Faux or Real Fur: How to Tell the Difference
Cheap imports sometimes sell real fur as faux, because it can be cheaper to produce. Here is how to know what you are actually wearing.
The short answer
To tell faux from real fur: part the pile and look at the base. Real fur grows from skin (it looks like leather); faux fur grows from a woven fabric backing. Real hairs taper to a fine point; faux fibres are cut bluntly and uniform. A single burnt strand confirms it: real fur singes and smells of burnt hair, faux fur melts into a hard bead.
Test one: the base of the pile
This is the fastest and most reliable check. Part the fur down to its base and look at what the hairs grow from. Real fur grows from animal skin, which looks and feels like thin leather or suede. Faux fur is stitched or woven into a fabric backing that looks like mesh, knit or cloth.
You can usually feel it too: rub the base between finger and thumb. Fabric backing is unmistakable once you have felt it.
Test two: the tips of the hairs
Look closely at the ends of the individual fibres. Real animal hairs taper naturally to a fine, wispy point. Faux fibres are extruded and then cut to length, so they end in a blunt, uniform tip and tend to be all the same length across the pile.
Under a phone torch this is easy to see. Uniform, blunt ends are a strong sign of faux.
Test three: the burn test (one strand only)
If you own the item and want certainty, pull a couple of fibres, hold them with tweezers over a sink, and touch a flame to them. Real fur singes, curls, and smells exactly like burnt human hair. Faux fur, being plastic, melts and shrinks into a small hard bead and smells chemical.
Only ever do this with a few loose strands, away from the garment, over something non-flammable.
Why it matters
Beyond the ethics, mislabelling is a legal issue: selling real fur as faux breaches consumer protection and textile labelling law in the UK. If a coat is priced like faux but reads exactly like real, it is worth thirty seconds to check.
Everything Orlava makes is faux by design, with stated composition on every product page. There is nothing to test, but now you know how.
Browse Full-Length CoatsView collectionQuick answers
- What is the quickest way to tell faux from real fur?
- Part the pile to its base. Real fur grows from skin that looks like leather; faux fur grows from a woven or knitted fabric backing.
- Does real fur burn differently from faux?
- Yes. A burnt strand of real fur singes and smells of burnt hair; faux fur melts into a hard plastic bead and smells chemical. Test only a few loose strands, safely.
- Is it illegal to sell real fur as faux in the UK?
- Mislabelling real fur as faux breaches consumer protection and textile labelling rules. It is a known problem with very cheap imports, which is why the base-of-pile check is worth knowing.