“At Tommy Hilfiger, we’re committed to creating a better fashion industry by creating fashion that ‘Wastes Nothing and Welcomes All.’ We have always [taken] and will always take the environment, human rights, our community and related matters very seriously, which is why we don’t use fur or exotic skins in any of our collections. Together, we can drive fashion forward for good,” Hilfiger told PETA in a statement.
The severely crowded, filthy conditions in which wild animals are raised and slaughtered for their skins are similar to those that gave rise to the novel coronavirus, and they pose a potential threat of future pandemics. PETA has documented not only cruelty to animals, but also grossly unhygienic conditions on farms in theU.S., Africa, and Asia.
“PETA is toasting Tommy Hilfiger for banning exotic-animal skins from his collections,” said PETA’s Senior Vice President Dan Mathews. “Behind every crocodile-skin or snakeskin item is an animal who experienced a violent, bloody death. As wildlife biologists point out, in addition to being cruel and unnecessary, the capture, confinement, and slaughter of wild animals is what spawns pandemics like the one we’re all suffering through now.”
PETA and its affiliates have documented that in the exotic-skins industry, alligators are horrifically killed in the most heinous ways; snakes are pumped full of water to loosen their skin, which is peeled off, often while they’re still conscious; and feathers are yanked out of ostriches while the birds are still alive.
