STYLE : Drive Is Mounted to Make Furs Extinct : Wraps: Orange County group declares a “Fur-Free Friday.” Slumping sales and protests have retailers wondering if the merchandise is worth the risk.

These days, just talking about fur causes many people to bristle.

Members of Orange County People for Animals have declared the Friday after Thanksgiving “Fur-Free Friday” and they hold an annual anti-fur demonstration at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. This year they will give a “Cruelest Retailer of the Year” award to a store that carries fur.

Faced with slumping fur sales and protests like these by animal-rights activists, some merchants are finding fur coats to be a fashion risk they’d rather not take.

Nordstrom became the latest retailer to abandon the fur business when it announced it would close its remaining fur salons by Feb. 1. The Seattle-based company had two fur salons in Orange County at its stores in South Coast Plaza and MainPlace/Santa Ana, but those salons have been closed for nearly a year as part of the fur phase-out.

Nordstrom attributed the closing of its remaining salons to sluggish sales.

“It was really a business decision,” said Linda Luna-Franks, spokeswoman for Nordstrom in Orange County. “We were seeing a decline in customers’ requests--they did not see this as a needed service.”

Some retailers have stopped carrying fur to avoid the wrath of animal-rights activists.

To avoid the fur controversy, Nils Skiwear of Fountain Valley took the fur off of its 1990-91 collection of ski jackets, even though the styles had sold well during the previous year.

Amen Wardy, the high-fashion women’s clothing store at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, has marked down its furs by 40% in an attempt to sell off its inventory by the end of the year. Soffia Wardy, general manager, is trying to keep her store out of the fur fracas.

“We’d rather stay neutral,” said Soffia Wardy. “There’s too much controversy. It’s attention we don’t want.” She declined to discuss the matter further.

For their part, animal-rights activists are trying to drive furs into extinction. With each closure of a fur salon, they see a victory.

“Fur sales are dying in the U.S.,” said Ava Park of Costa Mesa, founder of Orange County People for Animals. “Last year it was Sears, now it’s Nordstrom. Large retailers are being forced to take their fur departments out.”

She maintains that a combination of local pressure and education has made more people conscious of the plight of fur-bearing animals, and that has turned many off on fur.

“People are becoming more aware,” she said. “Since early 1988, our membership has doubled to 1,600 members in Orange County.”

Her group has been the most active in protesting fur.

Throughout the year, they pass out anti-fur leaflets at theater openings and black-tie galas.

“Wherever women are wearing fur, we’re there, too,” Park said.

They carry small cards that read, “Wearing fur promotes the idea that it is acceptable to kill an animal for vanity and profit. Please don’t wear fur.”

“All winter long we discreetly give it to a woman wearing fur, or we slip it into a coat pocket,” Park said.

Those in the fur industry deny that these tactics have affected sales. The Fur Information Council of America in Washington, D.C., blames a sluggish economy and warm weather for any slowing of fur sales.

“The retail industry in general is suffering reductions all over the place, so fur sales like jewelry and everything else are slightly down,” says Bill Outlaw, spokesman for the council. “We think when the economy rebounds and the weather gets colder the sales figures will rise.”

In 1989, the industry enjoyed its best year ever, with U.S. sales of $1.8 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 1984, according to the Fur Industry of America.

“If animal activists are having an effect, why did we have a record year last year?” Outlaw asked. “These people have been around for years.

“We’ve had steady growth through the ‘80s until the economic problems of the last six months.”

While Outlaw said his council’s indicators show a slight dip in fur sales for September and October, sales for 1990 still could surpass those of 1989 after the winter months, traditionally the peak fur-selling season.

Meanwhile, some furriers claim they have experienced no decline in sales.

“Our fur business is very strong,” said John Anderson, director of stores for Jindo Inc., a New Jersey-based national retailer which owns Jindo Furs in Fashion Island, Newport Beach. “We’ve seen no declining interest in sales.”

Anderson attributes the closing of Nordstrom’s fur salons to a natural “contraction” after too many retailers overextended themselves on fur.

“Some of these retailers are not equipped to deal with a very special market,” he said.

Not only did Anderson claim that animal activists have not hurt sales, he suggested some of their tactics have backfired.

“Customers tell us, ‘No one will tell me what I can wear.’ We’ve had people buy coats just to say, ‘I have freedom of choice.’ ”

Fur sales also remain healthy at Neiman Marcus, according to Jan Roberts, spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Tex. The retailer does not intend to follow Nordstrom and dismantle its fur salons.

“Our business is good or we wouldn’t do it,” Roberts said.