Elephant is done by legal culling. (DH ordered a custom elephant belt from le flotte in NY made by Duret.com, and it’s incredibly durable and beautiful and has withstood hard wear— DH is really heard on his belts). I’m assuming ostrich is farmed and each retailer should be able to tell you. YMMV on whether or not to buy or wear items that are exotic skins.
Is ostrich leather ever ethical? If so, what brands?
- Thread starter MidlifeFashionPrincess
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Elephant culling is legal (in parts of Africa), but again, it only has to adhere to CITES. That does not mean it's humane. Often (particularly in Zimbabwe) the chance to kill an elephant is sold off to tourist hunters.
Unfortunately, the more demand there is for all parts of elephants, the more the poachers have to sell if they kill a tusker, so trade in elephant skin does tend to encourage poaching. Encouraging the elephant market also creates more demand for Asian elephants.
The legal sale of ivory and other elephant parts obscures the huge illegal trade. I remember reading of the visit of high-level Chinese government reps to Tanzania. Due the huge demand for ivory souvenirs, the black market price of ivory doubled.
www.vox.com
www.theguardian.com
Chinese leader's delegation to Tanzania bought so much illegal ivory the price doubled
Vox is a general interest news site for the 21st century. Its mission: to help everyone understand our complicated world, so that we can all help shape it. In text, video and audio, our reporters explain politics, policy, world affairs, technology, culture, science, the climate crisis, money...
www.vox.com
Elephant ivory price ‘spiked as China VIPs snapped up thousands of kilos’
Beijing dismisses scathing EIA report on wildlife trade which claims ivory haul of Xi Jinping delegates in Tanzania doubled price on illegal market
I think Ostrich leather is way more ethical than reptilian leathers as long as the ostrich were farm raised. Not poached from the wild. At least with Ostrich, their meat are a delicacy and no body of the animal is wasted either.
Ostrich is so darn yummy … like an even bigger and better Turkey. 
I actually went to an Ostrich farm in Curaçao. Great tour, fed them, pet them, even rode one (they are very fast). When it was time for lunch, Ostrich was on the menu. I just couldn’t do it! I ordered vegetarian. My family ate it and enjoyed. Lol. Silly me.Ostrich is so darn yummy … like an even bigger and better Turkey.
Ostrich leather isn't actually a by-product, its the main reason the animals are farmed. Originally they were valuable for feathers, but since about the 1940s they've only been valuable for fashion uses. 80% of the value is in the skin, only about 20% is in the meat, which is the inverse of other animals that are farmed (non-exotics).
Personally I don't consider that ethical, but arguably it all comes down to how the animal lives. The majority of it comes from South Africa, and tbh Im not overly convinced about the industry regulation. I wouldn't buy it from a label, but I might consider it from a smaller brand who could trace the animal back to the farm.
Last edited:
The bad news is that Hermes have the ethical supply chains. Like, they literally bought all the Australian crocodile farms & the best farms for every other type of skin. LMVH bought everything that Hermes didn't buy. This is one of the main reasons Chanel stopped using exotics, they literally couldn't get any that were ethically sourced anymore.
Since they own the ethical farms, any non-hermes/LV exotic leather products probably aren't ethically sourced. They tend to be from farms in poorer countries, that are overcrowded, cant afford to feed the animals well and have some concerning ways of killing them. Pythons are injected with botox to keep the skin supple (really), snakes are force fed water to loosen the skin, its not pretty.
It's worth noting that even on the ethical farms, animals have to be kept isolated for a long time to make sure the skin is perfect. For crocodiles that means 9 months in a cage before they're killed. They're also killed at about 5 years old, when in the wild they live about 70 years.
Theres a good reason that brands are moving away from exotic leathers or creating their own supply chains. Though calfskin and lambskin are actually just as cruel, if not worse, and none of the major luxury brands have addressed that issue so far.
Since they own the ethical farms, any non-hermes/LV exotic leather products probably aren't ethically sourced. They tend to be from farms in poorer countries, that are overcrowded, cant afford to feed the animals well and have some concerning ways of killing them. Pythons are injected with botox to keep the skin supple (really), snakes are force fed water to loosen the skin, its not pretty.
It's worth noting that even on the ethical farms, animals have to be kept isolated for a long time to make sure the skin is perfect. For crocodiles that means 9 months in a cage before they're killed. They're also killed at about 5 years old, when in the wild they live about 70 years.
Theres a good reason that brands are moving away from exotic leathers or creating their own supply chains. Though calfskin and lambskin are actually just as cruel, if not worse, and none of the major luxury brands have addressed that issue so far.
Hello dear, do you have sources for your info that you could add. Thank you so much.
Ive done quite a bit of research, but a lot of the sources are behind a pay wall. Business of Fashion has lots of good articles, if you are interested I recommend signing up to them.
