Chanel is banning the use of exotic skins from all its products

In another bid to ban the mistreatment of animals in the fashion industry, Chanel is the latest to announce a ban on all exotic skins.

The Parisian fashion house will stop manufacturing products - including handbags - with skin from snakes, crocodiles, lizards and galuchat (which are stingrays), as it's finding it harder and harder to source them sustainably.

It's quite a serious move from Chanel, who of course provide some of the most popular luxury designer handbags in the world.

In a statement, Chanel said, 'We are continually reviewing our supply chains to ensure they meet our expectations of integrity and traceability. In this context, it is our experience that it is becoming increasingly difficult to source exotic skins which match our ethical standards.'

The decision is all the more surprising that whilst many bands have banned faux fur - Gucci, Tom Ford, Burberry amongst others - designers haven't really tackled the use of animal skin yet.

PETA welcomed the decision, saying they've been chatting to the brand for a few years about this.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.