This Coat Company’s Winter Campaign has a Cruelty Free Message
It’s official – the world is on a sustainability reboot. And it seems that many, particularly in the fashion industry, are taking a step back to look at the ways they can help the environment, instead of hurt it (look at our November 2018 issue to learn more about the eco revolution). The one thing that earth-conscious moments like Burberry banning the blaze of wasted materials or the fur free runways of London Fashion Week have in common is that neither of them made sustainability a priority from the beginning. However, there’s one up-and-coming Canadian winter coat brand that has.
“I just think killing a wild animal at the top of the food chain for a little bit of fur trim is crazy,” says James Yurichuk. “Fashion is a weak excuse.” That was back in 2015, when we first spoke to the former CFL-er and founder of Wuxly (then called Mammoth Outerwear). Today Yurichuk continues to turn out sustainable jackets and is bringing back his Live Warm Trade Up Campaign for the second time. In 2016 Yurichuk invited people to trade in their fur, trim, or down-filled jackets in exchange for up to $275 off a “animal-free, Canadian made, feel good jackets” by Wuxly.
But it doesn’t stop there – jackets traded in to Wuxly are re-distributed to homeless shelters, and the fur extracted from them is donated to animal sanctuaries to be used in the rehabilitation of wildlife. To make this possible, the brand reached out to shelters throughout Canada in hopes of forging mutually beneficial partnerships with the likes of Lookout Society, The Mustard Seed, Refuge des Jeunes De Montreal, Eva’s, Brands For Canada, and Youth In Transition.
What might surprise you is that the brand was born out of a love story. The inspiration behind Wuxly’s cruelty-free mission statement actually came out of Yurichuk’s relationship with his wife. After a few years of playing for the CFL’s BC Lions, Yurichuk moved back to Toronto with (his then girlfriend) Daniela in 2012. She was immigrating from Brazil and needed to purchase her first winter coat – quick.
“I knew if I didn’t get something warm she’d been flying back South very soon and I was trying to woo her to stay with me in Toronto,” said Yurichuk. “I went parka shopping and found a lot of Canadian-made brands, but growing up as an animal lover, I wanted something without fur or down. I couldn’t find it and I thought to myself, surely there must be technical fabrics that could outperform animal fur.”
That’s when Yurichuk approached his “best buddy” and business partner, Anthony DeBartolo, a Master Tailor also based in Toronto.
“He sent me to a manufacturer in North Toronto and I ended up making my wife her first winter jacket,” Yurichuk said. “Fortunately, Daniela is still with me and we’re married with two kids so I guess the jacket did work out…”
Browse through some of the styles you can score if you Trade Up with Wuxly this season below.
Photography by Alexandre Paskanoi
Photography by Kyle Nunez
Photography by Kyle Nunez
The post This Coat Company’s Winter Campaign has a Cruelty Free Message appeared first on FASHION Magazine.