PETA continues to put the pressure on LVHM over its use of animal skins

Animal rights organization People for the Protection of Animals (PETA) is continuing its campaign against luxury fashion conglomerate LVMH over its use of real fur. Ahead of the LVMH annual meeting on April 17, PETA, which also owns stock in the company, is calling on CEO Bernard Arnault to address its brand's use of real fur once more.     "Every fur trim, crocodile handbag, or pair of snakeskin shoes represents the tremendous suffering of an animal who felt fear and pain and did not want to die," said Yvonne Taylor, PETA vice president of corporate projects, in a statement. "PETA is calling on LVMH to cut cruelty from its collections and switch to luxurious bio-based vegan furs and plant leathers that compassionate consumers demand."

For more than a decade, PETA has urged executives at LVMH, the parent company of fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Dior, which use real fur and exotic animal skins, to swap to animal-free alternatives.

The protest comes as a recent investigation by PETA Asia into Indonesian slaughterhouses supplying LVMH uncovered troubling practices. According to the report, snakes were seen being inflated with water, struck with hammers, and cut with razors—often while likely still conscious. Other PETA investigations across the fashion supply chain have revealed similar concerns, including the poor treatment of minks and foxes, farmed for their fur and being confined to cramped, unsanitary cages before being electrocuted, gassed, bludgeoned, or even skinned alive.

Perhaps due to the ongoing pressure from PETA, LVMH has become an unexpected player in the push for next-gen materials. In 2022, Biofluff, a startup that developed a fur alternative made from flax, nettle, and hemp fibers, was named a finalist for the LVMH Innovation Award. 

Since then, the French/American company has joined La Maison des Startups, a program that connects 30 promising startups with LVMH brands to help bring their innovations to market. As part of this initiative, LVMH and Fendi have partnered with Central Saint Martins and Imperial College London to successfully develop a proof of concept for lab-grown fur. According to LVMH, researchers are now collaborating with an undisclosed biotech company to scale the technology for broader commercial use.