[财经英语角区] 女星Jane Birkin要求爱马仕Birkin包改名？ [推广有奖]

女星Jane Birkin要求爱马仕Birkin包改名？
Jane Birkin demands Hermès remove her name from crocodile bag（450words）

By Catherine Bennett in Paris

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British singer and actress Jane Birkin has demanded that her name be removed from one of luxury brand Hermès’ most distinctive handbags.

The Birkin bag, which can command prices of more than £40,000, comes in a crocodile leather version, which has led to protests by animal rights activists.

Ms Birkin released a statement on Tuesday evening saying: “Having been alerted to the cruel practices reserved for crocodiles during their slaughter to make Hermès handbags carrying my name, I have asked Hermès to debaptise the Birkin Croco until better practices in line with international norms can be put in place.”

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) recently released an exposé into the cruel treatment and slaughter of crocodiles, in which alleged employees of a crocodile farm part-owned by Padenga Holdings in Texas were recorded stating that the farm supplied Hermès. The video then went on to show the crocodiles being killed by various, gruesome means.

Ingrid Newkirk, president and co-founder of Peta, said of Ms Birkin’s request: “Peta, on behalf of all kind souls in the world, thanks Ms Birkin for ending her association with Hermès . . . soon, no one will want to be caught dead carrying one, and animal advocates will then breathe a sigh of relief.”

Hermès did not respond to a request for comment. According to Reuters, the company issued a statement on Wednesday saying that it was equally “shocked by the images” broadcast.

It denied that the farms portrayed in the video belonged to the group, and promised that “an investigation is under way at the Texas farm which was implicated in the video. Any breach of rules will be rectified and sanctioned.”

The bag was named after a chance meeting on an aeroplane in 1981 between Ms Birkin and Jean-Louis Dumas, Hermès’ then-chief executive. He created the Birkin bag in her honour three years later. A fuchsia Hermès Birkin bag was the most expensive handbag ever sold, fetching HK$1.7m (US$222,000) at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong last month.

Hermès reported