The Environmental Protection Agency has filed complaints against fur producers for “illegally generating and disposing of hazardous waste from processing pelts. Improper handling of waste can cause water contamination.” The Environmental Protection Agency fines six firms $2.2 million for illegally generation, storing, transporting, and disposing of hazardous materials used to produce the fur coats.

The fur industry claims the animals skinned for their pelts are used for animal feed, but the animals are often dumped in landfills. Furisdead.com said a fur farm in Great Britain was accused of violating the waste disposal laws when a resident found a skinned mink carcasses in the landfill. Too bad this method, though wasteful, is legal in the United States.

Fur apparel also is not biodegradable due to the number of toxic chemicals applied to keep the pelt from rotting over time.

In 1979 the Scientific Research Laboratory at Ford Motor Company compared the amount of energy required to produce real versus synthetic fur coats. A synthetic fur coat required 120,300 BTU (British Thermal Units) which is about equal to the useful energy in one gallon of gasoline which is 128,00 BTU. A coat produced from a trapped animal required 433,000 BTU and a cage-raised animal required 7,965,800 BTU. This was actually 66 times more energy needed to produce the fake fur. The study also took into consideration the feed required for cage-raised animals, transportation, skinning, scraping, drying, and dyeing of the pelts.

Recently it has become nearly impossible for shoppers to figure out if a garment is real or faux fur because the synthetic versions feel genuine now. PETA spokeswoman Brandi Valladolid said she will run up to a stranger on the street and dig into the fur garment to tell if it is real. When the fur is pulled back you can see if it is attached to skin or fabric. Fake furs are just as warm as the real thing.