Being a non-meat eating person I don't like the thought of fur or leather clothing or home goods. That being said people eat meat and it seems disrespectful to the animals to just throw away the hides. Fur on the other hand I draw a hard line. An animal solely raised to be skinned is just a terrible and barbaric thing. If you must have fur go faux or buy vintage, I see tons of vintage furs for next to nothing at thrift stores all the time. I guess I'm just a bunny hugger:)

Fur is often (always) produced for just the hide, and the conditions are deplorable. Those animals that are trapped for their fur are not eaten and often suffer incredibly.

Banning fur is a good first step. It's disgusting on so many levels.

I feel the same way about leather, but it is sometimes made from the hides of animals slaughtered for meat. I said *sometimes*, leather is often produced from animals that are not eaten and grown only for their skin.

I think banning fur is a great first step. I don't see leather being banned, but it doesn't have the same history of cruelty as fur.

As for me, I don't eat meat and I don't buy new leather. I purchase used or vintage leather out of necessity for my work wordrobe.

From an environmental perspective, I wonder if vegetable tanned and dyed leather from a responsible livestock operation is more sustainable than the alternative--a plastic, oil based material. If one wants to consider banning leather, one needs to consider what would fill it's place. I don't have an answer, but I've always wondered about the tradeoffs.
Oh, and if we're discussing leather, down and feathers should be part of the conversation too.

Imagine if meat vendors+hide vendors could work together so that most usable parts of an animal could be portioned off to be used as food+clothes+goods+whatever... *sigh*

If an animal is (truly) raised humanely and eaten, then it is kind of a waste not to use the whole animal. And leather (correct me if I'm wrong) is easy to trace re: the source. Fur coats? They can be a mix. Maybe they're endangered animals, maybe animals raised in filty cages and tortured. No thanks. I lived in New England my whole life and I'm just fine with my polar fleece jackets, thanks.

Leather production is bad for the environment. Turning animal skin into leather requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals, including formaldehyde and cyanide-based oils and dyes. Tannery runoff contains huge amounts of pollutants like sludge, sulfides, and acids. And leather isn't biodegradable - it's treated with chemicals in order to prevent it from rotting. Also, raising animals requires huge amounts of feed, pastureland, water, and fossil fuels. Factory-farm runoff is a leading source of water pollution. "Pleather", like faux fur, is a wonderful alternative!

Like fur and leather, down and feathers mean terrible suffering for animals

Re pleather vs leather, I am loathe to rewrite all of this since it comes up so often in a few of my circles, but I addressed some of that here, if anyone is interested:
http://jesseanneo.blogspot.com/2011/07/required-reading-waves-sustainable.html

And also, the leather industry subsidizes the meat industry - people who make leather goods buy leather, it's not like they came across a pile of hides in the forest and decided to "make do".

But to answer your question personally - ideally yes, they'd both be banned. However, I think most people have a visceral reaction to fur because you can clearly see where it came from. Also, a lot of people make excuses for leather (it's natural, it's "leftover" anyway) so they see less urgent need to avoid it to be humane, despite how true that is overall.

So, I don't think you logically have to ban both. While they're similar, people *perceive* them very differently.

I say ban fur from animals raised with the sole purpose of being skinned. I'm an animal rights activist AND an omnivore. I see absolutely nothing wrong with using cow hide for leather. People will always eat meat, despite what the veggie community would have us believe. Don't let part of those cows go to waste!

I see two sided conflicting here. I think there is a misconception that a vegetarian diet saves all animals. The fact is, many aspects of our lifestyles harm the planet and animals. Going back to a more traditional way of life where we only take what we need (food, shelter, fewer chemicals) is more realistic.

glad someone mentioned the down/feather issue here. like those feather hair extensions...they drive me crazy! i almost only ever buy second hand, so the issue of leather and fur doesn't really have any bearing on the decisions i make when i shop, since i'm not really creating a demand for it (hope that makes sense). but i did go to buy a comforter the other day, and i was torn. i couldn't bring myself to buy down (cruelty, and i actually hate that downy smell), but the 'alternative' was synthetic polyester, which is unappealing as well. what do i do!? as far as the fur law goes though, it's a start that i certainly approve of, but i could see there being room for exceptions (humane farms, partnering with humane meat production). idk...

I'd rather buy something made of an animal than made of a barrel of petroleum...

Hypocrites in Hollywood? Surely you jest.

I would wear fur---sable only please---but I can't afford it.

I live in cattle country, and I promise you, virtually every part of the cow ends up being used. Nothing goes to waste.

thecraftybandita: try making a wool duvet. I purchased eco wool batting and organic cotton sateen and made my own in an afternoon (purchased from shepherds dream). Wool is great all year round! As far as the leather/fur debate, we should use the entire animal if we are consuming it including the hide. I am happy to see this fur legislation, hope it passes and spreads to more communities.

To those who are saying "if it's ethical, then it's okay", remember that it is almost never done ethically. Fur comes from abused animals 999 times out of 1000.

If you can console yourself that you've done your homework and that you're comfortable with your fleshy purchase, then there really is no issue for you.

