British fashion icon and designer Victoria Beckham has pledged to ban exotic skins in her luxury fashion brand.

The company confirmed a new policy prohibiting alligator, crocodile, ostrich, and snake skins.

The brand affirmed its fur-free status in a statement: “Victoria Beckham will cease the use of exotic skins in all collections as of AW19.

“The Victoria Beckham brand has never used fur in its clothing or accessories collections and confirmed last year that the brand will remain fur free.

The news comes after years of campaigning to have fur removed from fashion brands by PETA.

The group’s director Elisa Allen said: “Behind every crocodile, alligator, snake, or lizard handbag or pair of shoes is a violent death.

“Victoria Beckham’s decision to ban exotic skins will spare countless remarkable animals immense suffering, and PETA calls on other luxury brands to follow her kind example.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – has conducted several exposés into the exotic-skins industry.

The group found that alligators are kept in fetid water inside dank, dark sheds before their necks are hacked open and metal rods are shoved into their heads in an attempt to scramble their brains, often while they’re fully conscious.

PETA investigations have found that one-year-old ostriches are trucked to abattoirs, where workers turn them upside down in a stunner, slit their throats, and pluck their feathers out.

And snakes are commonly nailed to trees before their bodies are cut open from one end to the other as they’re skinned alive.

Victoria Beckham joins Vivienne Westwood, Diane von Furstenberg, and Chanel in banning exotic skins from all designs.

• Read: Reebok to debut its first plant-based running sneaker

What do you think of Victoria Beckham’s decision? Tell us in the comments section below!

Oli Gross

Oli Gross is a writer and editor at Totally Vegan Buzz. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation. Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. At Totally Vegan Buzz he specialises in breaking news and features on animal rights activism. Follow him on Twitter @Oli_Gross12

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