UPDATE: Nordstrom responds to animal rights protest by Action for Animals group

Sure, today is a biggie for bargain-hunters as the holiday shopping season officially begins. But did you know it's also a biggie for anti-fur-clothing advocates?

"We call it fur-free Friday," said Lauren Rainbow, a 27-year-old social worker who participated in a protest today outside the Nordstrom store in downtown Seattle, urging shoppers to not buy fur.

"It's kind of a national holiday in the animal-rights community."

Dozens of activists passed out brochures near the store's entrance off Pine Street. Some carried signs with gruesome photos of skinned animals.

Rainbow said the activists targeted Nordstrom because "it's a big seller of fur."

The protest was organized by Action for Animals. Members of Northwest Animal Rights Network also attended.

UPDATE:
Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White had this to say in response:

"We closed our fur salons in the early to mid '90s and in 2006, stopped using real fur on all Nordstrom Product Group merchandise - essentially any merchandise with the various Nordstrom labels/brands. We are sensitive to the many customers we have that are fur free - many of us here are as well. However, we have many customers who still ask and buy for fur trimmed merchandise. It's a challenging issue for us and we will continue to evaluate it over time."