Fur

When my Mum died I took her mink coat to Oxfam. They sell them on abroad apparently to a country where people are happier to wear them.

When DF died 6 years ago, he still had DM's fur jackets, including a mink one in the wardrobe.

Someone told us that Oxfam accepted fur garments so we took ours to them. What they do with them I do not know, either sell them to gain funds or send them to needy people in cold areas, either way they gain either funds, or give aid where needed.

So I think , if you can afford it donate them to Oxfam, or look online for specialist fur coat auctioneers - or ebay.

I passed my Mum's mink coat on to our local amateur dramatic group, they said that they were delighted with it

I was left a fur stole and Mink coat by a friend who died suddenly, she had made promise I would wear one if DD ever married to her wedding.
I wore the stole to enter the Church then changed to a nice jacket. I felt I had fulfilled my friends wishes.
DD gave the furs to some Transvestite friends who now wear them in cabaret.
I like to think my friend would have enjoyed that.

Thank you all of you, for your very useful suggestions. I will see what I can find locally. I love the animal rescue idea and some of the less exotic ones would certainly find a good use there. I shall see if I can find a dealer over the Internet for the mink. Since a wild mink killed all my ducks just for the fun of it, I have very little sympathy for them! I shall exploit them if I can, for a good purpose.

And what fun for the Am Drams or local Rep — I may well send one their way.

What a resource Gransnetters are. Thanks.

also, am/dram companies may want one,if they are putting on a period play.

they are for sale in lots of antique outlets here [some look a bit motheaten.]
I would try the ones in your area, and you will get some money for them.

When I was at the Ideal Home Exhibition (i think it was there) a couple of years ago there was a stand selling vintage fur coats (quite expensive).
Perhaps you could google to see if you can sell them to a dealer, you could then donate the money to a charity if you wish,

They still wear them in other countries so there is a market for them and it would be a pity for them to go to landfill, at least if they are worn the animals will not have died in vain.

I inherited my mother's fur coat, a very heavy garment which I could never bring myself to wear. A friend was organising a Narnia feature for a museum and asked around for old fur coats for the animal characters. I gladly donated the fur coat and a fake mink I never wore. After the exhibition, her son's MiL from Russia admired the fur coat and I happily gave permission for it to be taken back to Russia and for all I know it is still being worn. A sealskin jacket with a mink collar which had belonged to a great aunt hung unworn in my wardrobe until the moths got at it so it ended up in landfill, poor thing! Sorry, I don't think this solves your problem, Shinyredcar, just reminiscing! .

What a lovely idea vegasmags. An excellent use for these relics to comfort baby animals. Wish I'd thought of that. I think we just left mums coats to house clearance people to deal with.

I think I would try the charity shops first.

Do you have a wildlife rescue centre near you? I believe that they use fur coats to comfort abandoned babies who are brought into them. Or what about donating to a local theatre company for their props department?

My mum was so proud of her mink coat and a local charity shop in Scotland took it (late 90's, maybe not as PC as charity shops in urban areas?)
I had a fabulous fake fur once which somehow went missing over years of over-zealous "de cluttering" [??]

Very good question Shinyredcar.

My mum's old coat had a huge fox fur collar, which I couldn't bring myself to touch. I was undecided what to do about it, and admit I ended up ramming it in a recycling bin - it solved my guilt feelings. That was a few years ago and as you suggest, I should imagine there are charities for overseas refugees who would welcome warm clothing of any description. Most of the charity shops in my town don't sell fur. Have you a local refugee charity anywhere near you where you can enquire?

A tricky situation indeed Shinyredcar I can't really think of what you could do with them. I am sure someone else will know more.

In a similar situation, I was offered 3 fabulous fur coats by an older relative recently. A Silver Arctic fox, an ocelot jacket and a blond mink jacket.

I politely refused them all. They were all bought and worn at a time when no one thought anything about wearing fur. They are now all languishing back in storage.

I do have a vintage fake fur jacket that has been cut and styled by a furrier. At times when I have worn it I have been challenged, then I have shown that it is fake. Nice and warm though!

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