Fur Out of Style and Out of Business: Store’s Closure to Draw Champagne-Filled Celebration

For Immediate Release:
February 10, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Another fur peddler bites the dust. Following the announcement that Lowenthal Outerwear Boutique is preparing to shut its doors for the last time, PETA supporters will be on site, decked out in party hats and serving champagne to commemorate the fur retailer’s closing and calling on shoppers to stick to luxurious clothing that no one was killed for. The closure follows years of protests and calls from PETA and local animal advocates urging the retailer to drop fur.

“Lowenthal’s closure is a local confirmation that fur is dead and is another win for animals who suffer a violent, agonizing death for garments no one needs and, increasingly, no one wants,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on the few other hold-out businesses to stop clinging to cruelty, and for kind consumers to choose vegan clothing and accessories.”

Where:           Outside Lowenthal Outerwear Boutique, 4097 Virginia Beach Blvd. (near the intersection of Stepney Lane and Virginia Beach Boulevard), Virginia Beach

When:            Thursday, February 12, 12 noon

Why:              Minks purr when they’re happy, and foxes are devoted parents who will share the responsibility of raising their pups. Most animals raised and killed for fur are confined for their entire lives to filthy, cramped wire cages, where they frantically pace back and forth, gnaw on the bars, and mutilate themselves out of extreme stress and frustration before they’re electrocuted, bludgeoned, gassed, or even skinned alive. Wild animals caught in traps often suffer for days before trappers arrive to shoot, strangle, beat, or stomp them to death.

PETA notes that a growing list of retailers and major fashion brands—including Canada Goose, Gucci, Macy’s, and Neiman Marcus—have ditched fur. Additionally, every major fashion magazine—including Vogue, Elle, and Cosmopolitan—has barred fur from its pages, and PETA is now asking them to do the same with wild-animal skins.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.