Returning Fur Coats To Their Rightful Owners

<p>Flickr, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smerikal/">smerikal</a></p>
<p>Flickr, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/smerikal/">smerikal</a></p>

Buffalo Exchange, a national used clothing retailer, is taking donations of fur coats this spring to be put to use in their original capacity -- to keep animals warm. The vintage clothing chain is running a program called "Coats for Cubs," calling on people to donate their used fur coats. (But they're only accepting real fur which animals respond better to.) With the help of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the furs will be delivered to local animal shelters, where they will be cut up and used as bedding for the animals -- a more natural material than towels or blankets. HSUS says that they do more than just keep animals warm, too:

"We use the discarded furs as bedding to give the animals comfort and reduce stress," Michael Markarian, HSUS's chief operating officer in Washington, D.C, told the LA Times. "The fur garments act as a surrogate mother. It is a warm and furry substitute."

This isn't the first time the chain has run this program -- during last year's drive, they collected 952 used furs, and have collected a total of 8,524 since it began. Not only does it give animals a warm place to sleep, it also takes vintage furs off the market -- which, as Collectors Weekly points out, is a source of renewed demand for fur buyers.