As luxurious as a fine fur coat is, we can live without it and, of course, we'd never wear the pelt of an endangered species. But for the followers of Shembe – an African Baptist sect combining Christian and Zulu traditions – forsaking fur isn't so simple. According to England's Independent, the over 5 million faithful members of the rapidly growing Nazareth Baptist Church use leopard skins (often poached) in their religious rites, causing a dangerous drop in population for the wild cats.
Faux fur to the rescue! Conservationists have teamed with producers to create fake leopard-skin garments for worshippers, and have asked Church leaders to promote them to their flock. We hope that worshippers adopt the animal-print ceremonial apparel and save the South African leopard from extinction. We also suggest they look into D&G's new collection for matching pants. (Independent UK)
