Written by PETA
Following the release of PETA Asia's undercover investigation into the exotic-skin industry, the "Grim Reapers" were out in full force in front of a Hermès store in Jakarta. The dark angels were there to draw attention to the millions of animals in Indonesia who suffer so that their skin can be stitched together to make pricey accessories for high-end retailers like Hermès.
After cringing through PETA Asia's gruesome video footage, which shows workers skinning reptiles alive and other snakes who are slowly and painfully suffocated to death, those Grim Reapers will seem more like woodland fairies.
Nike and its subsidiary, Cole Haan, have given exotic skins the boot—so have the international trendy frock shop H&M and online giant Overstock.com, thanks to PETA's efforts. Now we ask: Will you ssspeak up for snakes, lizards, and other animals by asking Hermès to follow suit?
Written by Karin Bennett
Do you know somebody who's thinking about adding a Hermes crocodile-skin bag or a pair of Alexander McQueen snakeskin pumps to their Christmas wish list? If so, the graphic pictures below will probably have them sending Santa a plea for a Matt & Nat bag or a pair of MooShoes instead.
Whether your bag, shoe, or jacket was made from exotic skins or sexy synthetics means the difference between life or death for animals. Snakes and alligators who are stripped of their skin are usually caught in the wild, often illegally, and their skin is ripped from their bodies while they are still alive. Because they are cold-blooded animals, they can suffer for hours or even days before they die.
If you need more proof that reptiles suffer when they are exploited for fashion, check this out.
Written by Shawna Flavell
How many crocodiles does it take to make a leather bag?
It sounds like the start of a really bad joke, but in a recent article, the chief executive for the French "luxury" goods group Hermes said, "It can take three to four crocodiles to make one of our bags so we are now breeding our own crocodiles on our own farms, mainly in Australia." (emphasis added)
He then quipped, "The world is not full of crocodiles, except the stock exchange!"
Oh, ho ho, funny guy. If you weren't ripping their skins off—sometimes while they are still alive and able to call out in distress—and turning them into overpriced purses, there would probably be plenty of crocodiles running around.
They did outlive the dinosaurs, after all, so my guess is that their survival instincts are pretty acute.
Here's what PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews had to say:
The thought of purposely breeding and killing crocodiles for an outdated, overpriced handbag should make any fashionista's skin crawl. If Hermes really wants to be a leader in the fashion industry, it should stop killing animals for cold-blooded vanity and use cruelty-free mock croc and fake snake instead. As Pink—who recently provided the voice of a computer-generated crocodile in PETA's "Stolen for Fashion" commercial—says, "Killing animals for their skins is so disgusting that it doesn't make me want to befriend designers who use them.
So how about this: Instead of breeding reptiles for fashion faux pas, watch "Stolen for Fashion," then pull a switcharoo and start using stylish synthetics instead.
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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!