No More Fur Stores in L.A.

Los Angeles has voted to ban the sale and manufacture of new fur in the city beginning Jan. 1, 2021.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the L.A. City Council passed the ordinance on Tuesday on a 2-1 vote, making Los Angeles the largest city in the United States to go fur-free since San Francisco ruled similarly in March 2018. (West Hollywood banned fur back in 2013.)

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who authored the no-fur motion voted on in September 2018, released a statement:

“This arcane and inhumane practice must end and today; we said, loud and clear, fur will not have a future in Los Angeles. I am proud that our city made a giant step in ending the unnecessary killing of animals, but we must continue toward finally eliminating this vile market.”

Dissenting Valley Councilmember Greig Smith argued that the vote was “not American” (via Los Angeles Daily News):

“I’m really concerned about asking people who have run legitimate businesses for a long time, paid their taxes and done what is asked of them, to just suddenly stop doing business. That’s not American. And it’s not the way I think we should act as a government.”

While the fur ban may appear to be a giant step forward for environmental and animal activists, it’s convenient that the city of Los Angeles has chosen to enforce the same sort of fur-free pledge luxury brands have agreed to in recent years. Everything’s all about money, always. Since 2015, designers like Ralph Lauren, Armani, Michael Kors, Gucci, Burberry (after facing criticism for burning unsold goods, including fur goods), Versace, and Chanel have vowed to ban fur from their collections. It’s less likely that they’ve all come to some mutual moral understanding after decades of PETA paint throwing, and much more likely that the fashion industry wants to appeal to the pockets of young, righteous clientele who would rather drop a few thousands on a luxurious faux fur.