@DovieAnn - I appreciate that omnivores can advocate for better conditions for the animals they consume, but isn't it hypocritical to say that you are an animal rights activist when you deny them the basic right to life whenever you eat them, or buy their skins?

So, by this logic, I guess the women in Saudi Arabia shouldn't be given the vote until they are allowed to drive. Sorry, ladies.

Fur is generally chosen for looks, not pure practicality - we have other materials available which provide just as much warmth, if not more (even some natural materials like wool).

Leather, on the other hand, is sometimes the most practical and durable material available for things like well-constructed shoes which are meant to last. If used wisely (as in, the product is well-made and will last a long time), leather is a better choice than the petroleum-based alternatives which quickly scuff and crack and end up being thrown away.

As far as down/feathers, which some people have brought up, I think it is a similar issue to leather or hide: if it is coming from an animal that is being used for food - and, as DovieAnn said, there will always be some level of demand for meat - then using the feathers, hide, etc. is making use of a resource that would otherwise go to waste, and that is far better than creating more petroleum-based products that will not last nearly as long. (If you've ever owned both feather pillows and synthetic fiber-fill pillows, you probably know the feather pillows last much longer.)

I certainly hope no one is planning to ban sales of second-hand fur items - that would be just plain wasteful.

As a resident of West Hollywood, I think this is a stupid law. I don't like fur and I don't wear it. But I see no real difference between the selling of leather and the selling of fur. Granted, most leathers are a side product of food production and most furs are animals raised for fur.

Yes, if you ban fur, you should ban leather.

There seem to be several excuses or justifications for why leather is okay, but not fur.

I realize the issues isn't simply black & white, but it would make things a lot easier if it was.

Leather and fur, as far as I am aware, have very different "backstories" as it were. We don't eat beavers or minks, for example. I would suspect (maybe I'm wrong, since this would be logical) that a large portion of our leather comes from animals who were also used for food. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something here, but if we're going to kill the animal, shouldn't we use as much of it as we can?

Also worth considering is that leather-like products are MUCH more essential than fur-like products. And leather is often replaced with plastic. I hardly think that plastic is environmentally desirable.

Well, far more animals die (have died) and habitat lost from growing cotton.

I think I'm commenting late here, but logically speaking this seems to be a moot point. It's the same material at different stages of processing. To say that fur is unacceptable but the skin remaining after the fur is chemically scorched away is perfectly fine, makes a head spin.

Then you have the unavoidable conflicts caused by the disgruntled fur lovers. Wool is technically fur after all, how long until this technicality is brought up and people rally against the use of wool...just because they can.

I know people (who are "vegan") who refuse to wear wool because sheep get their tails docked without anesthetic.

While I'm not super-comfortable with adorable fuzzy animals being raised solely for their fur (and therefore wasting the meat they could provide), I think banning either leather or fur is sort of silly. It's imposing your worldview on someone else who may or may not agree with you.

Also - rabbits are both delicious and have super-soft, warm fur. Cattle are also tasty and make beautiful leather. Maybe only vegans and vegetarians should be banned from buying leather?

P.S. I think West Hollywood should ban driving next, since it kills animals via roadkill which creates a public nuisance (dead animals on the side of the road) that they have to pay people to pick up and/or dispose of. Banning driving would also save a lot of oil that could be made into pleather and fake fur. It's a win-win situation.

@vintagejenta,

Firstly, tail docking is painful and unnecessary for animals. An example of this becoming accepted is the ban by many dog breeder associations of this practice because it is now considered cruel and unusual. The AKC and CKC are also beginning to support this by changing breed standards so that show-dogs no longer need to have their tails docked in order to be considered "show-quality". Also, vegans generally don't consume any animal products at all, regardless of how they are produced. Docking sheep tails is only one of the many reasons vegans usually don't wear wool.

The problem with your second point is that, almost always, those creatures who are raised for their fur are not eaten, and they're raised in conditions that are absolutely horrendous. Worse than factory farms - death by anal electrocution at the end of their tragic lives so some rich glutton can wrap themselves in their carcass without having to think for a second how their coat was produced. I think their worldview is dangerous, damaging and I don't accept it.

And your're correct about cows being delicious and useful. I choose not to eat any meat for all kinds of reasons, but I do see the reasoning in using the entire animal. If rabbit fur comes from meat rabbits then sure, go ahead, sew them together and make whatever you want. But as soon as you start accepting animals that are killed for the sole purpose of vanity and luxury you've crossed the line and made leather and fur 2 separate issues that are no longer equal.

How is an animal being rasied just for fur different than an animal being raised just for meat?

@supapfunk

Agreed. I, personally, can't separate the two. Killing is wrong in almost every circumstance.

But, someone killing an animal for food vs someone killing an animal for it's fur (as a luxury item) are two different scenarios. One is out of a basic human need of food and the other is for vanity.

I think that the line is crossed when humans start killing for the sole purpose of wants (luxury, image, vanity, entertainment, status, religion).

I don't think that killing for meat is necessary since there are so many healthier/compassionate alternatives, but there is a difference between fur and meat.

Thanks for sharing your products information , I really like them all. they are awesome designs.
Automotive Leather