What to do with an inherited mink coat

[Liberal_in_LA]

Mom's mink leaves vegetarian in hairy situation
Regina Sinsky, Special to The Chronicle

Sunday, December 13, 2009

What does a vegetarian do with a deceased mother's most cherished possession - her mink coat?

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I spoke to Konane Cramer at Held Over in the Haight. The store doesn't buy fur from the public, favoring its own sources. But Cramer said there is actually a market for fur in the city.

"The fur market in San Francisco is hard, but people still buy them. Especially around Burning Man," he said with a chuckle. You may not see furs on the streets in winter, but they're apparently all the rage in the desert in summer.

Cramer suggested I contact Wasteland, which deals furs on consignment. "When it comes to the types of fur we sell, it depends on what's going on fashion-wise," said director of development Cate Luedtke. "Trims are popular now, little capelets, Russian-style fur hats, '70s jackets, and pieces made in the '40s and '50s." Luedtke mentions that she wears recycled and vintage fur when it's in style.

"People always ask me, 'Don't you get paint thrown on you, wearing fur in San Francisco?' That's not really the case nowadays because people can barely tell the difference between real and faux," Luedtke says. Many San Francisco locals not only despise fur, they destroy it. "You can see intentionally damaged fur at Goodwill."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/11/LV521AE3MG.DTL&type=living#ixzz0ZibddPLs

[MineralMan]

1. Give it to an animal shelter.

It'll keep the baby animals warm. Either that, or someone will take it home and wear it.

[pipi_k]

15. that's actually a pretty good idea...

Some years back an ex's elderly aunt died and left a couple of little mink bodies...the kind you sort of wrapped around your shoulders back in the 50s or before. I took them apart and gave them to the cat to sleep with (he had a shallow cardboard box on his favorite spot on top of the TV set) and he absolutely loved his little furry friends.

If I were to give the coat to a shelter for the animals, I would first cut it into kitty-sized pieces maybe 12" x 5" or something.

:)

[Fla_Democrat]

2. Ebay

:shrug:

[dysfunctional press]

3. sell it.

as to the idiots who throw paint on people's fur coats- i LOVE it when judges make them pay for a NEW fur coat. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Gabi Hayes]

7. do you love it when they anally electrocute the animals before they

make them into coats?

here. enjoy yourself

http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/fox.html

[dysfunctional press]

9. and if someone is concerned about it- what sense does it make to throw paint on someone's coat...

when it only means the suffering of that many more animals to make a replacement...?
but then- that would require the idiots to think it through, which is expecting miracles.

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[panader0]

4. I inherited one also

A very fine stole with my mom's name embroidered inside. Mink are raised and farmed like other animals. Vegetables are farmed too. Flora is as alive as fauna.

[Nikki Stone1]

5. I'll take it.

It's cold in SoCal this week.

[Skip Intro]

6. Hang onto it for the sentimental value. Maybe in the attic? nt

[Speck Tater]

8. Slip covers for robot minks? nt

[no_hypocrisy]

10. Our mom had a full length mink coat. When she passed, none of us wanted it.

Our father was ready to give it to anybody. I hit on the idea of giving it to a friend who is dear to our family, an extra sister if ou will. She had no qualms about fur and didn't see this coming. So it was Christmas six years ago. I went over to her home, made her close her eyes, and lay the coat across her lap.

Priceless.

[Mimosa]

11. Wear Nutria fur, save coastal wetlands

Most people don't realise that much of the damage to of Louisiana's coastal and wetland areas was caused by the introduction of nutria. Nutria are large rodents who devour the roots of wetland plants. The nutria have spread to the Chesapeake Bay area where they are destroying the seafood industry and degrading the wetlands. Nutria fur is supple and soft, doesn't shed, isn't allergenic and takes dyes well.

Wear nutria to stay warm, save America's wetlands. (Btw, the meat is yucky! LOL!)

http://grant.btnep.org/default.asp?id=31

[Cleita]

12. Sine the animals are long dead, there is a vegetarian group that collects the

coats and gives them to the homeless to keep warm in the winter.

[slampoet]

13. Sure and those people looking for donated guitars on Craigslist are really passing them to schools.

[Synicus Maximus]

14. I am willing to help you with this problem. Send it to me and I will see

that it is properly disposed of in a caring and profitable way.

