Welcome to Gaia! ::

Now Vegan is not so much a diet as rather a lifestyle. That is, you try to cut animal products out of your life in general.

My question has to deal with clothes. Clothes that you know contain animal product and you woulden't normaly buy.

Would you buy them, or accept them second hand, even if they contain a animal product?

Personaly it seems stupid to me not to and rather buy an expensive new vegan alternative which just likly cost the enviroment big time.

Lets say you need a new coat. Your friend offers you her/his coat that they know you like the look of. They have two coats and the one they are giving you really dosent fit them so well anymore so its all kewl. And it is a pretty kewl looking coat. It just happens to be stuffed with like bird feathers or something like that.
Now would you take it or go buy a new one? (for sake of discussion you tried the second hand store im town but they only had leather coats left.)

Personal I'd take it. Id even buy animal products from second hand stores. Your not suporting the industry itself that kills and hurts these animals, and yet you are saving on waste created. Plus its cheap.

The only real issue I can see is with people who are all like, "eww, knowing only a thin sheet of fabric seperates me from bird feathers. I couldent handel it. I'd be sick!"

What would you do?

When I first became a vegan, I went through my wardrobe and removed anything which contained any animal products and took them all down to the local animal charity shop. I was really sad because I discovered that my favourite coat was made with 15% wool. >< When I stayed at a friends house I used to refuse to sleep on a feather pillow. I also know a vegan homeless guy who refused a blanket he was offered because it was made from wool. In hindsight I think I was probably being unnecessarily rigid.

Now, having given the issue more thought, I don't have so much of a problem with wearing some animal products, as long as they are second-hand and not supporting the industry. Personally though, I have never bought any clothes from charity shops with animal products since becoming vegan. I have a couple of second-hand wool jumpers given to me by a friend.

Fur I think, is a definate exception. I have a real problem with anyone wearing a fur coat - even if it is second-hand or bought years ago by their great aunt or something. Walking around in fur is such a noticible statement. It says to people "wearing fur is both fashionable and publically acceptable". scream On the other hand, a person wearing a wool jumper or even leather shoes won't get a second glance - It is not promoting the industry, or supporting the industry financially if the articles are second-hand.

I agree it was a bit silly the pillow thing! - I thought it would be easier to stick at being vegan if I was totally strict about everything. Now, five years on, I have thought about the issues a bit more I realise it's better to choose the things I really want to make a point about more carefully. Sleeping on a borrowed pillow is not the same thing as actually going out and buying a new feather pillow from the shop. 3nodding

About the fur: I suppose it's one thing to parade down the high street or through a shopping centre in your best clothes with fur draped around your shoulders like an obvious fashion accessery = totally wrong in my opinion.
However, wearing a second-hand fur coat because you were cold and without publically flaunting it (and you didn't have anything else warm to wear) eg. because you were homeless or had bad heating in your house is probably justifiable. If I came across that situation though I would most likely offer to give the person an animal free fleece jacket to wear instead.

Wool - yes, because as far as I know the animals aren't really hurt in the production, just shaved, and it's more comfortable for them to be wool-less in the summer? At least that's what I've been told.

Fur, leather - no. I don't want to wrap myself in dead skin.

I've gotten some cool looking stuff from people, made of leather, but I can't bear to wear it. If you try hard enough, you'll always find someone else to give it to, who will be really happy about it.

I don't buy any animal products... new or second hand, however I do still use some of my old animal-based articles.

I have one pair of leather shoes, a leather purse, a leather-banded watch, a wool skirt, and some down pillows, all of which I still use. I see it as silly to throw out things which are still in perfectly good condition, espcially since you purcahsed them before knowing of the cruelty which often lies behind them. I bought them years back, before I went veg.

Also, if a friend has a really cool article of clothing which fit me, and they were going to throw it out, then I'd take it instead. Waste not, want not!

However I would not purchase any animal product, new or used. I know that if I buy a wool coat at Goodwill it won't be contributing more mony to the factory farming industry, but I would still feel wrong.

I was actually about to freeze my arse off this winter, because it seemed that all the coats I could find that looked nice were wool, and I refused to comprimise my principles. However, I really lucked out at a local thrift shop, and was able to find a really snazzy double-breasted velvet coat.

I have and will continue to buy and/or recieve second hand leather items.

Except for leather jackets and boots, they give me the heebie-jeebies!

I'm sorry to all the Lambs and Sheeps out there, but I ******** love my wool sweaters.

Shop secondhand, save the planet.

I agree, Crazy Banana. I have some sneakers I bought before I knew they were made of suede, which I know is really stupid but I genuinely thought sneakers were made from roughed up jeans. Anyhow, I already paid for them and the damage is done. I'm going to use them to their fullest even though it bothers me a little to wear suede, and once they're entirely spent, I'll get shoes I know are not animal-based.

In the very worst scenario, I'd give them to charity.

I wouldn't accept the coat as a gift, even if it was especially cool, I'd recommend the friend donate it to someone who is needy. I'm not exactly well-to-do, but I get by and I don't need the coat.

I wouldn't buy animal-based clothing second hand if I had a choice. I know it being bought has already done the damage, but I prefer not to use animal products if I can avoid them.

I'm not going to be wasteful, but there's generally an alternative. I don't know much about the hazards of vegan clothing versus that of animal-based cloth, but if animal-based cloth wasn't a byproduct of agribusiness, then I'm sure it wouldn't be as wasteful as vegan cloth. Although, I'm just assuming here.

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