Giorgio Armani pledges to go 100 percent fur-free

Renowned Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has pledged to go 100 percent fur-free across all his labels from the Autumn-Winter 2016 collection onwards.

Armani's no-fur promise follows similar commitment by fashion brand Hugo Boss last year, and comes after the designer worked closely with Humane Society International (HSI) and The Fur Free Alliance, which was a coalition of 40 animal protection organisations in 28 countries working to end the fur trade.

"Armani is the first word in luxury fashion, and so it is hugely significant for the global fashion industry that Armani has pledged to remove animal fur from all his new collections going forward," Claire Bass, executive director of HSI in Britain, said in a statement.

"Those designers such as Prada, Fendi and Michael Kors who continue to put animal suffering on the catwalk are looking increasingly isolated, with this move by Armani probably the most powerful message yet that killing animals for their fur is never fashionable," Bass added.

Pleased to announce the move, Armani says that the "Armani Group has made a firm commitment to abolish the use of animal fur in its collections".

"Technological progress made over the years allows us to have valid alternatives at our disposition that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals. Pursuing the positive process undertaken long ago, my company is now taking a major step ahead, reflecting our attention to the critical issues of protecting and caring for the environment and animals," Armani said.

HSI recently exposed the suffering of rabbits, as well as foxes, raccoons, dogs which were confined in small, bare, wire cages on Chinese fur farms. The video made by the society also exposed the brutal methods used to kill foxes and raccoon dogs.