Does anyone love bags but have an issue with leather?

[purselova34]

All, but only have vanchetta leather products myself and my family members have fur.

 

[chloehandbags]

All, but only have vanchetta leather products myself and my family members have fur.

Well, I don't think wearing leather is cruel or vain, as the animal was killed to provide meat first and leather second.

However, that is certainly the case with fur.

My mother was from a lower upper class background and all her horseriding pals went hunting, however, she refused, on the basis that it was cruel.

My grandmother wore fur and yet neither my mother, nor myself, followed in her footsteps; so it is possible to not just blindly follow the previous generation, or your friends.

As for respecting fur wearers' feelings, who is respecting the animals' feelings?!

 

[bagluv]

This Is A Hard Subject....I Know So Many ~ Who Feel So Many Different Ways. It Defintely Should Be How You Feel.

I Say Go Into Chanel & Check It Out. The SA's Are The Best & So Hopeful....If You're Not Comfortable...You Will Know!

 

[Danica]

What other way is there to feel but compassionate?
That's the part I've never understood. Some people are just really evil, obviously (animals are getting skinned alive, after all) so in conclusion, its the same type of people who just don't care and wear it anyways. Sad but true.

 

[chloehandbags]

What other way is there to feel but compassionate?
That's the part I've never understood. Some people are just really evil, obviously (animals are getting skinned alive, after all) so in conclusion, its the same type of people who just don't care and wear it anyways. Sad but true.

Exactly.

If these people felt the same way about child abuse, they would be labelled psychopaths.

 

[Danica]

Yup, nobody is going to speak up and say "I'm okay with child abuse/humans getting skinned alive/third world hunger etc so why is it okay to say it on this topic.

 

[chloehandbags]

Yup, nobody is going to speak up and say "I'm okay with child abuse/humans getting skinned alive/third world hunger etc so why is it okay to say it on this topic.

I don't know.

I suppose, because it is still considered to be a valid point of view.

Whereas, if someone said;

'I abuse children and I think that whether you abuse children, or not, is down to the individual and we should respect each other's opinions on that.'

I presume that they would, hopefully(!), get arrested in a dawn police raid!

 

[LucreziaCA]

I struggle with this as well.
It can be a slippery slope...I am a veggie, but I eat dairy (though I almost always purchase from small dairies where the animals are treated kindly), but then I feel guilty about even THAT, and I know vegs that object to even honey, and then there are Jains that object to root vegetables, because you kill the entire plant...I think being mindful and conscious of how our actions affect the world and all living creatures is the only solution.

 

[Danica]

I don't know.

I suppose, because it is still considered to be a valid point of view.

Whereas, if someone said;

'I abuse children and I think that whether you abuse children, or not, is down to the individual and we should respect each other's opinions on that.'

I presume that they would, hopefully(!), get arrested in a dawn police raid!

LOL exactly, people would be screaming bloody murder! and why shouldn't they!

 

[chloehandbags]

I struggle with this as well.
It can be a slippery slope...I am a veggie, but I eat dairy (though I almost always purchase from small dairies where the animals are treated kindly), but then I feel guilty about even THAT, and I know vegs that object to even honey, and then there are Jains that object to root vegetables, because you kill the entire plant...I think being mindful and conscious of how our actions affect the world and all living creatures is the only solution.

I agree. You sound like a very sweet and caring person.

 

[monablu]

well don't forget too that in just buying the bags you are contributing to sweat shop working conditions and this does NOT apply to the fake bags - it very much applies to authentic bags as well - as I have family members and even myself before I was college educated worked in these 'machinedas' in mexico after ther NAFTA aggreement. The rather silly thing that I feel when hearing people say they will or won't buy a real vs fake bag or vice versa is based on subjective theory and not actual reality.

the reality is that any factory which manufactors tangible goods is a sucky place to work. period. you as a consumer can decide if you will pay the increased cost for the experience - as I do - or save money and buy 'inspired' stuff because at the end of the day, the people who actually cut, stitch and produce the final bags are pretty much similar in both instances.

