How many reptiles will you kill for fashion?
It was almost a year ago when at the launch of the winter collection by a majorly acclaimed couturier, the designer came up to me and exclaimed, “Darling, is that a rabbit fur jacket you’re wearing?” Surprised, and shocked, I clarified it was not real fur, and in fact faux fur. “Eww,” he commented, “You’d see me in fake fur over my dead body!”
It appeared the concept of death was uniquely subjective, misleading and insensitive in the wake of the cruel and unethical practices that are being exposed in the fashion world regarding exotic skins and furs. Just this week, PETA revealed a sting operation on how "beautiful" alligator and crocodile skins are procured, presumably for one of the most expensive "IT-bags" in the world, the Hermes Birkin bags.
In an almost seven-minute long video titled "Belly of the Beast" posted on YouTube, undercover filming by investigators reveals alligator farms in Zimbabwe and Texas subject the reptiles to a most traumatic life and death. Footage shows the animals cramped for space in concrete pits that aren’t often cleaned of faecal matter. In one scene, workers stab the back of the reptile or hack their necks without numbing it or making it unconscious with a captive-bolt gun. Later, they are thrown into a tank full of ice while they writhe in pain until they die.
The director of operations of the farm is heard telling the investigator they “do 42,000 skins a year” and supply to a company named Hermes. However, the luxury brand has denied the allegations and said in a statement all skins used by them are “sourced from farms where Hermes demands the best farming conditions which conform to the international regulations... Hermes is continuously verifying all procedures. Any non-conforming parties will be dealt with accordingly and will be sanctioned.” Incidentally, each Birkin costs around six lakh rupees and is the pride of celebrities such as Victoria Beckham, Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut.
Meanwhile, fashionistas and even stars stay unaware of the cruelty inflicted on animals in order to create "the season’s must-have" style. A number of designers use skins and furs as trims on their garments, jackets and accessories and demand for it has grown in recent years. It is surprising that fashion magazines, style gurus and social influencers stay quiet when a few years ago, another undercover video was posted by PETA on the fur industry in China. In it, rabbits were tied up and the fur ripped off their bodies despite them crying out in pain, because traders make more money with this cruel process. The animals are left to suffer in their cages, and the act is repeated every few months once their fur grows back.
Currently, China supplies nearly 80 per cent of the world’s fur, and there are no animal welfare protection laws there. A report in 2013 by Animals Australia stated up to two million dogs and cats were killed each year in China for their fur. Other investigations reveal that animals are skinned alive, electrocuted, trapped or beaten to death, in order to be converted into key chains, leather straps and shoes.
Why aren’t fashion magazines naming and shaming brands that make profits at the cost of animals’ lives? Where are the advocates who were up in arms against cruelty to dogs in the Yulin Festival, but quiet when other animals are concerned? Is compassion only for one species and not for another?
Glittering runways and posh stores have turned into such a stylish chimera; a foggy delusion with beautiful faces, sexy bodies and all things glamorous. However, it’s time to open our eyes to the gory underbelly of the world of fashion where a lot has been staked at the altar of style.