Possum New Zealand http://www.possumnz.com/

Why do you call Possum ‘eco-fur’?
Introduced from Australia, the Brushtail Possum has become the single greatest threat to New Zealand’s native flora and fauna. The 70 million or so Possum’s devour 20,000 tonnes of vegetation every night! In addition to competing for food, Brushtail Possum’s also eat or destroy the eggs and chicks of endangered native birds.

So, why not kill them all?
Unfortunately it’s not that simple. The problem is now too great. The Department of Conservation spends around $60 million every year, through humane trapping or baiting. However, full eradication will never be possible.

Does buying a Possum fur product really help the environment?
Possum New Zealand believes that a commercially driven approach is an effective way of containing this problem – in conjunction with the conservation efforts. All fur has been harvested from the wild, not farmed, and it is from this source that Possum New Zealand sources its A-Grade hides.

A-Grade Hides? Isn’t the Possum sort of like a big rat?
No way! That’s the North American Opossum. While both are marsupials, our Brushtail species is much larger with a thicker coat. That’s why Possum is so perfect for scarves and jackets – it’s warm and light! Click here to see some of the other differences. http://www.possumnz.com/Possum_Fact_...

I’ve got a fur coat, but it sheds like crazy. Does Possum fur do that?
Well, like any natural fibre there’s some initial shedding, but unlike Lapin, Possum does not shed continually. This means that your fur jacket will look the same in a year, as it did when you bought it. (Unless you lend it to someone and they spill bubbly down the front…)

Indian Fashion Week was held back in March, and we’ve just noticed that one of the fashion houses Lecoanet Hemant was using New Zealand Possum fur in their collection! Here’s a link to the article from Yahoo! India. http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-deta...

They had a range of Possum fur jackets in their collection, although the picture in the article is of an après-ski hat in white Possum fur. This looks quite similar to our very own KGB hat. http://www.possumnz.com/Product_Deta...

It’s nice to see Possum being utilized in markets other than our own.

If I had one concern it was this quote:

"It’s also very interesting fur because it’s the only one you can wash in a machine."

Please, whatever you do, DON’T wash your Possum fur in the machine! You can gently wash Possum Merino yarn, but I would never recommend washing a Possum garment or scarf.

If you’re unsure but would like to see some fur care instructions, have a look on the Possum NZ website. http://www.possumnz.com/Customer_Ser...

With all the talk of carbon emissions we’ve been looking into ways to reduce our carbon footprint. Possum New Zealand’s already committed to recycling (both waste and stock), but we’ve been looking at how making small changes adds up to the greater whole.

We’ve always recycled our scraps of Possum fur for trimming eco-bags (made from recycled plastic), making pompoms, stuffing cushions and our cute Possycat toy. Our Possum Merino T-Cozy hat was created solely to utilize leftovers from the knitters.

In the office it’s things like: not running the air conditioner, turning off computers and other devices at the wall and turning office lights off when we’re not using them.

This got us thinking about how Possum’s negatively impact our carbon footprint. We heard them called ‘carbon junkies’ the other day, because of the amount of vegetation they destroy. One fully grown tree can absorb over 20kgs of Carbon Dioxide every year. When you think that Possums are munching through 20,000 tons of bush every night (!) you realise what a problem this is!

Trees are the cheapest, and one of the most effective ways of removing Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere, not to mention returning Oxygen. By removing Possums from the eco-system, we’re protecting the native fauna from an introduced predator, AND increasing carbon storage from the atmosphere, as the trees continue to grow.

That alone is a persuasive argument for a commercially-driven eradication plan, especially when you consider that around 30% of New Zealand (8.2 million hectares or over 20 million acres) is forest anyway.