California Apparel News

The fur has been flying with the news that fur products cannot be sold in Los Angeles after 2020.

On Feb. 12, a ban on selling and manufacturing fur products in Los Angeles was approved by a 13–1 vote by the Los Angeles City Council.

But many people disagreed with the new ordinance, which goes into effect in 2021. Fur-industry advocate Nancy Daigneault, vice president, Americas, of the International Fur Federation, said that fur continues to be a vital industry that employs thousands of people and is regulated by certifying organizations that hold high standards for farms raising animals as well as for trappers.

Furs are harvested quickly and painlessly from animals, Daigneault said. In a 2015 testimony before the Canadian parliament, she said that fur trappers are good stewards of forests and help reintroduce animals such as wolves to areas where their numbers were decimated by hunting.

In late 2017, the Toronto-based IFF put together a study of how a fur ban would affect retailers in San Francisco with predictions that retailers would lose $10 million to $50 million a year.

She said Los Angeles City councilmembers did not respond to her organization’s requests to present their case, but City Councilmember Paul Koretz, who backed the ban, said that concerns from fur retailers were heard.

Because retailers wanted a longer time to sell off fur inventories before a ban went into effect and ban advocates wanted a shorter time period, there was a compromise to wait two years before it became illegal to sell fur products in Los Angeles.

Koretz said Los Angeles retailers won’t lose out because fur will be replaced by faux fur and other synthetic materials. “We won’t miss a beat,” he said. “Any minor costs this creates will be nothing compared to the value of helping end this industry.”

Los Angeles retailer Amy Rebecca Wilde anticipated that a ban would boost sales at her store, Vegan Scene. “This is a new era of compassionate consumerism. We have already seen an increase in sales as more and more people become aware of the importance of vegan fashion. I think the vote will help us see an increase in foot traffic from local L.A. residents,” she said.

On Robertson Boulevard, the Mark Zunino atelier expects to continue to sell high-end women’s fashions with vintage fur, which will remain legal under the ban. Mark Zunino, the founder and designer of the self-named atelier, estimated that more than 60 percent of his clients prefer that he work with vintage fur.

Many of his clients give him vintage-fur garments because the garments have been tough to sell on the used-fur market, and some of the pieces may no longer be trendy.

Many of his clients, who are inspired by the Hollywood of the 1950s when fur was big, request pieces of clothing trimmed with fur. “When they know what we have access to, they understand that there is no reason to ask for anything but vintage,” Zunino said.

L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield wrote the ordinance, which was first presented to the 15-member council in June. The only councilperson voting against the ban on Feb. 12 was recently appointed Greig Smith, who was named to fill the seat left vacant by Mitchell Englander.

Councilmember Paul Koretz said that the effect of L.A.’s fur ban would be far reaching. “This is a barbaric industry,” he said. “Its practices are absolutely disgusting. They include skinning animals. Even its most humane practices are inhumane. Since Los Angeles is a fashion mecca, I’m hoping the groundwork we lay today will end up with the fur industry disappearing in the next 10 to 20 years in this country.”

The ban must go before a procedural reading before Mayor Eric Garcetti vetoes it or signs it into law. The next reading has not been scheduled, but Koretz forecast that the council will discuss it again by March, at the latest.

Fur harvested by trappers who have a license within the state of California will not be affected by the law.

Already, California cities including San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood have passed fur bans. West Hollywood’s fur ban went into effect in September 2013, which the city enforces by giving tickets to retailers violating the ordinance.

Koretz said that no enforcement tools are currently written into the Los Angeles ban. “It will be like smoking ordinances from dec­ades ago,” he said. “People thought there would be a smoking police. But it was self-enforcing. I doubt if we will need a hammer to enforce this.”

One reason the city will not enforce the ban is because fur is on its way out, Koretz said. High-profile designers such as Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors vowed to make their companies fur free.