vegetarians - do you wear leather jackets?

[Anonymous]

If you are vegetarian - do you wear leather jackets?

I'm a lifelong veg - I do wear leather shoes and carry a leather bag. I have not worn a leather jacket mostly because I've been kind of icked out by the idea of animal flesh that close to my face.

Lately I've been considering getting a secondhand leather jacket for the fall. I feel like it being secondhand sort of absolves some of the moral problems I have with leather. But I'm still wrestling with how I will feel about actually owning and wearing it.

Anyone gone through this mental gymnastic exercise and come out one way or another?

Please, I am begging non-vegetarians to let us veggies have this one conversation without your important input about all the things we're doing wrong in life!

[Anonymous]

Of course not. I don’t buy leather at all if I can help it.

[Anonymous]

Yes I wear leather. I have myriad reasons for being vegetarian - one of which is the ethical reasons. I am not grossed out by leather. A used leather jacket is exponentially better for the environment and other social justice metrics than buying a new comparably warm jacket, no matter what the material.

[Anonymous]

No I don’t.

[Anonymous]

No leather at all. It makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I am a pure vegetarian for health reasons.

[Anonymous]

Shoes, yes. A jacket, probably not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shoes, yes. A jacket, probably not.

+1 because of the ick factor. I do agree with PP that leather is likely better for the environment than a lot of alternatives.

[Anonymous]

I do not.

[Anonymous]

Leather shoes, yes, because they're substantially more comfortable and hold up longer--therefore, better for the environment/planet overall. Bags and jackets (and seats in cars), no. There are plenty of appropriate substitutes that are better for the planet and for other animals, as well.

[Anonymous]

I'm a vegetarian, I wear leather shoes and have a leather purse (a nice one that will last 10+ years of daily use), but I wouldn't buy a leather jacket. However, what I think shouldn't matter to you. I would think it's OK to wear a 2nd hand one, but it's whatever you're comfortable with.

[Anonymous]

I’m a lifelong vegetarian who uses leather products. I don’t own a jacket because I haven’t found one that looks good on me, but I can’t imagine making a distinction between types of leather products. You use them or you don’t, depending on the reason you are vegetarian in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Isn't the leather just a byproduct of the meat trade? Like if it didn't go to leather it would be thrown away?

You'd sweat like crazy in a pleather jacket.

[Anonymous]

I’m a vegetarian and I’ve thought about this (and fur in general) a lot. I still don’t own a leather jacket but my thinking about this has evolved a lot over the past decade or so once I realized just how bad fake leather is for the environment. A real leather jacket (or a fur)—- if taken care of well— can last decades. It fees much more environmentally sustainable than a lot of other materials (not just fake leather). Also, fur producers are big supporters of efforts to combat climate change (obviously it’s in their business interests) and I’m sure there are places that have shifted to production practices that are not as painful as they used to be. It’s definitely not for everyone but for me (or for ppl who are veg for environmental reasons), it’s in more of a grey zone than the black/white view I had earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the leather just a byproduct of the meat trade? Like if it didn't go to leather it would be thrown away?

You'd sweat like crazy in a pleather jacket.

This is OP - and sort of yes and sort of no. Also I don't support the meat trade, so I don't get a pass there! But since I do use some leather products, it feels like a funny distinction to be ok with a bag or shoes - and I used to wear leather skirts, too - but not the jacket. It being funny doesn't overcome my reservations, which I think are primarily aesthetic (again, feels weird) instead of specifically moral.

I've tried fake leather - even some high end fake leather - and, based on what I've seen so far, I just don't like it.