[quaker bill]

16. Wear it

it is not like the minks have use for the fur anymore.

[FLyellowdog]

17. Teddy Bears?

http://www.likeadoll.com/ :shrug:

[Kceres]

18. If I remember correctly, even storing one correctly costs.

My mother use to put her mink in "cold storage" or something like during summer months. The coat would be delivered to her in the fall with some sort of glazing applied. It was such a treat for me as a little girl to be able and cuddle up in the soft fur which also smelled of my mother's perfume. Of course, I became uncomfortable with it when I grew older. When my mother died my father gave the fur to a relative, as none of us really knew what to do with it either. Times change.

[Hekate]

19. Unwanted furs can be sold & the proceeds donated to a cause of her choice. Or she can send it to me

I promise to take very very good care of it. :D It's chilly in Santa Barbara in the winter-- sooo chilly.

My mom once had a raccoon coat, which I thought was pretty spiffy, but she gave it away when we moved to Hawai'i in the 1950s. While we still lived in California my folks knew an old lady who had a scary fur stole made out of some little animal that still had its head and paws. :wow:

Hekate

[Maraya1969]

20. Give it to a homeless person in a cold climate.

[shanti]

24. first thing i thought of too

but it would probably be stolen.:(

[Maraya1969]

28. You know I have had things stolen from me and I learned to send love to the person

who has it and hope that they get good use from it. First it helps me to get rid of my anger and resentment and second I believe good vibes come back to us. And maybe the good vibes sent to the person might help them in a positive way.

Trust me I don't do this all the time an actually I forgot all about it until your post.

Some Yogi said once that if you want to live a happy life spend 1/2 hour each night forgiving everyone you can think to forgive.

[jmowreader]

31. Or the homeless person would be killed for it

I think I would sell it and give the proceeds to the electric company. Electric companies have programs where they help the lower-income people with their light bills. They would enjoy having help with this.

[XemaSab]

30. Exactly

:(

[Stinky The Clown]

21. Throw paint on it

I'm kidding.

Not about the snark.

About actually doing it.

[Berry Cool]

22. Thanks for giving me an earworm.

"Take back your mink, take back your pearls..."

[Cassandra]

23. I gave my grandmother's coat to her maid.

I would have worn it if it was my size but she was tiny. A cousin could have fit but she couldn't see herself in fur. I insisted she come to the apartment and wrapped her in my grandmother's very tailored cashmere coat. That she took with great pleasure. :-)

[Greybnk48]

25. My MIL donated hers to a local group to be auctioned for charity.

I thought that was a pretty good idea.

[hyphenate]

26. I actually like the solution that Harry, the sasquatch,

had in "Harry and the Hendersons":

Harry went around the Henderson household, got all the furs that were around, and went out to the backyard and had a funeral for them. Once the funeral was over, the furs were burned--cremated, if you wish.

Since we're talking dead animals, a nice funeral and cremation is a good solution.

[Withywindle]

27. I would feel OK about selling it or giving it away.

After all, these particular minks are already long dead, and it might prevent someone who desperately wants one (for whatever reason) from buying a NEW one.

[Kansas Wyatt]

29. Donate it to the homeless and write off the donation.

[TxRider]

32. Sell it, save some minks

Sell it to someone who wears fur, recycle the thing in that way so they don't don't go buy a new one and kill more minks doing so.

It's not like you can bring them back from the dead, and you'll have some cash in your pocket too.

Everyone wins, the fur wearer, the minks, and you.

[FLSurfer]

33. That happened to me a few years back

I finally came to the conclusion the only thing to do was bury it.
It is the mortal remains of the animal and deserves a proper burial.
My grandmothers coat is in my backyard, 3 feet underground next to
my best producing mango tree.

[seabeyond]

34. went to womans shelter. all things go to shelter whether it may work or not

they can decide what they want to do with it. i didnt want it.

[RainDog]

35. give it to a homeless person n/t

[jillan]

36. We gave our moms to a consignment shop.

It sold.

[Tracer]

37. When my mother died, ...

... we gave her mink coat to a neighbor who had been extremely kind to Mom. (We gave her Mom's car too!)