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It
doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the commonality in fur, leather, wool and
silk - all derived from living creatures (I would say animal-derived, but I'm
not so sure a silk worm is an animal per say). So if you are a vegetarian by
diet and are wearing garments made from any of these fabrics, you may want to
rethink your wardrobe.
Certainly, not everybody goes
vegetarian in the name of
animal rights. For some people, it is simply a choice of nutrition. For the
majority of vegans, however, animal rights plays a strong role. Where do you fit
in? Considering the myriad of sustainable clothing alternatives that are not
just better for their dead benefactors, but are also better for you and the
environment, fur, wool, leather and silk really do have less relevance this day
and age.
Did you know that an investigation last year by the Humane Society found that
96% of the fur on fur-trimmed jackets sold at large retail stores in the U.S.
came from domestic dogs, wolf's and the Asiatic raccoon dog, and that these
jackets were either mislabeled or not labeled at all? Since most of this fur is
imported (mainly from China), there is no way to know exactly what is happening
to these animals. But you can bet that whatever it is, it's inhumane. Did you know that many sheep freeze to death or die
from exhaustion because of an unnatural overproduction of wool? Or that it takes
over 100 worm cocoons to make a tie and over 600 cocoons to make a woman's
blouse, which are only to be steamed or boiled alive?
Leather especially has a severe toll on both the animals providing it and the
environment. Over 1 billion animals are killed each year for leather, the bulk
of which are cows in the U.S. Besides the fact that leather is tanned with a
number of environmental toxins like formaldehyde, cyanide-based oils, dyes and
cold-tar derivatives, half of the water supply in the U.S. goes toward growing
the crops that are made into feed for the agriculture industry. Furthermore, the
same animals that are killed for their skin and meat contribute nearly 20% of
all global warming gases and consume 90% of soy crops, 80% of corn crops and 70%
of grain crops grown in the U.S. - all of which are high-pesticide crops.
When searching for cruelty-free and sustainable clothing alternatives, look
for 100% organic cotton, bamboo, recycled polyester, PET (recycled plastic),
hemp, and soy fabrics. Pleather and vinyl are great alternatives for leather,
while Tencel is a great alternative for silk and Fleece and Flannel are
excellent substitutes for wool. If you do buy wool clothing, be sure you know
where it's coming from. There are some sheep farmers who use sustainable and
humane practices for harvesting their wool. Eco-friendly shoe manufacturer,
Simple Shoes
uses this very same wool in some of their eco-friendly shoes. Also, shop for your clothes at secondhand
stores. Not only is this a great economic alternative, you are bound to find
some fashionable, vintage duds.
Author: Ry
TIPS for the VEGETARIAN Lifestyle
DECEMBER '07 TIPS
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