After hearing from PETA about the cruel ways snakes, crocodiles, and other reptiles used by the fashion industry are killed for their skin, upscale brand Tory Burch confirmed that it will no longer use reptile skins. In thanks, PETA is sending the company a box of delicious alligator-shaped vegan chocolates.

“Every handbag or pair of shoes made with snakes’ or alligators’ skin is stitched with the suffering of a thinking, feeling animal who didn’t want to die,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA applauds this compassionate move and urges retailers everywhere to follow the lead of designers like Tory Burch.”

PETA entities have documented how the fashion industry hacks at alligators’ necks and shoves metal rods into their heads, chops off conscious lizards’ heads with machetes, and pumps snakes full of water to loosen their skin before it’s peeled off—often while they’re still conscious.

A PETA Asia investigation into a snakeskin facility in Vietnam found workers closing the mouths and anuses of live pythons with tight rubber bands, cutting a hole in their head or tail, and pumping them full of compressed air. Credit: PETA Asia

Tory Burch joins a growing list of top designers—including Altuzarra, Burberry, Chanel, Diane von Furstenberg, HUGO BOSS, and Vivienne Westwood—that have banned the use of skins from reptiles and other wildlife. Over 100,000 PETA supporters have joined the call to urge LVMH—the parent company of Louis Vuitton—to follow suit.

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 people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.