Fur Felt Hats price increase due to fur shortage

In some parts of the country, a man can be judged by the cut of his suit or his designer tie. In Pendleton Oregon, a town known for its rodeo culture, men size each other up by the quality of their fur felt cowboy hats. However, good quality beaver and rabbit furs, which are used to make felt for dress hats and cowboy hats, are increasingly hard to find, making it more expensive to find a well-dressed cowboy. Today, a top-grade fur felt hat can cost as much as $6,000.

In Garland Texas, home of the 140-year-old Stetson Hat Co., "The cost of the raw materials determines the bottom line", said Gary Rosenthal, Stetson’s product development manager; "and the raw material has gone up – a lot. At the high end, for cowboy hats starting at $800, the felt is made entirely of beaver. At the lower end, for cowboy hats in the $250 range, the felt is often mixed with rabbit fur, mostly from Europe, where rabbits are raised for meat and fur traders bid on the skins."

The drop in the dollar against the euro has made even the inferior fur expensive for American hatmakers. “Two years ago, I used to be able to buy a kilo of rabbit fur for $2.20; now, it’s $4.70. Fur felt just keeps going up and up, and we have no choice but to pass the cost down to the hat industry. The exchange rate is only part of the problem. Chinese fur manufacturers have recently embraced rabbit as well as beaver for garments, pushing the bidding higher."

A final factor is the growth in popularity of white rabbits, whose fur is not as thick or as durable as that of their colored cousins. "It’s a triple whammy", said the fur cutter. Compared to rabbit, wild beaver have always been expensive. However, in recent years, the price of the already costly fur pelts has climbed even higher.

In December 2002, wild beaver pelts averaged $14.86. One year later, the price spiked to $17.96 and by December 2004, the pelts averaged $20.02. According to Fur Harvesters Inc., the most recent figures for May of 2007 list the price for beaver pelts as $21.20.

Even hatmakers that have the money to spend on the top-of-the-line pelts are finding that the best quality beaver is often ending up in the hands of foreign competitors. "Russia and China have been gobbling them up", said Dean Serratelli, co-owner of the Serratelli brand. "The good raw materials are getting scarcer and scarcer."

Additionally, global warming is having an effect. The best quality fur comes from the underbelly of the beaver, which grows thick to protect the animal in the cold winter months. With winters around the world warmer than in the past, the pelts are not growing as full as they did decades ago. "It’s a fact that if it’s a warmer season, the fur is not as good quality", said Jack Kellogg. Good quality beaver and rabbit furs are increasingly hard to find which is driving up the price of the American felt Cowboy hats.

Note to our Customers
Miller Hats takes pride in providing customers with good quality hats. We continue to order felt hats from companies that maintain a better quality fur felt. Many of our manufacturers obtain their fur bodies here in the United States or from European countries, rather then the thinner synthetic fur from Asian countries. We will continue to work with manufacturers to obtain the best materials available and to give customers a variety of choices when it comes to selecting a felt hat.