And now for some odd news regarding the recession: alligator farms in Louisiana are losing gobs of money as the drop in luxury handbag sales continues.
What is normally a $60 million dollar industry in Cajun country is suffering since major designers like Gucci, Versace, and others aren’t buying the high dollar skins. I don’t blame them either; if the shoppers aren’t spending top dollar for the handbags, they can’t afford to make them.
You might think that news like this would tickle PETA pink since they avidly protest the use of such materials for fashion purses and even highlighted their hate of the practice with a recent commercial featuring the animal. Unfortunately for animal-lovers, the issue isn’t that the farms have no buyers and aren’t producing the hides. Most farms have the product already tanned and ready to ship and just lack the customers.
The industry doesn’t expect a turnaround any time soon either. One Louisiana alligator farm hasn’t sold a single skin in a year and probably won’t for another. Times are tough for everyone it seems. For fans of the previously popular handbag material, I guess we’ll just have to stick to faux versions or eBay auctions.
[Image: Steve Beger Photography/Flickr]
