Victory! Macy’s Bans All Reptile, Ostrich Skins After Push From PETA
For Immediate Release:
February 9, 2023
Contact:
Robin Goist 202-483-7382
A vegan cake decorated with icing alligators and ostriches is on the way from PETA to Macy’s now that the company has just confirmed its ban on leather from alligators, snakes, lizards, and ostriches. The announcement comes after PETA met with the retailer and shared horrifying video exposés and information about how these animals suffer in the fashion industry.
“Behind every ostrich- or reptile-skin bag is an animal who suffered an agonizing death, and we applaud Macy’s for taking action to help end such violence,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is celebrating this compassionate move and reminding everyone that skin belongs only on the animals who were born in it.”
PETA entities have documented how the fashion industry hacks alligators’ necks and shoves metal rods into their heads, chops conscious lizards’ heads off with machetes, forces terrified ostriches into stun boxes before slitting their throats, and pumps snakes full of water to loosen their skin before it’s peeled off—often while they’re still conscious.
Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Tommy Hilfiger, and UNIQLO are among the top brands and retailers that have banned reptile and ostrich skins, and many more are meeting the growing demand for sustainable, animal-friendly products by offering vegan options made from pineapples, mushrooms, apples, cacti, and other innovative materials.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
