PETA buys a share in Hermès

The latest twist in the tale of PETA vs. Hermès? The animal rights group has bought shares in the French fashion house.

The move follows Jane Birkin’s request that Hermès remove her name from its best-selling bag – the Birkin – following a PETA investigation that alleged to show the inhumane and illegal treatment of crocodiles in factory farms that supply Hermès with skins in Texas and Zimbabwe.

The US wing of the organisation has acquired one share in the brand in a bid to “work from inside to demand a permanent ban on accessories made from exotic-animal skins, including crocodile-skin bags and alligator-skin watchbands."

While it’s unlikely that possession of a single share will allow the organisation to affect significant change, a PETA spokesperson says it “will give them the possibility to attend and ask questions at the annual meeting.”