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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.