Animal advocates all over the U.S. gather together in front of their local fur purveyors the day after Thanksgiving every year on Fur-Free Friday, a nationally recognized and respected animal rights day of protest, with signs and informational pamphlets urging consumers not to wear fur or fur trim.

Fur-Free Friday originated in 1986, when two members of the animal advocacy group Trans-Species Unlimited (TSU) decided to stage a non-violent protest on the busiest shopping day of the year. The year before, TSU and another group called Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) had sponsored a day of civil disobedience in front of Macy’s in New York and Sacramento, California. Despite the non-violent nature of the protests, a number of participants were arrested.

Fur-Free Friday has been very successful in raising public awareness about the cruel realities of the fur trade. But in the last few years, the fur industry has been fighting back by enticing consumers into buying fur-trimmed items like hats, gloves, coats and jackets.

The big problem with fur trim is that, even though it may be labeled “raccoon” or “faux fur”, the trim may actually be from domesticated dogs or cats, wolves or wild raccoon dogs (also known as Finn raccoons), especially if it comes from China, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. In these countries, the raising and slaughtering (often by skinning alive) of dogs and cats for their fur is a huge industry. Although it is illegal to import dog or cat fur into the U.S., many stores and designers are doing it anyway, either knowingly or out of ignorance.

What can you do as a consumer to stop the mislabeling of fur trim? Write to your Congressional representative to support The Truth in Fur Labeling Act (HR 4904), which would close a loophole in the 1950s Fur Products Labeling Act that does not require labeling of fur items if the value of the fur is less than $150. In other words, merchants can now legally sell fur trim without specifying the species, country of origin or even identifying the trim as animal. Representative Jim Moran of Virginia is working hard to close this loophole.

In the meantime, the most humane action you can take is to avoid buying fur trim and inform department store managers if you suspect that they’re selling mislabeled fur items. And get out there on Fur-Free Friday with your fellow animal lovers to protest the animal-cruel fur industry, which operates on the bizarre premise that trapping wild animals, or electrocuting farmed animals, and stripping them of their own skin and fur just so humans can wear it is perfectly reasonable. The fur business is a billion-dollar industry. You can help change that by being a responsible consumer.