Bags from companies, that don't use fur.
- Thread starter najse22
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Najse22 I appreciate your trying to make better ethical choices. I just wanted to comment on your above post that animals used for leathers ( mostly calf) are not treated any better than those kept for fur.
Calfs are separated from their mothers at birth so the mothers milk can go to humans. The female calf will be kept and raised to maturity to be artificially impregnated over and over for her milk.
The male calf gets about 6 weeks of life in a small shelter where he cannot move very much so his meat remains tender for veal and his skin soft for the leather
They do not get bedding or the warmth and love of their mother. They try desperately to suckle the fingers of the workers who lead them to their deaths.
Cows are supposed to be stunned with a stunner and then their skin is pulled from their body while still alive. Many go through the process fully aware because of production speed requirements.
When I learned this, and that cows who are known to be the most gentle creatures on the planet, I felt it in my gut. I have many expensive bags including two exotic but never made the connection between the animal and the leather, even though I was vegetarian.
I became completely vegan 8 months ago. I cannot afford at this point to get rid of my bags but I eventually plan to and give the money to a farm animal rescue.
I again commend you for being contentious. Many people are not aware of the reality. I wasnt. Its a process. I went from eating meat my entire life to vegetarian and finally vegan. Perhaps you may journey down the same road as well.
Peace
Najse22 I appreciate your trying to make better ethical choices. I just wanted to comment on your above post that animals used for leathers ( mostly calf) are not treated any better than those kept for fur.
Calfs are separated from their mothers at birth so the mothers milk can go to humans. The female calf will be kept and raised to maturity to be artificially impregnated over and over for her milk.
The male calf gets about 6 weeks of life in a small shelter where he cannot move very much so his meat remains tender for veal and his skin soft for the leather
They do not get bedding or the warmth and love of their mother. They try desperately to suckle the fingers of the workers who lead them to their deaths.
Cows are supposed to be stunned with a stunner and then their skin is pulled from their body while still alive. Many go through the process fully aware because of production speed requirements.
When I learned this, and that cows who are known to be the most gentle creatures on the planet, I felt it in my gut. I have many expensive bags including two exotic but never made the connection between the animal and the leather, even though I was vegetarian.
I became completely vegan 8 months ago. I cannot afford at this point to get rid of my bags but I eventually plan to and give the money to a farm animal rescue.
I again commend you for being contentious. Many people are not aware of the reality. I wasnt. Its a process. I went from eating meat my entire life to vegetarian and finally vegan. Perhaps you may journey down the same road as well.
Peace
Oh no, I wasn't aware of that, that is truly disturbing and terrible
!Fortunately, as I understand, the rules here in Denmark are stricter than in most contries, when it comes to putting down animals. And our free range animals lead somewhat acceptable lives. But I've just read up on the slaughter practices, and there's still a lot, that can be improved as the animals are stunned and then bled to death, which sounds quite barbaric! (At least they aren't skinned alive (which is rather vomit inducing).)
I think, that it is amazing that you're a vegan! Two of my best friends are vegetarians and they don't seem to miss meat at all.
And the fact that the meat indutry is really polluting is another great argument for giving up meat.
But I'm not sure, that I'm ready to not eat meat yet even though my conscience screams to me, that I should. I really wish that it would be easy for me, but I know that it won't.
I've given up eating starch for the last two and a half months and for the first time in 8 years, I'm losing weight instead of gaining it. I have lost 7 kg and have another 20 so shed and I really don't want to mess it up.
(The bag I have my eyes on are made from lambskin, I don't know if that's any better than calf...)
But thank you for your great response, it really gave me something to think about!
And again, it's so great that you're a vegan!!
Last edited:
Love this thread and your interest in supporting responsible companies.
Personally, I'm very conflicted. I've been a vegetarian for more than half my life, and yet I love bags. For what little it's worth, I never buy from the companies directly. I typically buy on eBay, which is admittedly selfish because the bags are less expensive there, and I know I'm still supporting the companies by contributing to the resale-ability (a word?) of their bags, but it makes me feel just a little bit better that I'm not buying from them directly.
Ignore the harsh and extremely misguided criticism you received. That poster's argument is essentially "if you can't eliminate your impact on animals then you are a hypocrite for trying to reduce it." Ridiculous on it's face.
Personally, I'm very conflicted. I've been a vegetarian for more than half my life, and yet I love bags. For what little it's worth, I never buy from the companies directly. I typically buy on eBay, which is admittedly selfish because the bags are less expensive there, and I know I'm still supporting the companies by contributing to the resale-ability (a word?) of their bags, but it makes me feel just a little bit better that I'm not buying from them directly.
Ignore the harsh and extremely misguided criticism you received. That poster's argument is essentially "if you can't eliminate your impact on animals then you are a hypocrite for trying to reduce it." Ridiculous on it's face.
Thank you so much!
I actually find it nice, that you buy from eBay and not from the companies that produce the leather. And you already do a lot of good by being a vegetarian!
And yeah, I found that the negative comment was rather weird! And anyways I'd rather be a hypocrite and do some good than not be a hypocrite and do no good
.My first post on TPF (other than the 'Authenticate this...' threads, oops) but I just wanted to say how pleased I am to read this. I'm exactly the same - I've been veggie for 14 years and vegan on and off. Spent so many years avoiding leather shoes, bags, wallets, key rings etc etc and I got to the point where I was completely fed up of the ugly, cheap-looking vegan alternatives. So now I try to buy leather bags pre-loved off eBay. I do buy my kids new leather shoes because I think they're best for their feet but I have 3 kids so the shoes get passed down and re-used.
