If you’re scrolling through social media these days, you’ll know the “mob wife” aesthetic is all the rage. The best part? You can achieve this look without animal skins.
With a New York attitude, Mob Wife Winter is taking over the globe. With nearly 10 million views on TikTok, #MobWifeWinter is not just a trend, it’s a new way of life.
TikTok user Mikayla Toninato explains to PopSugar:
“A mob wife is unbothered, she has places to be, people to see, she does not deal with your bullsh*t, she does not take anything from anyone … She has red lips, she has red fingernails, she always has smoky makeup, we’re going to keep doing the big blowouts.”
In addition to smoky eyes, chunky gold jewelry, big sunglasses, leopard print everything, and a bad B attitude, people embracing this style are adding a faux fur flair to it, eschewing cruel animal-based fur.
Here’s why we love seeing everyone embrace faux fur:
1. Reduces animal suffering
First and foremost, animals on fur farms suffer immensely throughout their entire lives in order to produce fur products. The animals are then skinned alive or anally electrocuted in order to preserve the fur—an absolutely horrid and painful way to die.
If they’re taken from the wild, fur-bearing animals are often caught in painful traps for hours until the hunter finds and shoots them. Many investigations have found that animals in these traps have chewed off their trapped limbs in order to free themselves—and these traps have also caught and killed companion animals such as cats and dogs.
Minks are commonly exploited for their furs.
2. Better for the environment*
In comparison to real fur, faux fur production is better for the environment as it takes fifteen times less energy to create and doesn’t use toxic chemicals to preserve them the way animal fur and skins need to be.
*World Animal Protection recognizes that fast fashion faux furs are not always the most sustainable. We encourage anyone looking for faux furs to purchase from brands that put the environment and animal protection first. Check out our colleagues at Collective Fashion Justice for more information on fur alternatives and the fashion industry.
3. Helps stop the spread of disease
Overcrowded and unsanitary, fur farms are a breeding ground for zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 and avian flu. Millions of foxes and minks have been slaughtered on fur farms throughout the world in recent years as both diseases were detected in fur-bearing animals. These diseases have even spread from fur and factory farms to animals in the wild, most recently killing a polar bear in Alaska.
By eliminating the demand for real fur products, we would end fur factory farming forever. You can help by asking your federal representative to co-sponsor the Mink VIRUS Act, which would phase out mink factory farms and support transitions for farmers.
Are you embracing the faux fur mob wife aesthetic? Follow @worldanimalprotectionus on TikTok and tag us in your faux fur fashion videos!