Following in the footsteps of San Francisco and other California cities like Berkeley and West Hollywood, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to draft legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of fur clothing and accessories. Not one City Council member opposed the ban, and now the motion faces a second vote.
During a rally outside city hall, Councilman Bob Blumenfield said, “The time is now. The greatness of a nation can be judged by how its animals are treated.”
“This is something that is not just a good legislative win, it’s a moral win,” Blumenfield continued. “We feel like we’re evolving as a city, as people to stop this kind of unnecessary cruelty.”
Banning fur would be a huge step for Los Angeles, now one of the world’s major fashion centers, with designers like Tom Ford and Hedi Slimane bringing their business to the city. Public testimony wasn’t allowed during the meeting, but the Fur Information Council of America’s Keith Kaplan said that the fur industry is being “slandered by sensationalism, lies and deceit in an effort by anti-animal use advocates to influence elected officials.”
The proposed ban would “prohibit the manufacture and sale of fur products, including apparel made in whole or in part of fur, or any fashion accessory.” If the ban passes the second vote, it will go into effect in January and will give retailers till 2020 to sell off their inventory. Used fur products will still be able to be sold.
“Los Angeles is one of the fashion capitals of the world, and if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere,” Councilman Paul Koretz told a news conference before the vote. “We hope that New York City and Chicago and Miami are all watching.”