Visa Inc. waives the white flag after just 7 days…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Visa Inc. Drops Sponsorship of Milan Fashion Week After Anti-Fur Protests
International– (April 14, 2026) – Visa has officially ended its partnership with Milan Fashion Week over its continued use of fur. The global anti-fur campaign targeting Milan Fashion Week, announced by Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) on January 8, 2026, has now claimed its third major corporate sponsor, following the departures of DHL and Wella earlier this year.
In the past week, Visa faced protests at several of its headquarters as well as demonstrations outside the homes of Visa executives in London, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Wellesley, Miami, Atlanta, and San Francisco, as activists made clear that every affiliate of Milan Fashion Week is complicit. In total, there were 13 protests over the course of the seven day campaign. The pressure has not been limited to sponsors. Anti-fur activists have also protested Carlo Capasa, President of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, disrupting him at his talk at Bocconi University and confronting him at the European Designer Fashion Summit in Barcelona on April 13, where he appeared on a panel alongside other European fashion industry leaders.
In an email sent to CAFT on April 13, 2026, Europe Correspondence of Visa Europe confirms: “Visa has ended its sponsorship of Milan Fashion Week.”
“We commend Visa for making the right decision to cut ties with Milan Fashion Week and Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. Three major sponsors have now walked away from CNMI rather than be associated with cruel and outdated fur. The message could not be more clear. Milan Fashion Week’s refusal to go fur-free is a liability, and the corporate world knows it,” said Suzie Stork, Executive Director of CAFT.
Despite the steady exodus of sponsors, CNMI refuses to ban fur from Milan Fashion Week’s runway. Activists say campaigns targeting remaining Milan Fashion Week partners will continue internationally until Milan Fashion Week adopts a fur-free policy.
Advocates argue that corporate sponsorships of fur-holdouts like Milan Fashion Week uphold and fund the fur industry. Fur production has been extensively documented to cause severe suffering to millions of animals, significant environmental damage, and heightened public health risks.
About CAFT: The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) is a grassroots organization dedicated to dismantling the global fur industry through hard-hitting, volunteer-driven, decentralized pressure campaigns. CAFT represents activists around the world who expose the cruelty of fur farming and hold corporations accountable for their exploitation of fur-bearing animals.
For more information, visit abolishfur.org or follow CAFT on Instagram @caftusa.
Pictures and videos of Visa Protests: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M0R6zyVJCMqP-fg-t_xOWbAifHxxQGyP
Pictures and videos of Protests at Milan Fashion Week: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14xjK8VOaANhqIUzaSM6Nh-9vfJ551GAn
Media Contact:
Suzie Stork
Executive Director
310-853-3476
[email protected]
