This article is a counter to https://universitytimes.ie/?p=19732
Fashion is a fickle industry. Styles, garments and the nature of how we judge certain brands are constantly changing. These are all unavoidable facts that must be embraced and contended with. That’s fine. That’s the nature of business. We, as consumers, inform and dictate what is produced and what is fashionable.
Consequently, Here are two facts:
1) Fur is desirable by at least enough consumers to make it commercially viable worldwide, and it has been available in Ireland since at least the 1700s.
2) Some people think they have the right to restrict your right to purchase, wear and enjoy fur, and feel righteous in doing so.
So on the one hand, we have designers, producers and consumers who enjoy fur, and on the other we have people who want to restrict that enjoyment.
Why? Apparently fur is murder. Let’s clear that up right now. It isn’t. Animals are not humans. They are a means of production. Even if you love animals, your pets are products. They’re yours, no matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise. You probably paid for them and you view them as your property.
Allegedly fifty million mink are farmed the fur trade every year along with significant quantities of other animals. Firstly, yes that is a lot of mink, but secondly, they’re grown specifically for that purpose. They’re not animals caught and killed for their fur. They’re made only for it, they wouldn’t exist otherwise. To those jumping up and down in outrage clamouring for bans I say:
How dare you! What about the people involved in the fur trade: the designers, the farmers, the furriers? These people are filling a gap in supply and (yes, you guessed it) demand. People want fur, like people want steaks. Get over it. The whole anti-fur movement is rooted in narcissism. It is a sense of entitlement and a belief in an ‘enlightened’ fascism which claims that what you believe should be what others believe and what you want should be what people want. So if you protest outside the hardworking businesses that sell fur, you should ask yourself, why? Why aren’t you out doing something productive, or offering something better to market, or buying all the minks and living happily ever after? It’s whiny and it’s irrelevant. Quite frankly, I don’t care what you want, or what you think. You probably don’t care that I believe Alexander Gustafsson was robbed last week. I’m alright with that. What I do care about is you trying to force your opinion on everyone else by making it compulsory.
The fur industry is no different from commercial meat production in its ethical implications. Humans need or want (yes, its ok to want things no matter how much they try to make you feel guilty about being a consumer) something from animals, and have the means to get it efficiently. If you don’t want to partake, that’s cool. We live in an era where such choice exists and I would never disrespect anyone’s right to not partake in the consumption of animal products.
The City of West Hollywood enacted a ban on fur on 21st September 2013. It is the first of its kind in America. Businesses located within West Hollywood are prohibited from selling fur apparel in their stores, online or from shipping from a West Hollywood location. The ban is exclusive to ‘for profit business’. Non-profit organisations that sell fur are exempt, leading me to wonder if this is a true anti-fur victory or an experiment in the implementation of anti-capitalist ideology? Regardless, it’s a very strange clause. Thankfully, the retailers are fighting back. Mayfair House continues to stock and sell fur in West Hollywood. It is also engaged in legal proceedings to deem the City’s ban illegal and have it lifted. I’m rooting for them. I’m rooting for freedom.
I suggest you do the same.
To view Part II of the debate, click here.
