Hermès on Birkin Renaming Request: We're Fixing This Non-Problem!

A day after Jane Birkin publicly asked Hermès to remove her name from Birkin bags made with crocodile skin, the company has released a statement saying that they’re looking into how the animals are treated. What they haven’t addressed is whether they’ll stop referring to Birkin Croco’s as Birkins, but that’s probably because according to them, everything’s cool!

“Jane Birkin has expressed her concerns regarding practices for slaughtering crocodiles,” Hermès International said up front, according to Women’s Wear Daily, making it clear they’re cool with Jane. “Her comments do not in any way influence the friendship and confidence that we have shared for many years. Hermès respects and shares her emotions and was also shocked by the images recently broadcast.”

The company—whose Facebook page has been inundated with negative comments for the past week or so—went on to say that they’re investigating the crocodile farm where PETA (in their words) “revealed that live reptiles are sawn open, among other horrors” to make products for Hermès. They’ll also sanction the farm, even though they say they do not own it and the crocodile skins collected there aren’t used to make Birkins. Okay?

“Hermès imposes on its partners the highest standards in the ethical treatment of crocodiles,” it continued, adding that for more than a decade it has organized monthly visits to its suppliers.

Hermès said it controls their practices and makes sure they respect slaughter standards established by veterinary experts and by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a federal agency, and rules established under the authority of the United Nations and international conventions on the protection of endangered species.

Bottom line: We’re fixing the problem, even though it’s not a problem. Subtext: Chillax ladies! You can keep calling all Birkins Birkins.