Ever since I can remember there has been a rail track that goes over Foster Avenue at Ravenswood that read in blue and yellow “Save the Environment- Wear Furs.” Over the years there would be multiple tags (you know, graffiti) on the sign or general wear and tear would beat it up, and voila, it would be renewed. Growing up just west of this strange sign I, as a child, did not think much of it on many passes toward Lake Shore Drive, or wherever. The sign didn’t make sense to me, how did wearing furs save the environment? I wondered if maybe the sign was appealing to those who saw animal droppings as spoiling the environment. Everyone was baffled by the sign, even my environmental engineer for a mother. Keep in mind this was ten years before ‘environmental’ and ‘issues’ were widely put together.
Keim Furs has been at 1820 W. Foster Ave since 1925, and got very snippy and hung up the phone when asked why they didn’t have the sign up on the railroad track anymore. It got painted over within the past week or so. But still the question remains, what does this MEAN? Browsing the web points to many more confused persons other than myself, but answers are within as well.
This guy brings to attention the Canadian Fur Council’s ad campaign, touting that synthetic fur contains petrochemicals and non-renewable resources (animals make babies, and are therefore, renewable). And here is a compelling argument for wearing fur, at first I thought it was dripping with sarcasm, not so true upon examining the comments. But for the answer to such a question, why not go directly to the source. The FIRST thing written on the Keim Furs web site tells us to stop global warming: but of course, natural fur products are biodegradable, why didn’t I think of that?