I do believe that everyone has a political battle that gets taken to the next level and we should all agree to respect that but there is never a simple solution to a complex issue...so whether you are against the materials of the bags, the treatment of the animal before becoming a bag, or the horrible working conditions of the PEOPLE who made the bag getting paid minimum wage so the board of director's profit margin gets fluffed by over 1000% - stand by your belief!

while I was in high school I worked for a machinera in mexico manufacturing designer handbags and it just is not glamourous at the official factory, or the fake factory across the street.

and so in this instance, ignorance is not bliss.

 

[chloehandbags]

LOL exactly, people would be screaming bloody murder! and why shouldn't they!

Exactly.

You even get a tongue lashing from some people, if you don't agree with this type of criminal being tortured in prison, or receiving the death penalty and yet, five minutes later they are happily telling everyone that they love wearing fur!

 

[Crystal05]

THanks Chloehandbags, but IS it really just a byproduct? That's what I want to know. If we all stopped eating meat because of some new epidemic (just imagine) would leather products stop being produced?
I am not sure if this 'byproduct' is just a justification- I use it too, but are we right?

I personally want to come up with something that I am happy with, so I am appreciating all comments thanks!

I hear Stella McCartney bags are animal free btw.

 

[Crystal05]

The leather is a more ambiguous issue b/c of the by-product aspect and I am so glad, crystal, that you brought it up!! I know exactly what you mean. Even though leather is a by-product, it still comes from the factory farming industry, and it is still a dead animal. When we buy it, we still help farmers who abuse their animals. Even though I think pictures of those chanel bags are gorgeous, when I see them in person, I can't get over the fact that they are made of animal skin. On the other hand, I have lots of jacquard bags w/ leather trim...which makes me feel like a total hypocrite, but somehow the trim doesn't seem as extreme. hmmm...I'm going to keep thinking about this -- we should talk about it more

btw, if animals were raised with love and kindness, given happy lives and freedom, and THEN were PAINLESSLY slaughtered, I would have almost no problem w/ eating meat, wearing fur, etc. It's just that the current system is brutal and not humane at all. Sorry so long, this is a big issue w/ me!

THanks! I agree we need more info. I would love to hear from those who really know the indstry- where the Chanel etc get their leather from etc

 

[varsha624]

Thank you for that Crystal - that is info that everyone should know (particularly on a forum like this) and if you hadn't said it, I would have been forced to!

I am a vegetarian, because I care about animals equally to humans, despite the fact that my body doesn't seem to want me to be!

According to the blood type diet, as I am type O (and that is apparently the original and oldest type) I should be living, almost exclusively, on meat!

I do have calfskin, lambskin and goatskin bags and shoes; but as I have said before, this is only because these skins are a by-product of the meat industry.

As I have also said before, if everybody else stopped eating meat, I would not only be very happy, but I would also, of course, never dream of buying another leather item.

I do, often, think of the animal that the skin belonged to and it does upset me greatly, even though I was not responsible for its death.

However, I do not see why the carnivores of this world should be the only ones to get to have all the fun of wearing the skin, as well as eating the meat!

And as for fur wearers...:evil:

You know what, I was raised vegetarian (I come from a south indian brahmin family who's cuisine is vegetarian but we do use cow's milk and yoghurt and ghee) A few years ago I fell very ill after a traumatic event in my life and in the healing odessey that followed was introduced to alternative healing methods and diets like the Blood type diet. I'm also O blood type. I'm O negative and was horrified to learn that I should eat meat! I started eating a bit and now feel that it is good for me to eat at least eggs and a bit of meat every once in a while, but am still loyal to the diet I was raised with, and do not like the idea of eating meat at all, although my body seems to like it. It's sort of a strange conundrum. I do try to be conscious about it as much as possible.