PETA tickets "fashion felonies"

Wearing "police officer" uniforms, two scantily clad women from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) drew a small crowd Wednesday afternoon as they issued "tickets" for the "fashion felonies" of wearing fur, leather or wool.

Sue Oliver and Rachel Bjork headlined the protest at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle wearing entirely synthetic, if skimpy, materials. They said braving the cold was worthwhile if it helped people think twice about how animals that provide materials for clothing items are treated.

The duo, accompanied by a handful of animal-right activists, didn't write many tickets during their hourlong stay at the mall, but they drew plenty of hoots, hollers and admirers.

"It's a great way to raise awareness about a serious issue," Oliver said as she wrote a ticket to a teenage boy who had planted himself in front of her and pointed out his leather shoes.

The PETA protest was sparked by information released after the holiday season by the Humane Society of the United States, which said its investigation had revealed that major retailers were selling items with fur from domestic dogs and also selling real fur that was labeled as faux fur.

The Humane Society said then that designer coats purchased from reputable outlets, such as Seattle-based Nordstrom, contained the fur of domestic dogs, raccoon dogs and wolves.

Further testing, however, revealed that there was no domestic-dog fur in the retail items, according to Nordstrom, the fur industry and even PETA.

The furs of coyotes, wolves and raccoon dogs were found, however.

At Nordstrom, customers who bought the mislabeled fur were contacted, told that a vendor had mistakenly labeled the real fur as fake fur and offered a refund, according to company spokeswoman Deniz Anders.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com