We’re not sure why anyone would want to risk wearing fur in San Francisco these days. (Remember that time Joan Rivers was pelted with red paint?) But apparently, plenty of people were still buying it because it took an act of the Board of Supervisors to get these products banned for good.
In a unanimous vote Tuesday, San Francisco became the first major city in the U.S. to ban the sale of fur. Similar bans are already in place in Berkeley and West Hollywood.
The ordinance goes into effect January 1, 2019 and applies only to new items. Fur already on the shelves can sell up to January 1, 2020, while vintage stores and pawn shops can continue hawking their stoles and keychains indefinitely.
What about online sales? We’re glad you asked. Under San Francisco’s new rules, fur clothes and accessories purchased online can’t even be shipped to the city.
The ordinance was authored by Supervisor Katy Tang.
“It is estimated that around the world some 50 million animals are slaughtered in gruesome ways so that we can wear their fur and look fashionable,” Tang told the San Francisco Chronicle. “My hope is that it will send a strong message to the rest of the world.”
That message will come at an enormous price. There are at least 50 retailers of fur in San Francisco’s Union Square alone. The Chamber of Commerce estimates that fur sales in San Francisco rake in $40 million per year.
Read more here.