British designers, including Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood, signed a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. They are calling for a ban on the sale of real fur in the UK.
The letter was sent to Boris Johnson’s office last Thursday and describes the designers’ ability to create apparel “without being complicit in the suffering caused by the fur trade.”
According to the designers, there is “dwindling” interest in fur products on British shopping streets. “The sale of fur is simply not in line with the ethical path of the vast majority of retailers, designers and companies that make up the UK’s fashion retail business,” the statement reads. According to a report by the Humane Society International, which also signed the letter, nearly three-quarters of the British public would be in favor of banning the import and sale of animal fur. “Fur has no place in a compassionate society, and its use is nowadays unnecessary and unforgivable. Fur is clearly immoral, cruel and barbaric,” says designer Stella McCartney.
The first country
The ball is currently in Johnson’s Stadium, who has yet to confirm that he has read the message. A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Devra) said the British prime minister would “respond in due course”. If the speech’s demands are met, Britain will be the first country in the world to no longer tolerate real fur on store shelves.
The United Kingdom became the first European country to ban fur farming in 2000, under the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since then, many British fashion brands, including Burberry, Victoria Beckham and McCartney, have banned the use of fur in their productions – even without concrete legislation surrounding it.