It's so hard trying to balance ethics with a desire for quality products. I, too, wouldn't want to support companies that sell fur - but it seems to be everywhere at the moment!
Like you I am mortified by the treatment of animals in regards to fur, which I consider an old fashioned and barbarous practice. Having said that I buy items made with Lambskin, they are generally very high quality and last well, at the moment there are no viable alternatives for me. Also sheep are generally free range, and in the UK at least, have a certain quality of life- the same cannot be said for animals kept for fur and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. In the uk, most people eat meat, but few people would wear fur. Major department stores such as Selfridges and Libertys, refuse to stock fur, but do sell leather. So they are different things. I write to designers I like about this subject, asking them to stop designing using fur- and if enough people did this, things would change. It's as simple as that.
Oh, that's so great to hear that lambskin is a better alternative, than other materials that come from animals! And yes, I wondered if most sheep are freerange, as the lamb in the stores here generally seem to be freerange.
I think your attitude towards the fur industry is great (it really is a barbaric industry), and the fact that you write designers and ask them to stop using fur is fantastic!!
I support an anti-fur movement here in DK and also two animal welfare movements and sign their petitions, when they ask. But it's a great idea to write the designers directly!
I'll make myself a list of Danish designers to start with (already a few come to mind).
Hi
.Yes, it is almost impossible to buy ethically in every aspect!
Because not only would one not want to hurt animals, but a lot of cheaper clothes are produced under horrible conditions in Eastern Asia, and are then flewn to the western contries, which is really polluting. And I, for one, can't afford only to buy clothes that are made from organic cotton and made in Europe. But I wish I could!
And even food is rather tricky! I try to only buy freerange and organic meat and always buy freerage eggs and dairy. And I also buy a lot of organic vegetables. But a lot of fruit doesn't grow in Denmark and is flown in from around the world, which again equals huge amounts of pollution. And I do like to eat bananas, olives and avocados (to name a few) from time to time. Same goes for tea and coffee (I'm hugely addicted to the latter. Almost always buy organic and fairtrade, but it really doesn't help with the pollution of the aircraft.)
Then there's furniture, electricity; the sad list goes on and on (and, apparently, so do I. I'll stop myself now
).I think that if people do as much good as it is possible for them, it makes the world a little bit better. And people shouldn't feel guilty in not doing something that is out of their reach. I'd venture to say, that in todays society, it is impossible only to make good choices.
(BTW I fully understand you buy leather shoes for your kids, it really is the best choice for small feet
. And the vegan bag alternatives, I've seen, are really not impressive.)(More or less) on topic:
I've seen that the next design collaboration for H&M is with Alexander Wang.
H&M is anti-fur but Wang is pro-fur. So my question is: Do people in here think that it is okay to buy from the collection seeing that H&M is anti-fur or is it a no-no seeing that Wang is pro-fur?
(I probably wouldn't buy from the collection, when it promotes the Alexander Wang name. But I would like to get opinions on the matter.)
I've seen that the next design collaboration for H&M is with Alexander Wang.
H&M is anti-fur but Wang is pro-fur. So my question is: Do people in here think that it is okay to buy from the collection seeing that H&M is anti-fur or is it a no-no seeing that Wang is pro-fur?
(I probably wouldn't buy from the collection, when it promotes the Alexander Wang name. But I would like to get opinions on the matter.)
Would you post some photos of your bags when you get them?
I do buy from certain companies that use fur in their collections, though of course, I don't buy the items that have any fur on.
Hi
Yes, it is almost impossible to buy ethically in every aspect!
Because not only would one not want to hurt animals, but a lot of cheaper clothes are produced under horrible conditions in Eastern Asia, and are then flewn to the western contries, which is really polluting. And I, for one, can't afford only to buy clothes that are made from organic cotton and made in Europe. But I wish I could!
And even food is rather tricky! I try to only buy freerange and organic meat and always buy freerage eggs and dairy. And I also buy a lot of organic vegetables. But a lot of fruit doesn't grow in Denmark and is flown in from around the world, which again equals huge amounts of pollution. And I do like to eat bananas, olives and avocados (to name a few) from time to time. Same goes for tea and coffee (I'm hugely addicted to the latter. Almost always buy organic and fairtrade, but it really doesn't help with the pollution of the aircraft.)
Then there's furniture, electricity; the sad list goes on and on (and, apparently, so do I. I'll stop myself now
I think that if people do as much good as it is possible for them, it makes the world a little bit better. And people shouldn't feel guilty in not doing something that is out of their reach. I'd venture to say, that in todays society, it is impossible only to make good choices.
(BTW I fully understand you buy leather shoes for your kids, it really is the best choice for small feet
100% agree with you
On a completely different note, one of my worst bag experiences was with H&M after I bought a bronze drawstring duffle bag that lost its metallic and colour all over my more expensive D_V_F dress (and anything else it touched) I complained but H&M were completely uninrested, I ended up chucking the bag (something I never normally do) so be careful
Would you post some photos of your bags when you get them?
I'm going to order one of the Velvetine bags next Wedensday
.I most certainly will post a picture when it arrives!!
I almost can't wait
!
Last edited:
Ugh, that really blows! And really poor on their part that they didn't want anything to do with the damage. I will definately stay away from their bags with that in mind!
Thanks for the heads up!!
All true dearest PT!. H&M have no proper control of their supply chain and their quality is often haphazard. I've bought nice things from them, but to be honest it's so hit and miss not worth it for me. And as you say, they ve never heard of such a thing as customer service. It's just about low prices for them.
