Peta calls for LVMH to ban fur and exotic skins ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic Games

With LVMH reportedly in the running to be an official sponsor of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, PETA have called for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to not accept sponsorship unless LVMH agrees to stop selling fur and exotic skins.

In a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, PETA highlights LVMH has so far failed to act responsibly and continues to risk the public’s health with its mink coats and python bags. “We all know the enormous toll Covid-19 took on lives around the globe, so it would be unconscionable for the next Olympic Games to be sponsored by a company that supports these dangerous industries.”

PETA says experts have warned of unsanitary and crowded conditions on farms and at slaughterhouses and that the exotic-skins supply chain is a perfect breeding ground for viruses such as the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely impacted the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

An investigation led bt PETA Asia into two Indonesian slaughterhouses that supply LVMH showed workers striking pythons repeatedly on the head then suspending them in the air and forcing hoses down their throats to inflate them with water, making it easier to remove their skin.

Increased pressure on fashion companies to stop using fur and exotic skins has seen global brands such as Gucci, Burberry and Chanel ban fur from its collections.

The global fur retail trade is valued at 20.1 billion dollars according to data from the University of Copenhagen. The industry saw a strong bounce back after the pandemic, said We are Fur. The European fur retail trade, by contrast, is worth 4.8 billion dollars.