San Francisco Retailers Brace For Ban On Sale Of Fur
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Local retailers stand to lose millions of dollars if San Francisco becomes the nation's first major city to ban the sale of fur clothing and other fur products.
On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote on a measure that would impact the sale of fur, and it is expected to pass.
Supervisor Katy Tang wrote the measure.
"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," Supervisor Katy Tang told the San Francisco Chronicle. "My hope is that it will send a strong message to the rest of the world."
There are similar bans already in West Hollywood and Berkeley.
It is no longer a question of 'if' the measure passes. It is a matter of 'when.'
Supervisor Aaron Peskin says he will push to make the ban effective as of January 2019, in an effort to give retailers in his district, which includes Union Square, more time to reduce their fur inventory.
There are at least 50 retailers in Union Square that carry fur clothing products.
"This is big business for us in Union Square. This will seriously impact us," said Karen Flood, executive director of the Union Square Business Improvement District. She told the San Francisco Examiner that "retailers are struggling."
The ban would not only impacts the sale fur coats and clothing, it includes products with fur lining, such as gloves and hats, and non-clothing items, like rabbit's feet keychains. It does not ban owning, wearing or selling fur secondhand. Delivery of furs purchased online to San Francisco addresses would also be prohibited.
Violators will be fined as much as $1000.