Written by PETA
For some reason, Donna Karan seems to think that it's a good idea to highlight the fact that the rabbit-fur collar on this coat is from China:
Yes, indeed, China—the land of melamine-tainted baby formula and corrosive drywall. It's practically synonymous with quality! Not to mention cruelty.
We think a better selling point is the fact that the collar is detachable, which means you can stop people from pointing and frowning and wondering what on Earth that poor little bunny ever did to you. Of course, they'll still wonder what you have against North African lambs …
Written by Alisa Mullins
Bearing Fashion Forward leaflets and clubs (and baring quite of bit of leg), PETA's "cave women" made sure that shoppers and tourists at San Francisco's bustling Union Square knew that Donna Karan (aka the "Bunny Butcher") has prehistoric attitudes about killing animals and wearing their fur.
With so many innovative, animal-free fabrics to keep wearers warm and dry, it's never been easier for fashionistas to Express their style without making bunnies scream. Encourage your Facebook friends to speak up for bunnies too.
Written by Karin Bennett
Right on the heels of our first anti-fur protest of the season, a PETA member took the stage at the Women's Conference's Night at the Village event in California to publicly take designer Donna Karan to task. Karan's latest collections are made with real rabbit fur from China, so the protester made sure that the audience—which included Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, Maria Shriver, Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy, and Diane Sawyer—learned about footage that was recently taken at a Chinese fur farm. The footage revealed that conscious rabbits had their throats cut and their heads and paws cut off with knives before their skin was peeled off their bodies like a sweater.
The PETA member pleaded, "Donna, please dump fur!" before being escorted from the stage.
You, too, can help prevent animals from being killed for their skins. Fur-Free Friday demonstrations are being planned right now, so sign up to hold one in your area! And please contact Donna now and get everyone you know to do the same.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Donna Karan is thumbing her nose at compassion by launching a clothing line that's dripping with dead rabbits. And so PETA's finest, armed with protest signs and toy bunnies, held a demonstration outside a political fundraiser that was being held in New York City yesterday. The fundraiser had been organized by both Karan and "fur-free and fabulous" first lady Michelle Obama. The animal defenders made sure that everyone within earshot learned that Donna Karan is a "Bunny Butcher."
There was a tremendous amount of interest in this anti-fur demonstration—the first of its kind in New York this fall. The protest was covered by Gothamist and NBC, and follow-up stories continue to emerge.
Any other Project Runway fans out there? Yep, that's what I thought! I am just dying for them to announce the date for the new season. I mean, yeah, the clothes are awesome and the drama is entertaining, but I'll admit that the real reason I tune in is to see the true genius behind the show: Tim Gunn. Know what his next project is? Convincing Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani to forgo fur! Yes, that's right. America's best-known arbiter of good taste and style has just narrated PETA's new exposé of fur farms—including just-obtained footage of rabbit fur farms in China, where Karan and Armani both source their pelts. Check out the video here:
Because the designers have refused to meet with PETA to view the footage, Gunn has just sent it to them with a personal plea. Why is the fur flying over Chinese pelts in particular? The world's largest exporter of fur is now China—where foxes, rabbits, and cats and dogs are often skinned alive.
"Any designer in the fashion industry who does not want to watch the PETA video and see exactly what happens to animals and how they're treated and how the product that they use comes to the marketplace I believe is egregiously irresponsible," says Tim. "It is critically important that we all be educated about these matters and then make choices."
And it gets better: Tim also sat down with us for an exclusive Q&A!
There. I told you he's a genius! If anyone can make Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani "make it work" without using the skins of dead animals in their collections, he can. Carry on! (I just wanted to say that …)
Written by Lianne Turner
We're so proud to launch our new Web site: DonnaKaranBunnyButcher.com. By going back on her promise to shed fur from her collection (twice!), Donna Karan has made it clear that she's OK with the electrocutions, neglect, confinement, suffocation, and death that go on in factory farms. In response, we've shown up at her apartment, her fashion shows, and her runways to remind her that animals are skinned alive for her designs. Now, we've stepped it up and launched a full interactive Web site to educate her customers about this cruel abuse.
If you like the campaign site as much as we do, then you're probably wondering what you can do to help us reach more people. Well, guess what? The site is loaded with online elements such as Web banners that you can post and videos that you can stream. So go ahead and show your love of bunnies by posting one of these Web banners to your Web page or online profile:
The site also has three heartbreaking videos that I strongly encourage you to watch and share. They will change your life, and they're guaranteed to make fur wearers change their ways. Use the code below to begin changing people's minds now.
And to all our MySpace friends: Keep an eye out for our new "Donna Karan Bunny Butcher" layouts coming soon!
So, check out DonnaKaranBunnyButcher.com and be sure to share the site with everyone you know. Oh, and here is the link with Donna Karan's contact information—please be sure to send her a polite letter and let her know what you think of her use of fur. For inspiration before you sit down to write, check out our "Ever Heard a Bunny Scream?" video.
Written by Liz Graffeo
A Donna Karan Boutique in Manhasset, New York, received some negative attention yesterday, when PETA's "Grim Reapers"—holding signs that read, "Donna, Bring Out Your Dead!"—greeted pedestrians and passing cars. The purpose of the protest was to spotlight DK's continued use of fur in her collections—even after we've made several attempts to educate her on the hideous cruelty of the fur industry. Check out photos from the demonstration below!
Our Grim Reaper didn't take any lives, but as DK's fatal record shows, she can't claim the same. Her refusal to drop fur from her collections only continues to support cruel practices such as anal electrocution and drowning.
Donna Karan needs to take a hint from her compassionate fashion counterparts and go fur-free. Because seriously, DK, how many animals are you going to kill to make your ugly fur coats?
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
We have a bit of a history with Donna Karan. This might surprise you (OK, so it won't), but we don't like it when people tell us they're going to stop using fur and then go back on their word. That's why we like to visit Donna—at her apartment, at her fashion shows, and even on her runways. Eventually, we figure, she'll stick to her multiple promises to stop using fur—especially if consumers boycott her designs.
And that, my friends, is why you might see our posters around Donna's office and apartment in Manhattan. The posters show a woman's foot pressing on a rabbit's neck beside the tagline "Where Does Donna Karan Stand on Fur?" You can check out photos below—we hope they'll convince even more people to boycott Donna Karan, bunny butcher, until she sticks to her promise and dumps the fur once and for all.
Written by Amanda Schinke
Donna Karan had a bit of an unpleasant surprise at the Yoga Journal Boston Conference on Saturday, in the form of naked PETA members doused in fake blood and crouched in yoga poses. Just our subtle way of saying, “Hey, DK, how about a little less with the nonviolence speeches and a little more with the not skinning bunny rabbits to make clothes?” Except, like without the confusing sentence construction.
The Boston Herald has the story.
Earlier this week, a group calling itself the "Paint Panthers" e-mailed my friend Michael McGraw, who works out of PETA’s New York office, to inform him that they had visited Donna Karan's home in The Hamptons and done a little "redecorating," stenciling "Donna Karan: Bunny Butcher" and painting a rabbit on the pavement with the message, "I don't want to be a handbag." The handwriting leaves a little to be desired, but the message is fairly plain.
Donna Karan, who was visited at home in February by an animal activist who walked into her living room and cued up a DVD of fur farm footage, is under fire for her refusal to remove fur from her collections. You can write to her about this lapse in judgment here.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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