PARIS — PETA is putting the pressure on Hermès International once again to retire the crocodile-skin Birkin bag and commit to a corporate policy against the use of exotic skins.
Following the death of actress and singer Jane Birkin on Sunday, the animal rights group is asking the French luxury house to retire the crocodile skin versions of her namesake handbags “so that no more wildlife is killed in her name.”
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The group is also asking that Hermès commit to wider company agreement against using exotic skins.
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“Will Hermès continue to hark back to the past, treating these magnificent and highly intelligent exotic animals as nothing more than living, breathing ‘fabric,’ or will you embrace positive change and make a commitment to continue Ms. Birkin’s legacy in a manner that respects the natural world and all who live in it by using the finest cruelty-free materials to create a modern Birkin and other accessories? We hope you will choose the latter,” said PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk.
PETA added that the move would be to “honor her legacy,” it said in a statement.
In July 2015, Birkin herself had asked the luxury house to remove her name from the crocodile skin handbags after watching an expose film of a crocodile farm that showed animals being skinned and sawed open while alive, and other methods used to harvest the skins.
“Alerted to the cruel practices reserved for crocodiles during their killing for the production of Hermès bags carrying my name, as a signatory of Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘Mercy for Animals’ petitions protesting all the bad treatment of animals, I have asked the Maison Hermès to rename the Birkin Croco until best practices responding to international norms can be put in place for the bag’s fabrication,” she said at the time.
The following September, Hermès said it had reached an agreement with Birkin to continue to use her name on all versions of the bag, including crocodile, and said the practices shown in the video were an isolated incident. It vowed to investigate the farm in question.
“Jane Birkin has expressed her concerns regarding practices for slaughtering crocodiles,” Hermès said at the time. “Her comments do not in any way influence the friendship and confidence that we have shared for many years. Hermès respects and shares her emotions and was also shocked by the images recently broadcast.”
In calling for a corporate commitment to discontinue the use of crocodile-skin, the organization noted that other luxury houses — including Burberry, Chanel, Mulberry, Victoria Beckham, Karl Lagerfeld, Paul Smith and Stella McCartney — have banned exotic skins from their collections. Few of those brands use exotic skins in any significant way, however.
Hermès is said to have paid about $40,000 in royalties to Birkin annually in exchange for the use of her name. She consistently donated this money to various charities.
Representatives for Hermès did not respond to a request for comment.