Sourcing Standards

Every Casiani garment begins with a pelt bought at an established international fur auction. That matters, because the auction system is what makes provenance knowable. Skins arrive graded, catalogued, and tied to a farm or region of origin before a single one reaches our atelier. This page sets out exactly where we buy, what those channels do and do not guarantee, and how you can trace your own garment.

The auction houses we buy through

We source through four active international auction houses. Each specialises in different furs and applies its own grading system.

Auction house	Location	Primarily supplies
Saga Furs	Vantaa, Finland	Mink, fox, and Finnraccoon from Nordic and European farms
Kopenhagen Fur	Poznan, Poland	Mink, including short-nap velvet grades and rare mutation colours
Sojuzpushnina	St Petersburg, Russia	Wild and farmed Russian sable, branded under the Sobol label
Ruspushnina	St Petersburg, Russia	Russian sable, including Barguzinsky sable

Saga Furs is a publicly listed company on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, which means its operations and results are subject to public financial disclosure. Kopenhagen Fur relocated its auction operation from Glostrup, Denmark to Poznan, Poland in 2025, and now runs its consolidated sales from the Kopenhagen Fur Poland Operation Center. Sojuzpushnina has operated in St Petersburg since the 1930s and remains one of the largest sale channels in the world for both wild and farmed sable.

What buying at auction actually guarantees

Auction sourcing gives us three things that buying loose pelts on the open market does not.

Grading. Every skin is assessed and sorted before sale on colour, clarity, silvering, size, hair density, and skin condition. This is why two coats described by the same generic name can differ enormously in quality. Grading is the vocabulary that makes those differences visible and priced.

Traceability to origin. Auction lots are tied to their source farm or harvest region. That chain is what allows any welfare or origin claim to be checked rather than simply asserted.

Welfare programmes attached to the channel. European farm supply is covered by the industry's Welfur assessment protocol, and a large share of fur traded internationally carries Origin Assured certification, which confirms the fur originated in a country with animal welfare regulation in force. We buy within these systems rather than outside them.

What our sourcing does not claim

We would rather be precise than reassuring. Origin Assured confirms that fur came from a country that regulates welfare. It does not itself set the content of those regulations, and critics of the scheme make that point fairly. Welfur is an industry-run assessment, not an independent one. Neither programme resolves the ethical debate about fur farming, and we do not present them as if they do.

What auction sourcing does deliver is a documented chain from farm or region to finished garment. That turns the conversation from an argument about impressions into one about facts that can be checked. We think that is the honest ground to stand on, and we discuss the wider debate openly in our writing on fur's return to fashion.

Legacy inventory

A number of pelts and finished garments in our holdings were sourced through North American Fur Auctions, which has since ceased operations. These pieces were acquired while NAFA was trading and remain part of our existing inventory. We no longer source new material through that channel, and we note it here so the record is complete rather than tidy.

Trade compliance

Casiani is a European company and sources only within the trade rules applicable at the time of purchase, including all sanctions and import regulations in force in the European Union. Where regulations change, our buying changes with them.

Tracing your own garment

Every Casiani piece is issued with a unique serial number, shown on the garment's hang tag and on the authenticity label sewn into the lining. That number ties your specific garment to our records. You can check it on our Authenticity verification page.

If you want to know more about the origin of a particular piece before or after buying it, contact us and we will tell you what our records show.