vegetarians - do you wear leather jackets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

This is OP - and I think you and I are thinking about this in similar ways.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I have a few vegetarian friends who do wear leather and use leather products. Their logic is that the nation is primarily omnivorous and until that changes, there are going to be animals slaughtered. Having them slaughtered for meat and then discarding the other parts, is a horrible waste and really devalues the animal. Even if you aren't consuming the flesh of the animal, you can keep people from discarding the carcass. Think of it as a conservation type gesture. Your abstention from using leather products will not stop or decrease the number of animals slaughtered. Likewise your use of the skin, will not increase the number of animals slaughtered as there are far more animals slaughtered for food than for byproducts like leather.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a vegetarian, but I have a few vegetarian friends who do wear leather and use leather products. Their logic is that the nation is primarily omnivorous and until that changes, there are going to be animals slaughtered. Having them slaughtered for meat and then discarding the other parts, is a horrible waste and really devalues the animal. Even if you aren't consuming the flesh of the animal, you can keep people from discarding the carcass. Think of it as a conservation type gesture. Your abstention from using leather products will not stop or decrease the number of animals slaughtered. Likewise your use of the skin, will not increase the number of animals slaughtered as there are far more animals slaughtered for food than for byproducts like leather.

This logic makes no sense. If you use leather you should use all parts of the animal.

My abstaining is because I don’t want to eat or wear animals killed when there are alternatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Being vegetarian means no leather or fur. Lots of other options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Being vegetarian means no leather or fur. Lots of other options.

It doesn't actually. It means not eating meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Being vegetarian means no leather or fur. Lots of other options.

It doesn't actually. It means not eating meat.

This. And if you’re vegetarian for ethical reasons, choosing leather/fur alternatives is worse for animals because it introduces microplastics into the ecosystem. I most prefer fabric styles so I’m not faced to this dilemma (eg wool coats, canvas bags) but I would go with secondhand durable animal products over plastic alternatives.

[Anonymous]

I do wear leather jackets and shoes and have leather bags. I try to buy quality items (often second-hand via The Real Real) and use them as long as possible. I don't feel 100% great about it, to be honest, and do seek out quality alternatives. But like several people point out, there are problems with synthetics too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

+2.

[Anonymous]

No, and no leather furnture.

[Anonymous]

I will wear second hand only leather shoes or maybe a purse. The animal already died, so throwing the shoe into a landfill doesn't help any animal or us.

No, I stay away from plastics, too, as much as I can. Frankly it's harder to give up plastics than leather. Plastic rules our planet.

Look, we are all destroying the planet every minute of every day. I'm just trying to minimize the cruelty we've imposed on animals. There's more I can do, though.

[Anonymous]

You’re all wrong that leather is a byproduct of the meat industry. It’s one or the other. They don’t kill the animal for its meat then sell the hide. It just doesn’t happen that way in the US.

Did you also know that most faux fur is made with dog and cat fur?

[Anonymous]

Veg for 35 years. A secondhand leather jacket? I’d maybe consider it. But it does feel a bit ickier somehow than leather shoes or a bag. That said, in the early 2000s I had a pair of leather pants and LOVED them… they were incredible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Veg for 35 years. A secondhand leather jacket? I’d maybe consider it. But it does feel a bit ickier somehow than leather shoes or a bag. That said, in the early 2000s I had a pair of leather pants and LOVED them… they were incredible.

This is OP - and right?? I LOVED my leather skirts - all secondhand - but even though I think leather jackets are morally no different, look great, and are super practical, too, I just feel sort of queasy at the thought of them. It is not rational.

[Anonymous]

Lifelong vegetarian, and I do have a leather bag, shoes and a jacket. I get a ton of use out of those items. I’m not sure that I have a good justification beyond the fact that I’m avoiding other icky things by using them, such as fast fashion and microplastics. It took me years to make the decision to purchase though - I finally got a jacket for my 40th birthday and don’t regret it.

[Anonymous]

I am another lifelong vegetarian, but I was raised that way and remain that way for health reasons not moral/ethical or climate ones. I own and wear all sorts of leather items, including a suede jacket. I might think differently if I was a vegetarian for other reasons, but it's never been an issue for me.