Following consultations with animal welfare organization Bont voor Dieren, all 19 businesses on Amsterdam's Hartenstraat have committed to eliminating fur from their inventories. This makes Hartenstraat the first fur-free shopping street in Europe. Today, an official street sign proclaiming 'Fur-free shopping street' was unveiled.
Prominent brands like COS and Marc O'Polo already maintained fur-free policies, while select stores previously offered fur from animals bred solely for their pelts, including minks, rabbits, and foxes. Bont voor Dieren educated these retailers on the severe animal suffering in the fur trade. In response, every entrepreneur—including the local Karl Lagerfeld outlet—opted to go fully fur-free, marking a historic first for an entire shopping district.
