Update: April 8 at 1:30 p.m. ET: Although bebe acknowledged receipt of PETA's cease-and-desist letter and promised us a response, PETA has not received one and bebe continues to misrepresent itself to the public as a fur-free company. So PETA has filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) regarding the retailer's consumer deception. The bureau can now ask bebe to resolve PETA's grievance. It can also post our complaint to bebe's BBB webpage, which could negatively impact the company's BBB rating.

Originally posted on January 28 at 11:25 a.m. ET:

As everyone knows, some customers won't shop for anything in a store that sells fur, just as they won't buy "pet" supplies in a store that sells animals. Even though bebe currently sells rabbit and chinchilla fur in some of its stores, on two separate occasions—one as recent as January 15—callers to bebe's customer service line were told that bebe doesn't sell fur. One caller recorded her conversation, which you can listen to here. PETA's attorneys have sent a cease-and-desist advisory to Steve Birkhold, bebe's CEO, letting him know that if bebe doesn't either start being honest with customers or actually stop selling real fur, PETA may take the company from the mall to the courthouse for engaging in false advertising, which is a violation of both state and federal laws.

It's no wonder that bebe wants to cover up the fact that it's selling real fur. In China, where bebe sources much of its fur, workers pull rabbits out of cages by their ears and stun the screaming animals with electrical devices. And in China as well as other countries, animals are bludgeoned to death, electrocuted, and often even skinned alive, as documented in this undercover footage. 

As bebe is likely learning, few people are willing to patronize retailers that support such cruelty. Let bebe know that you are one of many potential customers who will refuse to buy its clothing until its shelves truly are fur-free.

The ladies of the Lingerie Football League are part of the NFL (No Fur League), and they want to make sure that everyone gets drafted. The BC Angels are the latest team to join PETA's anti-fur campaign, asking Vancouver to "tackle cruelty: bench fur."

The gals had a ball tossing around the faux pigskin and talking to holiday shoppers about how fur is a personal foul.

And when a woman in a ridiculous fur hat got snippy with them, the classy lassies snapped right back, politely telling her that while they may choose to take a beating on the field, animals who are killed for their fur would definitely choose not to be beaten, electrocuted, or skinned alive. 

Help intercept the cruel fur industry by telling bebe that you won't be buying until it takes fur out of the game.

It's Cyber Monday, the day when online shoppers can find deals on everything from flat screens to flat sheets. But there's one retailer whose sales should just flatline: bebe.

Why throw bebe out with the bathwater? Unlike many of its compassionate competitors—including J.Crew, Talbots, and Limited Brands—bebe has begun selling real fur. The company apparently thinks that nothing screams "festive" like animals screaming while the skin is ripped off their bodies.

So five animals whose friends and family members are often killed for their fur are here to show everyone that real fur looks good only on its original owner and to ask you to make bebe a no-no this holiday season. 

1. Rabbits are hopping mad at bebe.

2. Dogs want you to walk them, not wear them. 

3. Foxes need your help to outfox cruel companies that still sell fur.

4. Cats are ready to give bebe some serious catitude. 

5. Chinchillas are chatterboxes when they're together, and you can bet they would have plenty to say about bebe's fur coats. 

Please tell bebe that you won't buy while animals die and urge the company to finally ditch fur furever.

It’s always great news when a major retailer emerges from the dark ages and realizes that it’s not in its best interests to support the barbaric fur industry. And the bottom line here is that after extensive negotiations between PETA and bebe, the company has agreed to stop buying fur to sell in its stores—which means that no more animals will suffer for bebe’s clothing lines. So, hooray for that.

The bad news is that the company has refused to pull the fur from its racks until after the Holiday season, which means they get one more round of profits from promoting an industry that electrocutes animals and skins them alive. Which is why we’re asking consumers to refuse to shop at bebe this season in favor of compassionate retailers that either never sold fur or have already pulled it from their shelves (like, for instance, Ann Taylor, Charlotte Russe, Donna Karen, Express, Gap, H&M, J. Crew, Jones Apparel, Polo Ralph Lauren, Talbots, Tommy Hilfiger, Urban Outfitters, Wet Seal, or Zara).

So there you have it—it’s a bit lousy of bebe to continue to profit from fur sales over the next three months, but their decision to stop buying the stuff does make a big difference to the animals used by the fur industry, which now has one less major company to fuel their profits. A huge thank you to everyone who helped us out by contacting bebe about this issue during our negotiations!

…Speaking of which—if you haven’t contacted the folks at Burberry yet about their refusal to even acknowledge the horrors they’re funding by selling fur, please take a few moments to let Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts know what you think.

Bebe's recent announcement that it is going fur-free is nothing short of a cheap media stunt, since they're still planning to sell the skins of tortured bunnies through the winter. For the past year, we’ve been negotiating with the clothing retailer to pull the fur from their shelves, and today, in a clear attempt to stop a forthcoming boycott campaign, the company sent out a news release that they must have hoped would ward off protests. Unfortunately, while it's a step, it doesn't go far enough.

The rabbits killed to be made into cuffs and collars for bebe spend their entire lives in tiny, filthy cages, and die gruesome deaths at the hands of fur farmers, who break their necks or smash their skulls—more concerned about preserving the pelt than they are about the welfare of these tortured animals.

All of bebe's competitors have stopped selling fur including Ann Taylor, Charlotte Russe, Donna Karen, Express, Gap, H&M, J. Crew, Jones Apparel, Polo Ralph Lauren, Talbots, Tommy Hilfiger, Urban Outfitters, Wet Seal, Zara, and more. Plenty of choices for shopping this holiday season!

Please click here to contact bebe and ask that they pull the fur from their shelves immediately. Even one more day of bebe selling rabbit fur is too long.