PETA has asked IOC to accept sponsorship from LVMH and other companies "only if it agrees to stop selling fur and exotic skins" ©PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) vice-president for UK, Europe and Australia Mimi Bekhechi has written to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach to address concerns regarding reports on LVMH - owner of Louis Vuitton and Fendi - becoming a potential sponsor of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Bekhechi has asked the IOC to accept sponsorship from LVMH and other companies "only if it agrees to stop selling fur and exotic skins, whose production, according to experts, raises the risk of future pandemics."

The Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed by a year due to the pandemic, while the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics were organised in a closed-loop management system with rapid testing. 

"Unlike more forward-thinking brands such as Chanel and Burberry, which have banned fur and exotic skins, LVMH has so far failed to act responsibly and continues to risk the public’s health with its mink coats and python bags," Bekhechi’s letter read.

"We all know the terrible toll COVID-19 took on lives around the globe, so it would be unconscionable for the next Olympic Games to be sponsored by a company that supports these dangerous industries.

"Insisting that any sponsor, such as LVMH, be free from fur and exotic skins would mesh perfectly with the committee’s stated desire to ensure the Paris 2024 Olympic Games truly mark a 'new era', with 'sustainability, legacy and inclusion' at its heart.

A PETA activist protests by holding a bag bearing a slogan which translates as 'Louis Vuitton, Skin was not made for bags', outside the Louis Vuitton store in Paris ©Getty Images
A PETA activist protests by holding a bag bearing a slogan which translates as 'Louis Vuitton, Skin was not made for bags', outside the Louis Vuitton store in Paris ©Getty Images

"This is a matter of global social responsibility, and all those who participate in the Games - whether as spectators, organisers, or athletes - should expect nothing less."   

Bekhechi also claimed that the luxury brand is "well aware" that many of the animals "who are reared and skinned for its products endure conditions comparable to those at wet markets in Wuhan, where the COVID-19 pandemic is believed to have originated."

Apart from those in The Olympic Partner (TOP) programme, Groupe BPCE, Carrefour, Orange, EDF and Sanofi have been announced as premium partners of Paris 2024 so far with no official confirmation on LVMH.

Six official partners and eight official supporters have also been finalised.

Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet has previously revealed that he expects 80 per cent of partnerships and the revenue it will generate to be confirmed by the end of the year.

The French capital is due to stage the Olympics from July 26 to August 11 in 2024, followed by the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.

In a statement the IOC told insidethegames: "All Olympic Games organisers have to develop and implement a sustainable sourcing code.

"This applies to all current editions of the Games."