Fur sales are illegal in California. Does anyone care?

The popularity of fur products had declined in the state even before the new ban.

LOS ANGELES - From the covered shores of San Francisco to the nippy shores of Newport Beach, Californians will have to rethink their approach to buying fur - that is, if they think about it at all.< /p>

Thus, a law prohibiting the sale and manufacture of luxury pelts such as mink, sable, chinchilla, lynx, fox, rabbit and beaver which went into effect in California in January has so far been largely met with a shrug of the shoulders - and a decidedly not of the furry variety.

" I honestly think it's much ado about nothing," said Cameron Silver, the longtime owner of high-end designer vintage boutique Decades. "So many brands have stopped making fur anyway - Valentino, Gucci, Dolce - there's just a change," he said.

Nicole Pollard Bayme, a native of Angeleno and founder of personal styling and shopping service Lalaluxe, said she hadn't seen people wearing fur in years. "It's not something new," she said. "So, no, it's not like 'boohoo, it's going away.'"

She added, "There was a bigger ripple when Chanel stopped selling crocodile."

With California's mild climate and eco-responsible reputation, some have said that a ban on fur sales in the state is more of a token gesture than a practical measure.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The statewide ban, the first of its kind in the nation, codifies what was a growing movement at the city level in recent years. (Los Angeles, West Hollywood, San Francisco and Berkeley had similar bans before.) This law expands city bans already in place in parts of the nation's most populous state, which, despite some clichés, encompasses a wide variety of landscapes and political affiliations.

"California is a big state, and parts of it are very snowy," said Laura Friedman, who represents California's 44th District. the California Assembly and who drafted the legislation. "I just flew over the mountains of northern California, and they're covered in snow. And people wear clothes here for status purposes, too."

Ms Friedman said the legislation was born out of a concern for animal welfare as well as the chain's "unsustainability of raising and killing animals strictly for their fur". of Californian products,” she said.

ImageLaura Friedman, an assembly in California introduced the legislation, motivated by concern for animal welfare. The bill was signed into law in 2019 but did not take effect until January.

"Buying real fur isn't part of the conversation, to be honest," said Los Angeles clothing stylist and editorial Vanessa Shokrian. We don't die for that. I think faux fur has become an industry because of it."

However, like the recent uproar over the Schiaparelli couture show - which highlighted fake heads of a snow leopard, wolf, and lion adorned with silken skins—demonstrated, even faux fur can be controversial.(To complicate matters, faux fur is often