Barcelona-based fashion company Puig has announced that it will ban the use of skins of snakes, crocodiles, and other exotic animals to make their products. This means that labels like Carolina Herrera, Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nina Ricci, and Dries Van Noten, that the company owns will no longer sell items made of exotic skins.
Puig informed animal rights organisation, PETA that “steps have already been taken to no longer use exotic skins.” That said, its sub-brand CH Carolina Herrera will carry crocodile and python accessories till stocks last.
In 2016, PETA published graphic videos from Vietnam of crowded crocodile farms, shedding light at the harmful conditions animals go through for the exotic skin industry, many of whom are often skinned alive, or take hours to pass away.
While Italy is one of the largest manufactures of snakeskin products, the United States accounts for about 50 per cent of the Italian export market for the finished goods, as per Four Paws, an animal rights organisation. The EU, led by Italy, is also the world's biggest importer of reptile skins, buying €100m worth, even back in 2005, as reported by The Guardian.
Other brands that have also banned the sale of exotic skins include including Calvin Klein, Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Selfridges, and more.
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