Theres lots of articles from PETA, which are definitely designed for shock value, but I also try to read articles from the other perspective. However so far Im unconvinced by the leather companies that argue that exotic skin is saving the animals, especially in places like Australia which can manage the species by returning the land to Indigenous owners and farmers, not selling it to Hermes.
Heres a few places to start:
www.theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com
www.worldanimalprotection.org.au
www.theguardian.com
Theres lots of articles from PETA, which are definitely designed for shock value, but I also try to read articles from the other perspective. However so far Im unconvinced by the leather companies that argue that exotic skin is saving the animals, especially in places like Australia which can manage the species by returning the land to Indigenous owners and farmers, not selling it to Hermes.
Heres a few places to start:
The ethical wardrobe: Is it OK to wear leather?
Many ethical consumers excuse their leather purchases on the grounds that skins are simply a byproduct of the meat industry. The reality is not so simple, as Kate Carter reveals
Australian farm to hold 50,000 crocodiles for luxury Hermès goods questioned by animal welfare groups
Farm to supply skins to make handbags and shoes would be one of the biggest in Australia under plan approved by Northern Territory government
Australian crocodiles to be cruelly slaughtered on new Hermès farm
French luxury brand Hermès plans to greatly expand their farming of Australian saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory, if plans for an additional crocodile facility proceed.
www.worldanimalprotection.org.au
Dilemma: Can exotic skins ever be sustainable?
Cold-blooded capitalism is turning reptile skins into expensive handbags. But how ethical is a Botoxed python? Lucy Siegle finds out
Thank you, @CatS23Ive done quite a bit of research, but a lot of the sources are behind a pay wall. Business of Fashion has lots of good articles, if you are interested I recommend signing up to them.
Theres lots of articles from PETA, which are definitely designed for shock value, but I also try to read articles from the other perspective. However so far Im unconvinced by the leather companies that argue that exotic skin is saving the animals, especially in places like Australia which can manage the species by returning the land to Indigenous owners and farmers, not selling it to Hermes.
Heres a few places to start:
The ethical wardrobe: Is it OK to wear leather?
Many ethical consumers excuse their leather purchases on the grounds that skins are simply a byproduct of the meat industry. The reality is not so simple, as Kate Carter reveals
Australian farm to hold 50,000 crocodiles for luxury Hermès goods questioned by animal welfare groups
Farm to supply skins to make handbags and shoes would be one of the biggest in Australia under plan approved by Northern Territory government
Australian crocodiles to be cruelly slaughtered on new Hermès farm
French luxury brand Hermès plans to greatly expand their farming of Australian saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory, if plans for an additional crocodile facility proceed.
Dilemma: Can exotic skins ever be sustainable?
Cold-blooded capitalism is turning reptile skins into expensive handbags. But how ethical is a Botoxed python? Lucy Siegle finds out
Hmmm…I’ve always loved great cowhide leather but recycled nylon is beginning to seem pretty attractive (ostrich & snake have always creeped me out.)
I’ve been thinking about this. I think what got me this time around (yes, there have been many such threads over the years, as you an imagine) is the use of the word “ethical”. What does that mean? Do we tap on the Ostrich’s shoulder and ask it? Make a deal with the calf? “Let us skin you and you’ll have the best last meal ever”. “Excuse me, Mr. Alli - enjoy this fine bath and then you’re out of this soulless life”.
It seems to me that there can’t be anything ethical about knowingly raising an animal, knowing it will die for our uses.
I like to think that I don’t think about these things because I generally buy animal products second-hand. Damage has already been done, ya know? But I’m realizing I have recently bought some new leather goods. But then they were already made and put there for sale, so … it’s just a circle jerk. The truth is: We’re going to do what we do regardless, and then there’s PeTA.
It seems to me that there can’t be anything ethical about knowingly raising an animal, knowing it will die for our uses.
I like to think that I don’t think about these things because I generally buy animal products second-hand. Damage has already been done, ya know? But I’m realizing I have recently bought some new leather goods. But then they were already made and put there for sale, so … it’s just a circle jerk. The truth is: We’re going to do what we do regardless, and then there’s PeTA.
Just FYI, even after market, you cannot just resell the (poor!) sea turtle boots, nor ivory, etc. without proper documentation and permissions...https://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/factsheet-can-i-sell-it.pdf you need to look into CITES regulations for the specific item based on species etc. For instance, python cannot be sold in or shipped to California, even if you are a private seller and it's vintage. You cannot even possess things like Bald Eagle feathers (from any period), unless you are Native American in specific cases. Whole bunch of laws regarding this stuff.
Tangentially, until you prompted me to look this up, I always thought this phrase meant something quite different.