Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Not just about food.

For most vegans, veganism isn't all about food, it's also about not wearing animal products. For some reason, vegetarians aren't as into this belief. I asked my sister, a pescatarian, aka seafood-eating vegetarian, about this. She buys leather shoes, but wasn't interested in buying a leather couch (I believe that's because the fabric doesn't need to be as sturdy..or something). She says it's because leather shoes last a lot longer than man-made materials and (I think she said this) that the cows were already being killed for their meat. I was once when of those vegetarians that didn't think about leather, but now I wonder why I didn't. What about becoming vegan gets someone thinking more about what they're wearing?

I think your opinion about this matter depends a lot on why you abstain from the animal products you do. If you're eating vegetarian/vegan for health reasons, obviously you're not going to care about wearing leather or not. And if part of the reason is for environmental reasons...well, I'm not sure what the effect of man-made materials are on the Earth. I would say that from I've read, leather doesn't sound that much better.

What has your experience been with this subject matter?

In upcoming posts I will post about where I buy my vegan shoes, etc. But, for now, I must go, my job calls!

5 comments:

N said...

It doesn't seem like I actually have to go out of my way to find alternatives to leather or other animal products these days.

If I'm in Ross looking for shoes there are always a plethora of manmade as well as leather shoes. Why must people act like these choices are hardships or sacrifices..

It just seems like with almost no extra effort (looking at a label) one can make a more intelligent choice, so why wouldn't you?

*rant over* haha, good idea for a post!

Gina Guillotine said...

My experience has been with non-leather shoes they don't feel comfortable, and I have problems with arthritis in my feet, so I have to have a good amount of "squish" and comfort. I'm not a teenager anymore who can make do with Chuck Taylors or something.

I always look for vegan alternatives first, try them on (I cannot do mail order shoes, they never work), but failing that, I'm not going to further ruin my feet. I'm only 46, I've got a few more decades of walking to do, and they need to be as pain-free as possible.

I wear my shoes for years and years, so it really doesn't bother me to invest $100 in a pair of really good-quality leather shoes. I'm still wearing Doc Martens books I bought 15 years ago, and they look brand new. I'm also wearing 8 year old Doc Martens sandals, and my Merrils are probably 3 now. They were the last shoes purchased.

When you have problems with foot pain, and having cold days wreak utter havoc on your toe joints and the balls of your feet, and you have difficulty even standing in your own kitchen when it's 50 degrees outside, doing the right thing actually means buying the best, most comfortable shoes your feet will tolerate, and if they are leather, then so be it.

victoria said...

Hey, I have a vegan shoe blog where I have posted about so many awesome sits online that sell vegan or what i call "unintentionally vegan" shoes made with all manmade materials because it is cheaper than non leather. There are awesome shoes out there, and I totally agree with what Nicole said that it really does not take that much extra effort at all to buy vegan shoes. I'm only a vegetarian but I still buy non leather shoes. My blog is www.marthaflatley.wordpress.com in case you are interested.

KitteeBee said...

i thought your sister wasn't interested in that "fruit leather" couch she saw on cl, because it would be too sticky?

anyway, that's what i heard and i'm sticking with it.

as for me, yea i don't want to support animal agri-business in any way, shape or form. some animals are killed only for their skins. even if leather is a by product of factory farming, it is gross. i sure don't want to wear torture on my feet, and if folks stop demanding leather with their wallets, i bet it WILL make a positive aspect in some way--in the future. people need to start believe in a vegan world NOW, so in the future, we can create our dream of peace.

xo
kittee

Abby Bean said...

Just like with leather shoes, man-made shoes can be found in every style, price-range, and quality level. It might take a little extra effort, but compassion is never a waste of time.