We don't buy new animal products, we still own some items from pre-vegan days. It would be wasteful, and harm the planet, to toss them out and have another manufactured product take their place.
Where possible we have given away or donated. But I still have a pair of Doc Matens that I bought at a thrift store a long time ago.
I also have a pair of synthetic leather dress shoes, but the veneer shine layer of the "leather" pealed off in random places after a few uses, exposing the fuzzy substrate. So much for innovation. Lol.
As a side note: we struggled to find pillows that matched comfort of feathers so we endured some terrible memory foam and poly filled pillows till we stumbled on Beednova Premium Hotel Down Alternative Pillows (on Amazon.) They have been amazing. They will flatten out for back or front sleeping, or you can squish/fluff them for head support when side sleeping.
Thanks for sharing :)
I’m allergic to down so I guess I’m lucky I’m the opposite.
you could donate your used stuff, slightly reduces overall manufacturing…. (by nearly nothing).
also, my main problem with that, is wearing leather and such still helps keep it normalized, subconsciously, of course….i have doc martens i found in a dumpster and i just haven’t found anything that compares to leather when it comes to rough-use footwear… so yes im a hypocrite, im just saying its a consideration….
i had some reinforced canvas boots one and they sucked.
Responding to your comment seriously.*
I hear and understand your point about normalizing and subconsciously not liking it (if that’s what you meant) and can somewhat agree on surface level, but I think getting rid of all non-plant based items is a little unnecessary. That would be a monumental/unreasonable task for most. Do I donate my animal derived meds, leather watch from my great uncle, car seats, and shoes? Do I need to go check all my furniture?
You’re not a hypocrite! You can certainly hold an opinion and make exceptions ;)
I try to avoid buying shoes made of leather, or pillows stuffed with feathers, etc. I own one leather belt that I inherited, but I hardly ever wear it.
Most tennis shoes today are a knitted “sock” glued to a plastic foam sole. Dress shoes made of man-made materials can be found at places like Target. So it’s gotten easier to buy shoes.
Thanks for sharing! Wish there was a way to maintain our own shoes.
Especially one's where an animal is not specifically killed for that product.
You pose an interesting, yet potentially controversial question. I'm like waste not, want not. People are gonna eat meat, whether you think that's ethical or not. So, why waste the hides?
I grew up in a town filled with hunters, though I wasn't exactly much of a hunter myself. Though I did go out with them a couple times around age 13, and we killed, cooked and ate a couple rabbits.
What my elders taught me, is if you hunt, don't do it for sport, you better eat what you kill. And if at all possible, don't let anything go to waste.
And that's about when I was taught to preserve animal hide with borax and dry curing.
Personally I feel like hunting is a lot better than just buying meat at a grocery store or whatever. If you hunt in a way that respects the death of the animal and doesn't waste anything then you at least are much more connected to what consuming meat actually entails. A big reason I became vegan in the first place was because I fished a few times growing up, and came to the conclusion that I didn't like it because it felt cruel. Eventually I realized that if I wasn't even willing to fish because I felt bad about it, why is consuming animal products any more acceptable to me?
I still could never bring myself to hunt, and I do 100% take issue with hunting for sport where it doesn't respect the life of the animal. But if you hunt just what you need, and use everything you can from the animal, then at least you feel the gravity that the act of taking a life should cause you to feel imo.
I think that's a rational way of approaching it, I guess it's hard to understand the ethics of it for big brands and how their leather is supplied for instance. I assume most cows are killed primarily for their meat but I am unsure.
Following your life of thought I see nothing wrong with freeganism. I feel plantbased caused me to be almost religiously anti-animal products early on but I agree with not wanting to waste.
This is something I’ve reflected upon in the last few months due to being attacked for it by someone close.
I am an animist, so my approach to this is very much affected by my beliefs.
I keep my clothes and shoes made with materials of animal origin. I do not throw or give them away, as that would be a disrespect to the life that was taken, and an uncertainty about what consideration the next person would have for that very life.
I myself mend and take good care of my things, making sure I extend their life for as long as I can. It is my responsibility to make sure no more is taken from nature than it is absolutely necessary.
Now, if I must buy something, I go second hand first. And I don’t stay away from leather or wool or other animal products due to the above: if I take one with me, I will care for it as well as I can for as long as possible, ensuring the life taken will be honoured and not simply turn into soil-poisoning waste.
It is when buying new is unavoidable that I hit a wall. I’ve had very bad experiences with plastic shoes. I walk a lot, and they ones I’ve tried have made me develop some nasty foot smell I’d rather avoid for the rest of my life… Other times, the shoes simply broke so fast I had to buy new shoes after barely a year. Both my budget and options are limited, so I am stuck on what to do when the inevitable happens and I need new boots.
Anyway, thank you for asking this! It has been useful to write it down – and not sure why you got downvoted…
Thanks for writing out your thoughts! Very interesting response.
May I ask an animist in what way?
I really appreciate your approach. I’ve had similar experiences with shoes. I would really prefer something both plantbased and repairable but I think that doesn’t exist… :/
Yeah I don’t get why people come to Lemmy and downvote especially in our new community. Luckily the site and the apps mostly allow turning off votes which I do.
Of course! Different animists have different views, as it is not a dogmatic belief.
I myself believe not only sentient creatures possesses some kind of spiritual essence, but also plants, natural phenomena, and even some rocks and places.
My instinct is to respect nature not only because I am part of it, but also because I am interacting with other creatures and they have as much a right to life as I do.
Therefore, a product should never be treated as scrap or useless remains, but honoured and valued until that object cannot be used anymore.
