Banning fur bad for New York
By Karen Giberson
A ban on any of fur products is
unacceptable. The bill, which was just
introduced in late March, is being inexplicably
fast tracked to the hearing
stage, which was scheduled for May 15.
This does not allow our industry ample
time to prepare or accurately study the
implications of this decision.
We are baffled as to why there is a
sudden rush to pass this legislation.
If government can pick and choose
to eliminate a specific material, then
what’s to stop politicians from telling
us what else we can’t wear, eat and create
moving forward?
As the fashion capital of the world,
we must work with textiles and fabrics
that our customers are demanding
today. Our industry has embraced a
variety of materials, including vegan
leathers, faux furs and other options
that are being developed every day.
That said, calf hair, shearling and
fur still play a significant and sustainable
role in our designs – from shoes,
handbags, gloves and hats, to trim and
cuffs on coats.
Fur is already a heavily regulated
industry, with rules covering from
farming and trapping standards to ethics
to labeling. The animal byproducts
are used in a variety of other products,
from the beauty industry to compost
and fertilizers.
We encourage all to learn more
about the process. If you don’t like
these materials, you don’t need to use
them, to manufacture with them or
buy them as a consumer.
New York City is the hub of retail,
wholesale, trade shows and commerce
for many fashion accessory companies.
The ban preventing any sale of
these products would cut off one of
designers’ largest markets, negatively
impacting their livelihoods and those
of the suppliers and retail shops they
work with.
In all, a recent economic study commissioned
by the International Fur Federation
Americas found the ban would
result in $850 million in lost taxable
business revenue and cost New York City
7,500 jobs in the first year alone.
According to a survey we conducted
this month of accessory and outerwear
companies in Manhattan’s Garment
District, more than 90 of the factories
there use these materials, making
items such as gloves, handbags and
outerwear. One of them, Cockpit USA,
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makes shearling coats for the United
States military.
These are specialized experts. If the
“fur ban” passes, some of them would
need to close their businesses, while
others would face significant layoffs.
Let’s be realistic: If the law passes
and a manufacturer can’t sell in New
York City, the owner has two choices:
close up the business and fire all
employees or lay off workers and rent
space in New Jersey, Yonkers or Nassau
County to ship the product. Either way,
once again New York City loses muchneeded
manufacturing jobs – but this
time it’s by its own direct action.
Losing valuable blue-collar jobs is
not the only unintended consequence
of this legislation. Council members
have championed environmental
issues. In this case, they fail to
recognize the negative environmental
impacts of synthetic materials.
Most fake furs are petroleum-based
and do not biodegrade. One faux fur
coat is the equivalent of thousands of
plastic straws.
My biggest concern, however, is that
a fur ban would be just the start. Animal
rights activists have made no secret
of the fact that their eventual goal is to
ban the use of all animal products. If
the City Council succeeds in banning
fur today, they will next take aim at
leather, feathers, wool and silk.
To wear fur, like any consumer product,
is a choice. It’s one New Yorkers
have been making for hundreds of
years and a product that remains in
high demand today. It’s not the job
of City Council members to legislate
away livelihoods simply because fur is
a choice some of them wouldn’t make
for themselves.
Karen Giberson is president of the
Accessories Council, a trade group
for accessory, eyewear and footwear
brands.
OP-ED
Let’s be realistic: If the law
passes and a manufacturer
can’t sell in New York City,
the owner has two choices:
close up the business and
fire all employees or lay
off workers and rent space
in New Jersey, Yonkers or
Nassau County to ship the
product.
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