The anti-fur trend continues to gain momentum!
Major brands like Gucci, Versace and Furla have recently announced their intention to go fur-free, and now the city of San Francisco is joining the movement. On Tuesday night, the city's Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to ban fur sales in San Francisco. "The sale of fur products in San Francisco is inconsistent with the City's ethos of treating all living beings, humans and animals alike, with kindness," said San Francisco district supervisor Katy Tang in a press release. Tang first put forward the ban proposal in December, just a few months after Gucci first announced its own fur ban. In implementing a fur-free retail policy, San Francisco will join cities like Berkeley in California, São Paulo in Brazil and much of India. San Francisco's ban will go into effect in January 2019, but retailers will have through January 2020 to sell their current inventory. The ban does not apply to secondhand furs (unless they're from endangered species), sheepskin and lambskin. While animal rights activists are excited about the move, praise for the ban is not universal. Small-scale furriers are worried, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce estimates that fur sales account for $40 million a year in the city, according to the New York Times. Others, like the Fur Information Council of America, pointed out that faux alternatives to fur are often made of petroleum-based materials that are hardly the most eco-friendly. Final passage of the San Francisco ordinance won't take place until March 27, but anti-fur advocates have already started rejoicing. "San Francisco has today put itself on the map as a world-leading city in kind, progressive law making," said CEO of Human Society International Kitty Block in a release. "Let's see this ban replicated in cities, states and countries across the world."