Sephora confirms it will stop selling false eyelashes made from mink fur

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Sephora has vowed to stop selling false eyelashes made from mink fur.

The beauty retailer has confirmed that it will phase out its remaining stock of mink eyelashes and will only purchase synthetic or faux-fur lashes moving forward.

Sephora’s decision to ban the lashes, which are made from the soft fur of the small mammals, follows a PETA campaign that condemned the poor treatment of caged animals in fur farms.

“Following a PETA campaign and emails from more than 280,000 concerned shoppers, Sephora has confirmed that it has banned mink-fur eyelashes and will purchase only synthetic or faux-fur lashes going forward,” a statement from PETA reads.

“Mink fur typically comes from fur farms, where stressed minks frantically pace and circle endlessly inside cramped wire cages and many languish from infections or broken or malformed limbs.”

The organisation added that some minks even “self-mutilate” as a result of the confinement before they are killed and also criticised Sephora for marketing mink lashes as “cruelty-free”.

PETA's campaign included a video of a fur farm, where mink fur is often harvested for coats and false eyelashes.

In a statement, Sephora confirmed that it had already started 2020 with plans to phase mink lashes out of its stock, adding that any products in its stores will be the last it ever carries.

“At Sephora, we have always been committed to upholding the highest standards of beauty, and we take our responsibility to communicate transparently and honestly with our clients about the products we carry seriously,” the statement reads.

“As we shared with PETA, earlier this year we had already decided to begin phasing mink products out of our assortment in 2020. We have only ever offered products our clients can trust and we stand by the people and partners who have made the Sephora experience what it is today.”

Following Sephora’s announcement to ban the controversial product, Tracy Reiman, PETA's executive vice president, congratulated the brand.

“There's no difference between a mink coat and mink eyelashes when it comes to animal suffering,” she said.

“PETA is celebrating Sephora's decision to join Tarte, Too Faced, Urban Decay, and the scores of other brands that know that there's nothing beautiful about stealing an animal's fur.”

Earlier this year, a worker on a Dutch farm where mink are bred for their fur caught coronavirus from the animals. Two fur farms in the Netherlands were put under quarantine after mink there tested positive for Covid-19.

Mink fur is sold across the world in countries such as China, Korea, Greece and Turkey.​ However, in 2013 the Netherlands banned the opening of any new mink farms, with existing fur farms given until 2024 to close.

The Independent is calling for an end to the high-risk sale and trafficking of wildlife with our campaign, Stop The Wildlife Trade.