New York City, one of the fashion capitals of the world, is taking action against the use of animal fur after decades of efforts by Friends of Animals (FoA) to end the cruelty of the fur industry, stated an official release by FoA, an international animal protection organization founded in New York in 1957.Last year, FoA publicly asked NYC to ban the sale of fur, introducing legislation and meeting with council members. Its years of efforts have culminated with City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announcing legislation to ban the sale of fur products, stated the release.«Finally the day has come that city council members see the handwriting on the wall as well. This is the first nail in the coffin of the NYC fur trade,» said Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral, as per the release. «NYC can be the ultimate fashion forward role model by passing this legislation and ending what most of society has come to understand – cruelty is not fashionable.»“More than 60 percent of Americans find killing animals for fur amounts to cruelty to animals, according to an Angus Reid survey. And the signs that fur is over are everywhere. Powerhouse designers headquartered in the city, such as Stella McCartney, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren, have gone fur free and major cities such as San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood have banned the sale of fur. Los Angeles and California have also taken action and New York State is considering legislation as well,” stated the release.There used to be 450 fur factories in NYC, but now there are just a handful – evidence that society's desire for a product that depends on the slaughter and suffering of 50 million animals a year has waned. Faux fur is eclipsing fur in revenues, reaching $250 million in 2010, and a predicted growth rate of 30 percent a year. And buyers are turning to cruelty-free fashion with gusto, according to the release.The production of fur products is toxic to the environment and adds to climate change. Production of fur has 2 to 28 times higher impact on the environment than textiles. Each mink skinned by fur farmers produces about 44 pounds of feces, which adds up to one million pounds of feces produced annually by mink farms, as per the release.Friends of Animals has promoted efforts to shift the collective conscious, taking out ads including a billboard in Times Square promoting an end to the fur trade. "Animal suffering and slaughter for the sake of expensive clothing – only affordable to the one percent anyway – is over,'' said Feral, as per the release.Click on the slideshow for a sneak peek at some FoA initiatives  https://www.blouinartinfo.com/              Founder: Louise Blouin Read more