PETA is threatening to sue upscale retailer Bebe for allegedly selling fur clothing more than five years after it promised to stop.
In a cease and desist letter PETA sent to the company, the animal rights organization claims Bebe falsely markets itself as fur-free, Fashionista exclusively reported Friday.
"Bebe is misrepresenting itself to the public as a fur-free company," PETA spokesman Danielle Katz told Business Insider. "And consumers deserve to know the truth."
Bebe sent out a press release in 2007 promising it would totally eliminate animal fur by 2008, PETA claims.
The cease and desist letter claims Bebe is "giving contradictory and therefore false and misleading information to consumers [...] including telling consumers that Bebe is a fur-free company, when, in fact, Bebe continues to sell products made with animal fur."
PETA also plans to use other methods to stop Bebe from selling fur.
The organization bought 650 shares of stock in Bebe, which after a year will allow it to submit a resolution demanding the company stop selling rabbit and chinchilla fur, BizJournals reported in December.
But in the meantime, PETA demands that "Bebe immediately cease and desist its false and misleading statements and that Bebe publish corrective disclosures informing the public that it has no fur-free policy, contrary to its previously disseminated intentions," according to the C&D letter.
PETA has a long history of attacking retailers for products it believes are inhumane.
PETA successfully pressured California retailer Papaya to stop using animal fur in 2010, The Los Angeles Times reported in Dec. 2010.
Boston Proper also bowed to PETA pressure in 2009 and as of Jan. 1, 2010, stopped selling fur clothing, PETA announced in Oct. 2009.
PETA is still waiting for Bebe to respond to the letter but does plan to bring the issue before its fellow shareholders at the next annual meeting, Katz said.
Bebe didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
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