'No more Croco for Coco': Chanel stops production with fur, crocodile and other exotic skins
Global brand makes animal welfare commitments in fashion house
Chanel last night wrote fashion history: 'No More Croco for Coco' was the motto on the eve of the fashion house's presentation of its 'Métiers d'art' collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In an interview, Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion at Chanel, announced that the company would stop using fur and exotic skins such as crocodile leather. International animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS welcomes this as a huge milestone.
"Pavlovsky explained that it is becoming increasingly difficult to source skins and leathers that meet Chanel's ethical and qualitative standards. In future research and development, Chanel will therefore concentrate on textiles and leathers which are by-products of the food industry. This means that no more animals have to be killed especially for fashion – which, of course, we as an animal welfare organisation very much welcome,” said Pietsch.
He added: “Chanel’s announcement shows that ethical consumption and animal welfare have also gained in importance for luxury fashion labels. Instead of real fur or exotic skins, today’s consumers want sustainability and innovation. We are confident that this forward-thinking decision by Chanel will be imitated by other leading high fashion companies.”
In Australia, crocodile farming is legal and permits wild crocodile eggs to be taken from nests to commercial facilities. Farmed crocodiles are usually slaughtered between two and three years of age, when their belly skin measures at least 35 centimetres, shockingly less than their natural life span of 70 years.
A few months ago, Gucci became part of the international Fur Free Retailer program which has already been signed by 950 retailers worldwide.
Many other leading fashion brands and retailers have already joined the Fur Free Retailer initiative, including H&M, Zara, Esprit, Armani and many more.
Every year, more than 100 million animals are killed by the fur industry. Minks, foxes and tanuki suffer on fur farms in tiny cages, while other species die a cruel death in traps.
Processing fur into fur fashion requires high quantities of hazardous chemicals and high energy consumption. FOUR PAWS is committed to a long-term ban on the keeping and killing of animals for fur and to end the use of real fur in the fashion industry.
Elise Burgess
Head of CommunicationsM: 0423 873 382
FOUR PAWS Australia
GPO Box 2845
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Main Phone: 1800 454 228
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them.
Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, animals in fashion, farm animals, and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones.
With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA, and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org.au