Another major department store has announced it is scrapping the sale of elephant ivory products amid pressure from animal welfare activists and lawmakers. The Chinese Goods Centre (CGCL) in North Point is the fourth major retailer to slap a ban on ivory sales within 12 months, after similar measures were implemented by Wing On, Yue Hwa and Chinese Arts & Crafts last year. The 52-year-old department store said it had told its tenant supplier in late November to stop selling products made of ivory items listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. We are aware that a business … should not only be about profit, it should also take on its social and environmental and conservation responsibility, CGCL director Wong Chow Kuen-kuen wrote in a letter. The letter was a reply to pro-Beijing lawmaker Elizabeth Quat, following repeated demands from her for the store to halt ivory product sales. Quat called the move a good sign as it meant most of the citys major retailers were now ivory-free. But she said: There must be a sales ban because the system to regulate licensed ivory traders does not work. Quat added: Legal and illegal ivory stocks can be sold together and the government cannot monitor any of this. Wong could not be reached yesterday but a spokeswoman confirmed there was no longer any ivory on sale at the store. She added that the tenant had been cooperative and would have incurred some losses after having to take stock off the shelves. She did not say how the stocks would be dealt with. Several ivory products, including a figurine of Chinese warrior god Guan Yu, are still listed for sale on the department stores website - which has yet to be updated. see more....
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 05:24:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015