USA: Major West Coast Cities No Longer Want Fur

New York Fashion Week kicks off in early September with a major announcement and a protest campaign: British fashion house Burberry will immediately stop using real fur in its collections.

“Modern luxury means social responsibility. This is a core principle of Burberry and key to our lasting success,” explains Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti of the landmark decision.

Los Angeles is now on its way to becoming the largest city in the United States to ban the sale of fur clothing and accessories. Yesterday evening, Tuesday 18 September 2018, the city council voted unanimously in favour of a ban and instructed the City of Los Angeles to draft legislation making the sale of fur illegal.

Council member Bob Blumenfield, who introduced the motion, said: “This is L.A. taking a stand and saying that we will no longer be complicit in the inhumane and despicable fur trade that has gone on for years.”

Animal Fur in Fashion No Longer “En Vogue”

The majority of consumers want nothing to do with the fur trade, and several major fashion brands have already announced they will stop using real fur in the future. Countries such as Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium are distancing themselves from animal cruelty by banning fur farming. Other major cities such as São Paulo have also banned the sale of fur.

The Devastating Impact of the Fur Industry

Wild animals on fur farms spend their entire lives in cramped cages, deprived of the ability to develop natural behaviours. They are ultimately killed in a cruel manner. In the wild, animals are held in traps for days without food or water until trappers come to collect them. Often, in desperation, they gnaw at their own limbs in an attempt to escape.

Fur production is also a serious environmental burden. Fur farms and tanneries pump waste and toxic chemicals into soil and water. More on Animal Rights.