i realllllly love how birkenstocks look...i've been vegetarian for three-ish years.....would it be hypocritical to wear leather products such as birkenstocks? i would really appreciate it if no one bashed this thread. thanks in advance
does it really matter what internet strangers think? do what feels right to you. i'm vegan but i've had a set of natural skin bongos that i've had for years. i dont have a problem with it, and i'll replace the heads with synthetic material when they get too worn to play. i also sip guinness once in a while. and sometimes i watch movies with animals in them just do what feels right to you. go buy you some birkenstocks if you think they are that cool. just remember the face of that baby cow everytime you leave the house with your cool new shoes
Pffft, haha, I like how your entire post is telling her to do what she wants, and then the last line is some condescending tripe about remembering the baby cow she's wearing. Classy. However, I do agree that you should do what you want. Some people may want to argue you on it, but the wearing of leather is an optional thing for vegetarians. It doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to abstain from eating it, and then wear it. But hey, it's a free world, mama. I'm vegan and I wear a leather belt that was a gift from a friend a long time ago. I wear it to remember him, and I don't take it for granted. It's lasted me many years, now, and when it does break, I will buy a non-leather belt.
Im pretty sure, that berckenstock makes a fake leather shoe and sandle. They sold them in my home town, they were a little more expensive but not tonnes and looked just as nice. They aren't made of dead animals so thats a plus
I found vegan birks less comfortable. I switched to Chacos ( and am kind of obsessed with them). If you are veg for animal cruelty reasons, then think about if leather is acceptible to you. For me, that answer has been no, no new leather. Obviously if you eat veg for your own health, then leather will not be an issue. I've made a choice to wear nylon strapped sandals, animal friendly but less than earth friendly. Leather has the advantage of being biodegradeable at the end of it's useful term. Either way, please maintain your shoes to lengthen their useful life. Birks need the cork cared for and go for smooth leather because it is easier to care for.
Cattle are never killed just to make leather. Enough cattle are slaughtered for food that there is always more than enough hyde to meet the demand for leather, so that means that those who wear leather are not responsible for the deaths of any animals.
I think people are aware that animals are killed for meat and we use the leather but its the point. We do use a lot of leather and its a point of what you believe. Its like the argument somebody tried to have with me before. "Well they're gonna kill the cow for meat anyway so you're not making a difference." Which I think is rediculous why would i support an industry I do not agree with. That goes with a lot of other things. We need to follow through with our own beliefs and stop conforming "I do this so this world will know that it will not change me." The Change -garth brooks
The company I work for just started selling this product: http://www.isabellacatalog.com/prod.cfm/pgc/21000/sbc/21008/inv/15808 I find it interesting. Would you buy it? Or is the purpose kind of defeated by the very nature of the item?
Also, on www.veganstore.com you can buy a bunch of shoes/sandles that are animal free and also sweat shop free. They have vegan birks on sale actually, so id check it out peace.love.light
I have a pair of vegan(fake leather, non animal glue) birkenstocks. They have been going strong for the past 7. I bought them in 2003. They are still very comfortable. I love them.
on the Indian leather: one issue for me would be miles to import the product. Is it that much better if you them ship the product a half million miles (port after port)? That said, if I was IN India, would I buy locally made sandals? Probably, for comfort, to help the local economy and I could always leave them for someone who needs shoes when I leave. Do I have a problem with some of the "Road Kill Couture" I see around here? Not really. The animals died on roadways. I also have little problem with second hand leather and wool. I have second hand wool, down and silk. But I'm no fashion plate, so no one is wanting to dress like me. Since I also look at the end of a product's life, this is a fluid area for me.
I have never understood how you can not eat meat, yet are happy to wear the animals skin! I am vegetarian, but will never touch leather because I believe the skin should stay on the animal - one main reason why i don't agree with the killing of them.
