LA Moves To Ban Fur Sales & Manufacture, Following San Francisco, West Hollywood & Berkeley

LA Moves To Ban Fur Sales & Manufacture, Following San Francisco, West Hollywood & Berkeley

Los Angeles, long associated with red carpet glitz and glamour, has voted to ban the sale of fur products, making it the largest American city to respond to a unanimous City Council vote to draft an ordinance that will ultimately prohibit the manufacture and sale of new fur products within the city.

Projected to take two years to institute, the first step is to draft a city ordinance that takes into consideration “how fur apparel is utilized by religious organizations, and possible exemptions, as well as potential conflicts with federal and state laws relating to sale of fur products derived from legally trapped animals,” writes The LA Times.

West Hollywood already has a fur ban, but the law was changed to exempt fur from animals legally trapped under state law. Berkeley and San Francisco have fur bans, adapted to comply with local laws and ordinances.

Keith Kaplan, spokesman for the Fur Information Council of America, a trade group for manufacturers and fur merchants, argued that global retail fur sales are $35.8 billion and that more than 1 million people were employed, as of 2014.

Big industry brands abandoning fur in their collections include Michael Kors, Armani, Gucci and most recently Burberry.

The current London Fashion Week promoted itself as being fur free.

Pierre Hardy x Lemlem Capsule Collection With Liya Kebede's Ethiopian Artisans Debuts June 1

Pierre Hardy x Lemlem Capsule Collection With Liya Kebede's Ethiopian Artisans Debuts June 1

Top model and activist Liya Kebede and designer Pierre Hardy are partnering on a new  footwear and handbag collection for Kebede's Ethiopian-heritage brand Lemlem. 

“It came about very naturally and very organically,” Hardy tells British Vogue ahead of the June 1 launch date. “Liya and I met three years ago, and I wouldn't say we were 'friends', but we were very happy every time we passed one another. As a designer I thought it could be a challenging and interesting experience to join our brands and see what the result could be. And basically, we matched because I love her!”

Lemlem was born a decade ago when Kebede met a group of traditional weavers in her native country who no longer had a market for their work. Fearful that their craft would become extinct, Kebede launch Lemlem. Starting small, her collaboration with Hardy could lead do a significant venture.  “I find him super original and super talented in what he does. It was wonderful to connect the artisans of Ethiopia with the artisans in France, and to create a bridge between these two worlds," the model says about Hardy.