PETA Shareholder Resolution Calls On Coach to Drop Fur

Fashion Retailer Lags Top Designers and Rivals Who've Shed Fur Sales

For Immediate Release:
May 21, 2010

Contact:
Stephanie Corrigan  757-622-7382

New York -- PETA, which owns stock in New York-based fashion and accessories retailer Coach, Inc., has filed a shareholder resolution calling on the company to enact a policy to stop acquiring and selling products that are made with fur. PETA points out that dozens of companies and designers--including Polo Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Comme des Garcons, Calvin Klein, Betsey Johnson, Gap, Nike (and its affiliate Cole Haan), and Liz Claiborne (and its subsidiaries Juicy Couture and Kate Spade)--have gone fur-free. Coach sells purses, wallets, luggage, and other fashion accessories and products in the U.S. and 20 other countries.

"Animals who are used for their fur are beaten, drowned, electrocuted, and skinned alive, and by continuing to sell fur, Coach bears responsibility for this cruelty," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "With its competitors making the compassionate choice to end fur sales, it's time for Coach to get off the bench and into the fur-free game."

Animals who are trapped in the wild suffer excruciating pain before they are drowned or bludgeoned to death. Animals on fur farms are forced to live in filthy cages, and many are driven insane from the constant confinement. The animals are then killed by neck-breaking, poisoning, or anal electrocution.

An undercover investigation of fur farms in China--now the world's leading fur exporter--revealed that workers smashed the heads of foxes and raccoon dogs against the ground. The animals were still panting and blinking their eyes as they were skinned alive. Millions of dogs and cats are also killed for fur in China.

PETA's shareholder resolution is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.