Following the passing of actor and singer Jane Birkin, who once asked for her name to be removed from the Hermès Birkin crocodile-skin bag due to concerns over cruelty to animals, PETA has fired off a letter calling on the luxury fashion label to retire the handbag.
We are asking the fashion house to adopt a policy prohibiting the use of exotic animal skins “so that no more wildlife is killed in her name”.
Hermès can continue to live in the past – treating crocodiles as nothing more than living, breathing “fabric” – or it can make a commitment to continuing Birkin’s legacy in a manner that respects the natural world and all who reside in it by using the finest cruelty-free materials to create a modern Birkin and other accessories. We hope Hermès will choose the latter.
It Takes Three Crocodiles to Make Just One Hermès Bag
Birkin’s request followed never-before-seen footage showing live reptiles sawed open and left to bleed to death on farms that supply skins to Hermès.
More revelations have since followed: an investigation by Kindness Project filmed on farms owned by Hermès uncovered that crocodiles were being kept in cramped, barren enclosures and cages before being mutilated and stabbed with a screwdriver.
Let’s Urge Hermès to Drop Exotic Skins
Many designers, including Mulberry, Victoria Beckham, Karl Lagerfeld, Paul Smith, Chanel, Stella McCartney, and Burberry, have banned exotic skins from their collections. Tell Hermès to follow suit.