Hearst Magazines, publisher of high-profile titles including Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Esquire, has announced it will prohibit the promotion of animal fur across all its editorial content and advertising platforms, a move animal rights campaigners hailed as a major victory in efforts to end the use of fur in fashion media.
The policy, confirmed in an email to the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) following a five-day protest campaign by the group at Hearst’s New York headquarters, extends to print pages, online features, social media and other corporate platforms. Hearst said the guidelines apply to all new content and future business, with defined exceptions, marking an immediate shift in how its global brands approach representations of animal fur.
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The decision comes amid a broader realignment in fashion and lifestyle media away from animal fur, reflecting growing consumer concern about animal welfare and sustainability. Last month, Condé Nast, another major publisher, introduced a similar ban on fur across its editorial and advertising content, adding momentum to industry efforts to distance fashion imagery from practices linked to animal cruelty.
At the same time, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) confirmed that New York Fashion Week will no longer promote animal fur at official shows or on its platforms from September 2026, underscoring a wider shift in how fur is treated across leading fashion institutions.
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Animal welfare advocates have long campaigned against the fur trade, highlighting the ethical and environmental impacts of fur farming and production. CAFT said its recent protest campaign was designed to pressure Hearst into aligning its editorial standards with evolving public expectations on animal rights. The organisation called the ban a “significant step” but indicated it will continue activism against other companies that have not yet made similar commitments.
Industry analysts said Hearst’s policy shift reflects a broader transformation in fashion media, where publishers and fashion weeks increasingly adopt codes of conduct that exclude animal fur, responding to both activist pressure and shifting market trends toward cruelty-free and sustainable fashion.
