Sean John have pulled a line of hooded jackets, originally advertised as featuring faux fur, after an investigation by the nation's largest animal protection organization concluded that the jackets actually sported fur from a species of dog called "raccoon dog."

It would seem China doesn't consider dogs, or even cats, as man's best friend since the source for much of their fur comes from "domestic dogs and cats and raccoon dogs that are killed in gruesome ways," according to this MSNBC.com article.

Macy's isn't the only retailer facing the problem that the Humane Society of the United States says is plaguing retailers such as Burlington Coat Factory, Bloomingdale's, J.C. Penney (JCP), and Saks Fifth Avenue Inc. (SKS). Designers and clothing lines, such as Baby Phat, Andrew Marc, MaxMara and Calvin Klein, are facing the same problem.

It isn't just a matter of animal lovers but a matter of a violation of federal law - the mislabeling of garments. 10 garments tested by the Human Society had nine testing positive for raccoon dog fur and involved the mislabeling.

The organization is calling upon Congress to amend the Dog and Cat Protection Act to include raccoon dogs due to how close the species is to domesticated dogs and the inhumane way these dogs are killed. The Act bans the sale of dog or cat fur in the United States.