Interfaith coalition urges Louis Vuitton to shed fur items

A group of Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish leaders is urging luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton to stop using animal fur in its clothing and other products.

In a joint statement, Orthodox Christian priest Stephen Karcher, Hindu activist Rajan Zed, Jewish rabbi ElizaBeth Webb Beyer and Buddhist priest Matthew Fisher said selling items trimmed with fur is inconsistent with the ethics and values of parent company Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

“Louis Vuitton should explore new boundaries of fur-free creative design and discontinue selling all products made from animal fur,” the clerics said Thursday, calling the trend “cruel, outdated and unnecessary.”

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

Paris-based Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Zed, who is president of the Nevada-based Universal Society of Hinduism, urged LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and other executives - as well as the fashion industry as a whole - to review the practice.

Sao Paulo, Brazil, has banned the import and sale of fur since 2015, and fur farming has been outlawed in the United Kingdom for more than two decades.