“Minkmark” Proposed By U.K. Breeders

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31923, 26 February 1969, Page 10

“Minkmark” Proposed By U.K. Breeders

(NZ.PA. Staff Correspondent)

LONDON, February 7. The mink fur growers of Britain want to introduce an international quality symbol similar to the Woolmark of the International Wool Secretariat. The secretary of the United Kingdom Fur Breeders’ Association (Miss A. Gartside) said today: “Imitation is the best form of flattery. Woolmark is obviously the right approach—it’s been a tremendous success. We want to try the same thing.” She said mink producers, with exports of s3m a year, already shared a symbol with Dutch producers. Now the hope was to create a symbol recognised throughout Europe.

The aim was eventually to link British, Dutch, German, French, Italian and Belgian producers of mink fur, with about 2 per cent of the selling price per mink for an international promotion fund. “The chairman of the British association (Mr W. M. Munro) comes from a family with long-established wool textile industry connections. We had talks with the I.W.S. some months ago to study their methods," she said. “In my view. Woolmark is the best-known commodity symbol in the world. We don’t have the same money, and we’ll have to move more slowly, but we hope eventually to take in all of Europe west of the Iron Curtain," Miss Gartside said.