Hermès CEO Receives Birthday Gift from Charles Darwin Descendant Urging Him to Evolve
02.07.2025
Paris – For his birthday on 3rd July, Axel Dumas will receive an unusual gift: Charles Darwin’s great-great-grandson is sending the Hermès CEO a copy of his ancestor’s famous work, On The Origin of Species, to encourage him to evolve and leave wild-animal skins, such as those made from crocodiles, ostriches, snakes and lizards, in the brand’s past.
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“I know we have at least two things in common: we are both related to famous people, and we both work in a family business,” writes Chris Darwin in a letter accompanying the gift. “My great-great-grandfather is the naturalist Charles Darwin. Late in life, he wrote, ‘I have often and often regretted that I have not done more direct good for our fellow creatures.’ Consequently, I also work in the family business, which focuses on nature conservation and animal welfare.” He goes on to say “I urge you to consider the opportunity for Hermès to expand into ethical luxury by using eco-friendly plant-based leathers for your accessories. Hermès doesn’t have to be wedded to cruel materials that other companies shunned long ago.”
As a conservation expert, Chris Darwin refutes Axel Dumas’s claims made at the recent Hermès shareholders’ meeting, where the CEO said that the Australian farms which supply leather to the fashion house “preserve ecosystems” and protect endangered crocodile species. In the letter, Darwin clarifies that the decline in these species has, in fact, been prevented by banning hunting. The conservationist also cites an investigation by the Australian group Farm Transparency Project, filmed in intensive farms owned by Hermès, which shows crocodiles confined in cramped concrete enclosures or barren cages before being electrocuted, dragged, mutilated, and stabbed with screwdrivers.
Fashion is rapidly moving away from wild-animal skins. Brands such as Chanel, Balenciaga, Burberry, Mulberry, Victoria Beckham, Diane von Furstenberg, and Vivienne Westwood have all banned these skins from their ranges. The Fashion Weeks of London, Copenhagen, Melbourne, and Helsinki all have runways free from reptile skins.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
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