Hermes breeds own crocodiles for handbags!
Well ladies ...............is it ethical and acceptable . more to teh point , would you buy one :)?????????????????????????
Victoria Beckham may have never visited Australia, but some days she carries a little piece of the Outback on her arm in the form of her black crocodile skin Hermes handbag.
Every year thousands of saltwater crocodiles are bred on farms in Queensland and the Northern Territory for the purpose of exporting their skin to Paris to be transformed into one the world’s most sought after accessories.
Hermes chief executive Patrick Thomas admitted this week his French fashion house has resorted to farming crocodiles in Australia to keep up with the increasing international demand for their world famous crocodile skin handbags, including the popular Birkin design.
“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,” Mr Thomas said in Paris.
The handbags are so popular thousands of people wait years on waiting lists to receive one - they can fetch over £30,000
“We cannot face demand,” said Mr Thomas. “We have massive over-demand. We are limited by our ability to train new craftsmen.”
While there are many different designs of Hermes handbags which are made from different types of leather, the crocodile skin variety are among the most expensive.
“The top-level fashion houses are very selective, so they use only a small percentage of the belly skin to make their famous bags,” Mr Burns said.
Animal activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called for an end to the usage of crocodile skin in fashion.
The Times
Obviously there is a market for these and similar items..
Even in the current economic situation, Hermes' leather goods has been doing so well that they are employing an extra 100 leather workers this year.
I'm with Jasime.
The hypocrisy that surrounds the use of animals for clothing is incredible.
What if we replaced the company Hermes with the company Nike, and crocodile skin with leather, and handbags with shoes:
"Nike" breeds own "leather" for "shoes".
All of a sudden, not quite as newsworthy, but in essense it's exactly the same.
I'd rather the company killed farm-bred animals than killing native/wild animals in an unsustainable fashion, and as long as the killing is carried out humanely, where's the ethical problem?
It's ridiculous that people who wear fur have red paint thrown at them, fox hunting is illegal in the UK but it is ok to go into any designer shop and buy reptilian skin bags. I just don't get it. I am not overboard about animal rights but have long felt that unless the creature is cute and fluffy, people just don't care. Lobsters, for example are highly intelligent and it has been proved that they have the capacity to fall in love and have memories not only of events but feelings. They do NOT die quickly when you drop them in the boiling water and for every one you catch, it's mate will die without it. Carrefour wouldn't be allowed to keep sheep or chickens tied up on display but it's ok for lobsters. One day I will buy them and release them back. If animals are being bred to benefit humanity in some way thats one thing, but for handbags? They should be ashamed.