Anyone who has a clue about the California lifestyle, and quite frankly the United States, knows that UGGs are as much a staple to a girl’s wardrobe as mountains are to the landscape.
Click here for FUR TRENDS Book | Fall-Winter 2011-2012
Why then would West Hollywood City Council, in their infinite wisdom, ban the purchase of UGGS in their district? Perhaps this is another illustration of how shortsighted, out of touch and impactful this ordinance proposing to ban the sale of fur apparel in West Hollywood really is.
All joking aside, whether or not you particularly like UGGS is not the issue. The real issue is that people are just now beginning to grasp the real impact that such a ban, if passed, would have on their day to day “choices”.
What’s in a shoe, you ask? Well, UGGS are made up of sheepskin with fleece, or hair, attached. You do the math; not only would banning UGGS in West Hollywood not sit well with many customers who freely choose the brand year after year, but also with many retailers in the district that didn’t read the ordinance with the understanding that it would include one of their hottest and best-selling products. Not to mention the ban would extend well beyond UGGS to cover all shearling products.
Last week as questions came fast and furious from retailers and the media it was clear there was some confusion about what, exactly, was covered by this proposed ban. Retailers were unclear. And, we suspect the makers of UGGS may not even be fully aware. But what is City Council to do with hundreds of thousands of angry fashionistas and retailers who now understand the true depth of such a ban? According to the ban’s sponsor, councilman John D’Amico, “This is a tiny city, so it’s mostly symbolic.” Really? In a time of such economic struggle for small businesses, do you really want to ban a legal product that brings revenue to many retailers, and, through tax revenues, funds the many social programs the city is so famous for, all for the sake of pandering and symbolism?
According to the independent economic impact study that the Fur Information Council of America had commissioned by Horizon Research Corporation, a whopping 46 percent of apparel retailers, 90 plus stores, in West Hollywood sold fur apparel items in their store. As staggering as this number is for a city that is only 1.9 miles in radius, one can only imagine how much larger this number would be if these same retailers had understood that UGGS would fall under this ordinance’s snare.
Oh, and special mention goes out to our beloved champion of all animals and poster child for PETA and animal rights… we see you in your fashionable UGGS Pamela Anderson! Hmm… does this mean that animal rights zealots really secretly love fur too?
Oh, and you too, new PETA spokesperson Angela Simmons… dare we say nice fur vest?
The eulogy for West Hollywood’s image as a fashionable and “free choice” city continues. These are truly Things That Make People Go…Hmmmmm!
Read the next chapter in the West Hollywood fur saga, “Delay of Game Called for Fur Ban“, here.
West Hollywood R.I.P. | Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5 | Vol. 6 | Vol. 7 | Vol. 8 | Vol. 9
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Took me time to read all the comments, but I really enjoyed the article. It proved to be Very helpful to me and I am sure to all the commenters here! It’s always nice when you can not only be informed, but also entertained!
amen. glad i live here. i’d love to live in a world where sick b-tches are not proud to wear tortured and murdered animal parts. i’ll settle for fabrics that were not torn off a living animal’s body thanks.
You need only look around on any given day at all the Uggs-wearing beautiful people running around to know that you are in the minority on this. And you need only apply common sense (if, indeed, you have any) to see through the “skiining alive” claims depicted in the “”documentaries”. Come on…why would anyone risk the injury to themselves? And of what use would the fur be after being sliced and ripped and destroyed? Amazing that you live in the capital of film-making and you aren’t savvy enough to recognize that everything you see isn’t real…hmmm…are you still up at night worrying that King Kong will be grabbing you out of bed?
Actually, China is the largest producer of fur in the world. If you couldn’t tell, the regulation on what animals are used and how they are killed is not very strict so the “claims” you’re referring to are very plausible. In fact, there are videos of animals being skinned-alive, which is what is happening to Raccoon Dogs in China to make faux-fur that has been mislabeled for fake UGGs.
Ahhh…Tina….you have been drinking too much of the juice. Your comment smacks of the lies and rhetoric you read on animal rights websites. The fact: as is the case with most other luxury apparel, the fabrics or textiles themselves are imported into China, manufactured and then exported to Western countries as finished product. Fur, like much of the fine cashmere fashion you buy is often manufactured in this way. The fur itself is NOT raised in China. And, if there is any concern, you can simply check the labels because, as required by the Federal Fur Products Labeling Law, established in 1952, fur must carry a label specifying the species and country of origin.
As for as the “raccoon dog” you refer to, the animal is actually called (according to scientists, veterinarians and others that specialize in identifying species) Asiatic raccoon and is NOT a dog, but a species quite unique and different. The colloquial name you have used exposes the level to which you have been brainwashed as various animal rights groups have tried in vain to use this name to convince legislators and consumers alike that the fur industry is using dog – an absolute lie.
In the future, if you wish to take the time to comment and have something intelligent and insightful to add that is based on TRUTH, feel free. Otherwise I suggest you are just wasting your time.
Have you ever goggled PETA to see that over 85% of all animals this murdering group of half wits are KILLED….EVERYDAY. See for your self….they have mislead the public, by using airhead movie stars that will say and do anything to get their pic in a magazine.
PETA kills dogs and cats everyday….thousands of them…Google it and find out the truth.
We recently read the story in the New York Post and Huffington Post….but the figure we saw was actually 95%! It is a story the public needs to know. I suspect many who have donated to them might reconsider.
Did you really expect anything different from the capital of the Landof the Plastic People? I mean come on folks, youre talking about a bunch of self-important, self-absorbed, self-serving liberal scumbags. You really have to expect this kind of stupidity from the same bunch of special olympics types who think aborting themselves outta the gene pool is a good thing…. not that I am complaining about efforts to reduce the stain of liberalism in this country, but still.
LET ‘em – who cares!! I mean, REALLY!! LET ‘em ban FOODS, BIG SCREEN TV’s… anything else they want.
NOBODY CARES WHAT CA. DOES ANYMORE!!!
NO -BODY!! NOT EVEN Commiefornians.
Thank you for reading Furinsider! With all due respect, West Hollywood was established to support freedom of choice and sexual diversity. But it is that same principle of freedom of choice that City Council is choosing NOT to uphold with this fur ban.
[...] Hollywood R.I.P. | Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5 | Vol. 6 | Vol. [...]
[...] Highlighting the lack of confidence and understanding Mayor John D’Amico has in the ordinance as it stands, he himself ordered the city to conduct an economic impact study before enactment. So, in reality, nothing can move forward until the city completes this study. And if the city fails to complete the study, they must rescind their approval of the reading of the ordinance. As fellow Council Member Abby Land asked, “Why not wait until we get the information and data from that study back and then act?” That is the million dollar question. Undoubtedly, this study will produce even more glaring economic hardship for fashion businesses because now the parameters of the ban have been expanded to include all apparel including: coats, shoes, scarves, hats, gloves, belts, shawls, and explicitly covers shearling, sheepskin, calfskin and UGGS! [...]
[...] Hollywood R.I.P. | Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 | Vol. 3 | Vol. 4 | Vol. 5 | Vol. 6 | Vol. 7 | Vol. 8 | Vol. [...]
[...] transcends expectations. Remember those UGG boots? They have become the shearling accessory icon, but don’t tell the West-Hollywood City Council (Can we say RIDICULOUS?). Very few materials can boast equal adoration from male or female fans [...]