Fur is a non-essential luxury item. It is one of the least consumer-supported animal derived materials and there is a strong worldwide opposition to fur sales. The public's long-standing opposition to fur farming and the changed ethical perception of animals have led an increasing number of countries to legislate against fur farming and have also led to a plethora of fur-free businesses in recent years.

Over the past years an increasing number of fashion houses stepped away from using real fur. This trend is not only evident in well-known large department stores and high street brands, but fortunately also in the luxury segment. Iconic names such as Armani, Burberry, Gucci, Prada and Versace are fur-free for several years now. In the past few years more labels have made the change, including: Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Brioni, Canada Goose, Carolina Herrera, Dolce & Gabbana, Moncler, Max Mara, Oscar de la Renta, Saint Laurent and Valentino And on top of this, near the end of 2021 the international fashion magazine Elle pledged to go fur-free. This applies to all 45 editions worldwide and means that the magazine will no longer show editorial content promoting animal fur on its pages, images, and online channels. This also applies to advertisements placed with Elle.

The shift towards fur free fashion with more and more designers turning their backs on the fur industry is also reflected in the declining fur production figures. The numbers plummeted even further due to devastating COVID-19  and avian influenza outbreaks on fur farms, and the realization that fur farming poses an enormous health risk to humans. The worldwide number of animals killed on fur farms has  steadily decreased from around 95 million in 2018, to to about 21 millions in 2023. In the EU, this decline is also reflected in the decrease in farm numbers: the number of active fur farms has dropped from 4,350 in 2018, to 1,088 in 2023.

A further decline is expected for future figures because since 2020, Estonia, France, Italy, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania have adopted bans on fur farming and similar regulations are under discussion in other countries. 

 In June 2023, the European Union's Agriculture and Fishery Council Meeting ihowed a clear majority for an EU wide ban on fur farming. Shortly before, the European citizens' initiative “Fur Free Europe” was successfully concluded with 1.5 million signatures and represents the most successful ECI for animal welfare. It is now for the European Commission to listen and set out a clear legislative proposal that will finally ban fur farming and make the placement of farmed fur products in the European market history.

In October 2019, California became the first U.S. state to adopt a ban on the sales and manufacture of animal fur products. The legislation will go into effect in 2023 and follows similar sale or import bans in the California cities of Los Angeles (2018), San Francisco (2018), Berkeley (2017) and West Hollywood (2011). 

In Massachusetts, Cambridge became the fifth state municipality to ban the retail sale of fur in 2022. It follows similar fur sales bans in Plymouth (2022), Brookline (2021), Weston (2021), and Wellesley (2020). Wellesley was actually the first municipality in the U.S. outside of California to pass a ban on new fur sales.  

As a member of the Fur Free Alliance, FOUR PAWS U.S. is proud to also be an official representative of the Fur Free Retailer Program (FFRP). We are involved in several national coalitions working towards legislative change for a fur-free future as well.

To learn more about our work involving all animals used for fashion, visit our Wear it Kind program, where we are building a global movement of people, brands and designers committed to ensuring that no animal suffers in the name of fashion.