PETA Picks Fur Fight With Bebe
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals will bring its anti-fur protest to the boardroom of Bebe Stores Inc.
On Dec. 10, the provocative anti-fur group announced that it purchased 650 shares of stock from the contemporary retailer, headquartered in Brisbane, Calif. PETA intends to use its stock position to submit a shareholder resolution that will demand the retailer stop selling fur garments at its fleet of more than 246 stores, said David Byer, PETA’s senior corporate liaison, who is based in Hot Springs, N.C.
Bebe stockholder rules allow shareholders to submit resolutions only after holding stock for more than one year. At the 2014 shareholders’ meeting, PETA might submit a resolution demanding the company stop selling fur.
“It is to make them fur-free,” Byer said of PETA’s shareholder strategy. “It’s to let other shareholders know that Bebe is supporting fur-farming practices in China. Bebe is supporting terrible practices which many moved away from long ago. It is bad for animals. It is bad for business.”
PETA was informed from consumers sympathetic to its cause that Bebe sells fur garments.
Bebe did not respond by deadline to a phone call and an email requesting comment. However, on the retailer’s e-commerce site (www.bebe.com), most fur-like garments on sale were faux fur.
Only a portion of Bebe’s collection features fur, said Keith Kaplan, executive director of the Fur Information Council of America, based in West Hollywood, Calif.
PETA will not get far with its plan to persuade Bebe shareholders to reject fur, said J. Justin Wilson, senior research analyst for the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Shareholders have little interest in waging costly proxy battles for issues such as fur, he said. “[PETA] does it solely for the creation of making news,” Wilson said of the shareholder bid. “They effect change by working through reporters.”
PETA’s shareholder strategy is very serious, Byer said. He said PETA has used this strategy in the past with companies such as DuPont and Safeway. It withdraws shareholder resolutions after company representatives have met and negotiated with them. “It’s a very effective tool,” Byer said. “It helps raise awareness, and it helps get companies to the table. It’s a double victory.”
PETA, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., has gained notoriety for billboards demanding fashion companies stop using fur as well as for protests at fashion shows. The organization also has sought to change companies through persuading shareholders to stop using fur.
The anti-fur organization solicits cash donations to buy company stock and also requests that its members donate company stock to PETA so it can mount shareholder campaigns, Byer said.—Andrew Asch
