Hong Kong's fur industry - how will Gucci ban affect it? A lot less than you may think

When the hottest brand on the planet decides that it is no longer using fur, the fashion world sits up and listens. Announcing the decision at the annual London College of Fashion x Kering Talk last month, Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri said: “Do you think using furs today is still modern? I don’t think it’s still modern and that’s the reason why we decided not to do that. It’s a little bit outdated. Creativity can jump in many different directions instead of using furs.”

The Italian house joins Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren in banning fur from their collections. Earlier this year, Yoox Net-a-Porter Group – Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter, The Outnet and Yoox – also declared that it would no longer sell fur products on its e-commerce sites. So, does all this sound the death knell for the multibillion-dollar fur industry? Perhaps not. Or at least, not in Hong Kong.

It may come as a surprise to many that Hong Kong, according to recent research by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), is the world’s third largest fur clothing exporter. For a place where fur coats must be stored in climate-controlled facilities and the thermometer rarely drops below 16 degrees Celsius, animal pelts hold a surprising grip.

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“Although the climate is warm in Hong Kong, fur remains [an] iconic luxury item for people to wear at special events,” says Mark Oaten, CEO of the International Fur Federation. “People also buy lighter furs these days that can be worn even when it’s warm. There is also a growing market for accessories and trims, which are not affected by the warmer climate.”

The local fur industry dates back to the 1930s, when furriers from China came to Hong Kong and set up shop. Business boomed as furriers targeted the increasingly affluent domestic market, and later on, the tourists. In 1979, the Hong Kong Fur Federation was established and the organisation now has over 150 members. Its annual events, such as the International Fur & Fashion Fair and the glitzy Fur Gala, are well attended.

Today, somewhat ironically, most of Hong Kong’s furriers have moved their factories to China in the face of higher production costs and stricter environmental regulations in Hong Kong. “Mainland fur garment production increased by 41.3 per cent from 2011 to 2016,” reveals Jonathan Huang, a senior representative from China Leather. “The output value nearly doubled from 57.9 billion yuan (US$8.7 billion) to 96.9 billion yuan.”

Oaten, who was in China this summer to discuss reducing the luxury goods tariff, adds: “The anti-corruption issue appears to have slowed down economic growth, and in the last 18 months there has been a slowdown in [fur] sales. But early signs for this season show promise and there could be a return to a strong market.”

Indeed, Hong Kong’s exports of furs amounted to HK$370 million between January and May 2017, up one per cent from last year. Now, if you’re wondering how Hong Kong (not exactly known for its abundance of land) came to be such a fur-producing machine, the answer is that it isn’t. “Most of Hong Kong’s fur exports are re-exports from overseas countries to the Chinese mainland – the world’s biggest fur trade, production and processing base – for the purpose of fur clothing production there,” writes economist Louis Chan for HKTDC Research.