According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Hermès plans to build Australia's largest crocodile farm on a farm in the Northern Territory of Australia. If the project is completed successfully, the number of crocodile farming in the Northern Territory of Australia will increase by 50%. About 50,000 of these saltwater crocodiles will be used for the supply of leather and meat products.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency
French luxury brands Hermès and Louis Vuitton own or control the vast majority of crocodile farms in the Northern Territory of Australia. According to reports, Australian saltwater crocodile is favored by luxury brands because of its larger scales per unit area on its abdomen.
This move has been controversial, and netizens called on Hermes to reconsider its planned farm. In recent years, luxury goods such as Chanel , Gucci, Versace have all joined the anti-fur camp.
Hermès will build the largest crocodile farm in Australia
According to ABC, the French luxury fashion brand cooperated with Mick Burns, known as the "crocodile king" to buy the "Sweet Life" farm of Lambells Lagoon for US$7.25 million. Jeff added that luxury brands prefer Australian saltwater crocodiles because they have “larger scales per unit area on their belly.”
According to the company's documents submitted to the Northern Territory Environmental Protection Administration, the company plans to employ 30 employees, and the number of breeding crocodiles gradually increases to 50,000 in a few years, " makes it one of the largest crocodile farms in Australia ".
In the 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, Hermes said that it currently has three crocodile farms and two animal skin processing and inspection offices in Australia.
Saltwater crocodile is also known as bay crocodile. bay crocodile is the largest of the 23 crocodile species and is also the largest reptile in in the world. The male bay crocodile can reach 7 meters in length when adults, but generally does not exceed 5 meters. The maximum length of females is 2.5-3 meters. Adult male crocodile can weigh 600-1000 kilograms.
The greatest economic value of the Bay Crocodile is to use its leather and leather. It is one of the precious leathers in the world. It can be made of leather shoes, belts, boxes, handbags, etc., with beautiful patterns and is a precious decorative leather product and has high craftsmanship value.
Netizens have different opinions on this.
Will you be more likely to buy " Platinum Pack"?
Luxury brands that use rare leather goods as their selling point must firmly grasp the supply side in order to ensure that the "golden signboard" is not smashed. Taking Hermes as an example, its famous Himalayan platinum bag became popular in the TV series "Thirty Only" this year, and the top label among luxury has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of the public.
From foreign media related reports
It is worth noting that in 2015, British singer Jean Birkin asked Hermes to remove her name from the crocodile leather platinum bag after learning that Hermes was cruelly massacred by her crocodile leather platinum bag.
Jane Platinum issued a statement saying: "When I learned that Hermes was brutally killing crocodiles to make a crocodile leather handbag with my name, I had asked Hermes to remove the platinum logo from the bag until Hermes takes better actions and the corresponding international guidelines are established."
Animal rights protection organization PETA revealed at the time that in the numerous crocodile pools from Texas to Zimbabwe, the crocodiles were first stuffed into concrete pits and then brutally chopped. Peta said that making a precious Hermes handbag would require at least 2 to 3 crocodiles to be massacred.
However, Hermes quickly stated that it had warned cooperative suppliers that had similar violations and would terminate the cooperation if they were found in similar situations. By attributing the affiliated suppliers and further saying that the move was also recognized by Jane Platinum, Hermes quickly calmed the controversy.
In April this year, China Environmental News published an article saying that when high leather costs, time-consuming pure handicrafts, favors from the upper class, and supply far from reaching demand, the meaning of rare leather handbags is no longer use and art, but a manifestation of social hierarchy. This manifestation is achieved through the sense of superiority of "rare".
Although Hermes has repeatedly reiterated that its "rare skin" is produced completely in accordance with international standards, there are questions about whether the content of the video of "Practice Animals" is true, people have begun to think about whether it should be to search and raise rare animals from the wild for a high price just to get the skin and make a handbag that is given high-quality meaning? Why is human vanity satisfied through the flesh and blood of animals?
This kind of thinking has gradually influenced the fashion industry. In 2015, Hugo Boss announced his joining the International Anti-Fur Alliance, and Gucci, Giorgio Armani , Burberry, Chanel and others have also joined the team that no longer uses rare leather and rare fur. In 2019, Prada officially announced that its 2020 spring and summer model will no longer use rare fur. These actions are an apology and protection of rare animals by various brands.
The fashion industry has opened its arms to environmental protection and sustainability. Hermes, which insists on using rare leather, is becoming increasingly isolated among many luxury brands. I don’t know how long this isolation will last.
Hermes Group's latest financial report shows that sales in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2020 fell 14% year-on-year to 4.288 billion euros. But sales have resumed growth in the third quarter, up 6.9% year-on-year at fixed exchange rates to 1.8 billion euros, especially due to strong performance in Asian markets and online sales.
has been backed by its growth performance. In recent times, Hermès has opened many new stores around the world, including the opening of its first retail store in Saudi Arabia, and the addition of new stores in Las Vegas, the United States, Madrid, Spain, Dalian, China and other places.
Therefore, Hermes' factory expansion and expansion of production capacity actually echoes the brand's growing business needs.
Interface News believes that although does not mean that trunk products similar to crocodile leather platinum bags can be more easily purchased, there may be more new products that use crocodile leather on the product line.
Daily Economic News Comprehensive @ People's Daily Digital Communication, China Daily, China Environmental News, Interface News and other
column editor: Gu Wanquan Text editor: Li Linwei Title picture source: Tuchuang Creative Picture editor: Yong Kai
Source: Author: Daily Economic News
