Are alligator leather bags ethical?

Ohmygod alligator leather. It's just so wonderful. Even though it's timeless and stunning, I wasn't sure how I felt ethically about working with it. So I did a bunch of research. Turns out, it has an amazing story!

Flashback to the 1960's. American alligator, and several other animals, were nearly extinct. Conservation organizations started working with luxury brands to create a demand for products using alligator and crocodile leather as a financial incentive for land owners to protect them and the wetlands they live in. And a treaty called CITES was created to regulate international trade.

Fast forward to today, the American alligator population is thriving. It's one of the greatest species comebacks in modern history. Because of the incentive to maintain alligators' natural habitat, all of the other animals and plants living in the wetlands are also protected. And bonus! Wetlands may be 50 times more effective at battling climate change than rainforests! But they're disappearing rapidly all over the world and without the profit from alligator sales, they're nearly worthless, financially speaking. So the landowners are likely to drill for oil on them or convert them to much less environmentally friendly farmland.

So by investing in alligator leather, you're helping protect several species of animals, birds, marine life and plants, as well as the environment. And every part of the alligator gets used, providing food for people and alligator blood for medical research.

Amazing, right?