The 68th edition of the London Fashion Week is underway, and this year's event is the first to claim that no fur will be used on its official catwalks and presentations.

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, said at the opening gala, ”We are going to ask you to think about positive fashion, think about positive change. You have seen that this is the first time that designers will show you on catwalks and presentations selected to be fur-free.”

The British Fashion Council made this official announcement at the gala opening, The decision was based on a survey conducted among all designers at London Fashion Week.

According to Rush, the British Fashion Council has been tracking the fur issue for a few years. “Even last season we saw designers while showing on the catwalk and doing presentations with 96 percent fur-free," she said. "And the survey we did pre Fashion week this time shows that for the first time 100 percent businesses have confirmed that they won't be showing any fur on the catwalk and doing presentations on official schedule at London Fashion Week.”

Stephanie Phair, chairman of the council, expressed her understanding. “Well I believe that designers have chosen for fur-free is really to do with consumer sentiment. There is a cultural shift. There is a move towards more ethically produced clothing. Designers are responding to what customers are looking for.”

Begum Berdan and her mother are Turkish designers. They set up their design house in London one year ago and this is their first time at the London Fashion Week. The material they use is mainly natural fiber, like cotton and denim. They say they neither use real fur nor fake fur in their collections, considering that fake fur would cause pollution.

As Begum says, if designers choose not to use fur, then the alternative doesn't have to be fake fur. It is really a time to think about textiles and materials for the future.

Rebecca Myers, director of Black PR London, said she can see that actually there is still a demand for real fur and for real leather products. But the market is changing slowly, with a big demand for ethically sourced and non-fur and no animal products.

The fur-free action is part of the British Fashion Council's Positive Fashion initiative, which as they put it, aims "to celebrate industry best practice and encourage future business decisions to create further positive change." It is just a beginning and hopefully might bring real positive change.‍