Los Angeles could be the next major US city to implement a full ban on the sale of fur after its council voted unanimously on the proposal.
The proposed ordinance would make Los Angeles the largest city in the US to ban the sale of fur. San Francisco did so in March, following Berkeley last year and West Hollywood in 2013.
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A large number of global fashion-houses have also announced fur-free policies in the last year alone, Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, DKNY, Donna Karan and Jimmy Choo have gone fur-free. Earlier this month British brand Burberry declared that it was ending its use of fur, and London Fashion Week announced its runway would be fur-free. Many other global designers such as Hugo Boss, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood have long-standing fur bans.
The 12-0 vote directs the city attorney’s office to draft an ordinance outlining the ban. A final vote would then be needed by the council, and the ban would go into effect two years after final approval.
PJ Smith, senior manager of fashion policy for the Humane Society International’s US affiliate welcomed the outcome of the vote. “Los Angeles’ decision to ban fur sales, along with recent fur-free announcements from well-known fashion brands and retailers should make it clear that the future of fashion is fur-free. Not only is LA now the largest city in America to go fur-free, but with this fur ban, it has become a leader in innovation and compassion.”
The human rights group is hoping the fur ban in Los Angeles will encourage legislators globally to consider similar bans. In the UK, HSI UK’s #FurFreeBritain campaign urging the government to implement a UK-wide fur sale ban has gained huge momentum.
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By GlobalDataClaire Bass, HSI UK’s executive director says she will write to the UK government urging Prime Minister May to follow LA’s ethical lead.
“A cruel product like fur has no place in the City of Angels, and we applaud the Los Angeles City council for taking a moral stand. Now it is time for the UK government to show equal compassion and listen to the vast majority of British people who want the UK to become the first country in the world to fully ban the sale of animal fur.
“Our government has stated its ambition for the UK to be ‘a world leader in animal welfare’, blazing a trail as the first country to outlaw the cruel and unnecessary fur trade would show that this ambition will be delivered with actions, not just words. The sale of cat, dog, and seal fur is already banned here so now let’s finish the job and ban fur full stop.”
British clothing brands including Burberry, Belstaff, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, and Stella McCartney have all pledged to no longer use animal fur in its products.
A report by the UK’s Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee in July criticised the Government’s Trading Standards for its “complacent” approach to enforcing a complete ban on the import and sale of animal fur post-Brexit, and called for the introduction of a new mandatory product labelling scheme to tackle the ongoing problem of consumers being mis-sold real animal fur as fake.
