Fashion house Louis Vuitton should stop using fur in its products, says interfaith group

Will Louis Vuitton say au revoir to fur? A group of interfaith leaders is asking the luxury fashion house to do just that.

Clergy from the Orthodox Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Buddhist faiths—who have signed a letter to the Paris-based house—call the use of this animal product “cruel, outdated and unnecessary,” the Associated Press reports.

“Animals should not be made to suffer and killed to make fashion and glamorize bodies when there are other valid fashion alternatives at our disposition,” the letter says. “Cruelty should never become fashionable.”

The parent company of the fashion house, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fast Company. The company’s portfolio also includes such brands as Dom Perignon, Fendi, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Guerlain, Tiffany & Co., Tag Heuer, Sephora, and Bulgari.

The anti-fur movement is nothing new. For example, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has for years thrown red paint on folks wearing fur coats, and in 2005, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour made international news headlines when anti-fur activists threw a tofu pie in her face at the Chanel fashion show in Paris.

However, the movement has found regulatory momentum in recent years. In 2019, California became the first state to ban the sale of fur products. Earlier this year, Israel was the first country to outlaw most fur clothing sales.