1.
CU Large furs hanging on conveyor
0.13

2.
CU Woman brushing and examining fur (3 shots)
0.24

3.
GV Furs down conveyor belt to women cutting
0.35

4.
SV Woman cutting and marking fur for collar. (2 shots)
0.46

5.
CU PAN Woman shaping fur
0.53

6.
CU Woman sewing furs
0.54

7.
LV Woman working on furs
1.00

8.
CU Woman stitching
1.02

9.
SV Finished coats on conveyor belt, both full-length and short types (4 shots).
1.31



Initials GL/AW/VC/1450 GL/AW/VC/1512



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: As Europe shivers in the grip of an Arctic airstream, a reminder comes from the Soviet Union that where fashion and warmth need to go together, there's just no substitute for fur.

Intrepid hunters have been trapping fur in Siberia for centuries, but today fur-making in the Soviet Union, as in other countries, is organised on large-scale, industrial lines.

But fur manufacturing remains essentially a handicraft industry. The cutter must match the pelts according to colour and quality to achieve a uniform finish, and must also cut the skins to the designer's pattern with a minimum of wastage.

All this is familiar ground to the girls who work at the Rostokino Furriery, whose products go out to dress women all over the world. Skins of sable and marten, arctic fox and mink, fox and karakul, are handled here with the care and precision a jeweller gives his gems.

Each year the factory produces more than 800,000 fur mantle, nearly 700,000 collars, a quarter million coats for children and fur hats by the thousand. All in all a cosy thought for the time of year.