pleather thou?

[the_siobhan]

I was thinking about something totally different tonight, and somehow two things converged in my head, and I started wondering.

How does the carbon footprint of leather shoes compare with those made out of petro-chemicals?

I think this popped up because I was reading about PETA's public statement that one cannot be an environmentalist while consuming animal products and then I started thinking about how I really can't see myself wearing clothes that are made of artificial fibres, and it kind of snowballed from there. Most leather comes from cows which are horrible for the environment. Artificial substitutes are made from a non-renewable resource, but the issue is less about running out of the stuff as it is what kind of mess we make using it.

So what do you think?

Comments

[jin-aili.livejournal.com]

This is an interesting question. I've been vegetarian for over 6 years now, and I haven't stopped buying leather shoes. To be honest, it's mainly because I'm too lazy to think really hard about the issue. But my excuse is this: until they start raising and killing cows just for their leather, and not for their meat, which means that leather is a by-product that would go to waste if not made into useful things, I don't consider buying leather things to be subject to the same rules as eating meat. I'd rather that if we're going to kill the animals anyway, we use up as much of the body as possible.

A friend of mine who makes soap asked a related question a while back about soaps that contain tallow, which is beef fat, and whether vegetarians would be bothered, and I had the same answer.

[eciklb.livejournal.com]

I'm curious - does your stance on byproducts extend to food? I.e., do you consume gelatin?

[jin-aili.livejournal.com]

yes, I do take the same position on things like gelatin and rennet, although if I spent more energy to really understand how they are produced, it is possible I might have to change my mind. But I'm lazy!