‘Mulberry’s decision to ban these cruelly obtained materials is a sign of the times’

Luxury British handbag label Mulberry has confirmed it will stop using exotic skins for all of its future designs starting with the spring/summer 2020 collection.

The label already has a fur-free policy and will now exclude skins of alligators, crocodiles, ostriches, lizards, and snakes as well.

Announcing the decision in a statement, Mulberry Group sustainability manager, Rosie Wollacott, said: “[W]e have spent a lot of time determining and then continually reviewing our sustainability metrics and targets.

“At an early stage of this process, we decided not to use exotics in our collections, and this remains our position.”

‘Sign of the times’

The brand’s decision follows years of campaigning from animal rights charity PETA to stop cruelty in fashion.

“Behind every handbag or wallet made with exotic skins is an animal who suffered tremendously,” said PETA director Elisa Allen in a statement.

“Mulberry’s decision to ban these cruelly obtained materials is a sign of the times, and PETA calls on other luxury labels to follow its lead.” 

‘Potential risk’

Apart from ethical ramifications, the exotic skin trade has come further under the spotlight after conservation experts highlighted the trade as a potential risk factor feeding the spread of diseases like COVID-19.

According to PETA: “Intensive farming of exotic animals for both their flesh and their skin poses a similar risk of animal-to-human transmission of newly evolved viruses…and increase(s) the risk of future pandemics.”

Ethical fashion

Mulberry joins a number of brands that have removed animal skins from their labels, including Jil Sander, Chanel, Diane von Furstenberg, Hugo Boss, Victoria Beckham, and Vivienne Westwood among others.

A few days before Mulberry’s decision, US clothing label- Brooks Brothers made a similar announcement about ditching exotic animal skins from all of its designs.

According to the brand, it used exotic skins for only a fraction of its products, which included shoes, bags and small leather goods and was in the process of selling through the last of the remaining inventory.

• Read: The alligator industry is being ‘destroyed’ by California’s exotic skins ban

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