Ethics Newsline®

LONDON
Following a photo in the tabloid London Mirror that the paper claimed was supermodel Kate Moss snorting cocaine, several companies that used her image to sell products are dropping their association with her.

While Moss did not directly admit cocaine use, late last week she released a statement saying, “I take full responsibility for my actions. I also accept that there are various personal issues that I need to address and have started taking the difficult, yet necessary, steps to resolve them,” according to the International Herald Tribune.

Clothing-maker Burberry canceled its fall campaign featuring Moss, and Chanel said that it will drop her as the face of its Mademoiselle perfume. The Hennes and Mauritz clothing firm also said it is ending its relationship with Moss.

Allure magazine editor Linda Wells told USA Today that the firms’ decisions were straightforward. “If you’re selling products to teenagers or products that represent certain values and a very public case comes along,” she said, “you don’t want to be associated with it.”