The Biggest U.S. City Yet Just Banned the Sale of Fur

Will 2018 go down as the year of fur's extinction? All signs are pointing in that direction.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, San Francisco became the third city in California and the largest in the U.S. to ban the sale of fur on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of West Hollywood and Berkeley. The ban will begin January 1, 2019, and it also applies to items as small as key chains and gloves. If stores have items for sale currently in their inventory, then an amendment allows them to sell those pieces through January 1, 2020.

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San Francisco supervisor Katy Tang, one of the leaders behind the ban, explained to The Hollywood Reporter why this is so important, adding that it sends a clear message. “I hope that it inspires other cities and the country to take action. Certainly we need better federal regulations on fur farming,” she said. “There’s no humane way to raise an animal to peel its skin off.”

Fur sales in San Francisco reportedly hit $40 million a year, meaning this ban will certainly affect local businesses.

The use of fur in fashion is, of course, nothing new. Animal rights advocates have for years protested designers and local business owners who choose to showcase fur in their lineups, and it’s not rare to find picketers outside of luxury retailers like Bergdorf Goodman in New York City, for instance.

But it appears that the fashion industry is finally willing to listen.

In December, Michael Kors announced that the brand will no longer use fur products, and that all items made with fur will be eliminated by December 2018. According to a statement, the decision came following a meeting with PETA and as a result of “technological advances in fabrications” that allow the company to create fur-like materials without harming animals in the process.

In October, Gucci made a similar announcement and officially stopped using fur with the introduction of the spring 2018 collection. Other brands that have followed suit include Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Armani, not to mention Stella McCartney, whose entire ethos is about sustainability.

As The Hollywood Reporter points out, however, brands like Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Chanel, Christian Dior, and Tory Burch have yet to stop using fur.

In January 2017, PETA became a shareholder of LVMH Moët Hennessy, the parent company of luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Marc Jacobs, in order to pressure the company to acknowledge its use of animal fabrics and, specifically, exotic crocodile skins. According to PETA, however, they were denied entry to an annual LVMH executives meeting in April of 2017, despite their share in the company.