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Action Alert: Help convince retailer to stop selling fur clothing bebe Agrees to Go Fur-Free...but Not Quite Yet Take Action to urge fashion retailer not to wait until 2008 
With the majority of mall shops and top designers dropping fur, it is increasingly obvious that fur is becoming more of a nightmare for retailers than a fashion must-have. Over the past few years, labels such as Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Forever 21, Wet Seal, Kenneth Cole, Gap, and J. Crew (to name but a few) have all chosen not to sell anything made from real animal fur because of the inherit cruelty involved in its production. Yet in spite of competitor's compassionate pro-animal policies, the fashion chain bebe still hasn't gotten the point. The fur products on bebe's store shelves range from purses to key chain accessories to collar accents. bebe sells fur taken from rabbits raised in China, where there are no animal welfare laws, and rabbits spend their entire lives in wire cages, often exposed to freezing weather. To cut costs, fur farmers crowd as many rabbits as possible into each cage so they can barely move. When it comes time for slaughter, workers break the rabbit's necks and bash in their skulls before decapitating and skinning them. Although bebe admits that fur sales only make up 3% of the company's profits, the company has no intention of pulling fur from their shelves until 2008. Their corporate policy on the sale of fur proclaims that the company "strongly believes in the humane treatment of animals." So how can they justify profiting from the abuse and killing of rabbits this fall and winter? We really want an answer to this question, so IDA sent a letter to bebe President and CEO Manny Mashouf in which we wrote, "We are sure that if your consumers were made aware of the undeniable cruelty associated with the fur products you sell, most would be appalled." IDA has yet to receive a meaningful response from bebe explaining how selling fur promotes "humane treatment" of animals. Buying and selling fur inherently causes pain and suffering for animals. Please join IDA in urging bebe to immediately eliminate all real fur from their stores What You Can Do 1) Take Action to let bebe's CEO know that you won't shop at their stores until the company stops supporting the bloody fur trade. For best results, always be polite and respectful with those whose awareness you want to raise.
bebe stores, inc. 2) Put the heat on bebe by organizing an outreach event outside of a bebe store. There are over 250 outlets throughout the U.S., so find out if there's one in your area. An outreach event can be as large or small as you want: just a few people standing outside of a bebe store for a couple of hours every week with signs and leaflets can educate hundreds of thousands of people in your community about fur. It also sends bebe's executives a message that their customers care about animal welfare, and that the company will lose customers if they continue to market fur. For assistance, contact IDA campaign coordinator Annie Judah at (757) 374-8112 or for assistance. |
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