She looks at me like I'm on fire.
"Your coat," she stammers, "It's... it's... fur."
Mea culpa! My black winter coat is indeed fur - Mongolian lamb with Russian mink, if you want to be precise. And in the eyes of my friend, this makes me evil. Forget that it's been passed down from four generations of my family. Forget that besides being an heirloom, this fur is older than both of us put together. Nothing else matters when you consider the innocent, adorable blood that was shed for my outfit. Therefore, it's wrong. Right?
Sure, that's one way to go. It's definitely the way my horrified friend is going, recounting her vegetarian childhood while gazing at me in horror. It's a good guilt trip, and one I've traveled many times, but today, something's different. Today, as this friend touches my coat while canonizing her first pet pig, Fluffy, I notice her outfit.
It's stylish. It's vegan. It's 100% fast fashion.
What's the big deal? "Fast fashion" is a term for clothes that are cheap, trendy, synthetic, mass produced in (usually foreign) factories, and flying off the racks. There's a lot of merit in a fast fashion wardrobe: You can keep your look current, affordable, and vegan by default (pleather, after all, is both animal-free and cheaper than suede). But even besides its massive carbon footprint, fast fashion has a predictable downside. It can shrink, stretch, fade, or tear until it renders itself useless. Sure, we all have a $10 dress that's lasted longer than Barbra's Farewell Tour, but every day, heaps of these synthetic clothes are worn, ruined, and chucked.
This is where my friend and I fight. "My fur is 60 years old!" I snap. "It's organic material. Your entire outfit was created using factories, chemicals, and potentially child or sweatshop labor! In two months, it'll get sent to a landfill and poison our planet. That kills way more bunnies than my coat!"
Yes, I was dramatic and immature (I'm good at it). But what if vintage fur is an ethical fashion choice? It's durable, biodegradable, and already produced. Is it stronger than Stella McCartney's sustainable fabric, or Loomstate's organic jeans? No, those examples are beyond reproach (and incredibly chic, with price tags to match). But is a vintage fur more ethically sound than a fast fashion ensemble? That's a discussion I'd like to have.
Cue the "Eat shit, you selfish, fuzzy bitch!" comments. Yeah, I know. I'll join "Scary Kate" and "Hagshley" in a meat-hooked hell. But even if no bunnies were harmed in the making of an outfit, we might want to quietly ask if any children, rivers, or patches of ozone were pummeled in the quest for a $7 shirt. Is that simplifying things? Of course. Should we feel guilty every time we buy a Rodarte for Target dress? Absolutely not (I've got two; I adore them). Like a couture collection, the ethics of fashion aren't just black and white; they're textured and staggering in their angles and detail, and in need of respect and examination. There's no quick fix - or absolute measurement - to fashion's impact on the environment. There's also no need to judge my 60-year-old fur coat as a murder weapon, any more than I'd judge your pleather boots as a toxic bomb.
As for my friend, I've found her a perfect Christmas present: an organic cotton bomber jacket from Rogan (okay, from eBay). Hopefully when I bring it over, she won't splash me with red paint. But if she does, my jacket will eventually break back down into the Earth's dust and dirt. I can't say the same for her polyester trench coat, even though she looks damn cute (and innocent) when she wears it.
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To me the real issue, beyond wearing animal fur, is our interactions with each other. If you are against wearing fur of any kind then simply explain your feelings about it in a clear, rational and calm manner.
I went through a similar experience as the woman in the article and I don't even own a fur coat.
A few years ago I purchased a very good vintage fake mink at a second hand shop.
The first time I wore it was to a formal function. After the function was over my husband and I went to our favorite local watering hole to listen to a local band. The second I walked in the door somebody jumped me about my sinful wearing of a fur coat telling me that I was a mass murderer. I laughed. The woman doing the jumping was not amused. I then explained that I was laughing because my coat was vintage and faux and therefore calling me a murderer was just silly. Throughout that evening I was jumped several more times by various individuals. Every single one of those people told me they thought I was not being truthful So not only did they call me a murderer they called me a lier.
Please, people think before you open your mouths. Yes, we should protect animals from useless cruelity but supporting animal rights by being mean and cruel to fellow humans is probably NOT the way to go.
here is a video for those who wear fur.
That said, because I cannot eat meat, I don't wear the skins or furs. I don't wear leather shoes. Is it harder to find clothes that are ecologically sound and morally sound as far as sweatshops and that stuff goes? Yes. It's a compromise I am willing to make.
If the apocalypse comes in 2012 ( ahh...the Mayans!) and I survive and have to eat what I can kill, I will try. It may make me sick, I may starve slowly because my body cannot use the proteins properly...but I will also wear the skins and furs to keep warm in the winter and shoe my feet. I can learn wildcrafting and find plants that I can survive on in addition to meat if necessary.
The point is, don't waste the precious and limited resources of this planet. Wear your furs and skins, eat steak...but do it with a sense of reverence for that life.
What changed me forever was the day I saw that coat on my SIL. As I stared at her in a dreamlike state I noticed that something moved in the coat. Then I realized that she was holding her tiny red pomeranian in her hand. The dog blended perfectly into the coat. I was so completely repulsed that I felt that I could vomit at any second.
My SIL found my reaction to be absolutely hilarious. I could not figure out why I was so angry and enraged. I initially thought I reacted in that way because of jealousy. It took me a full day to understand my reaction.
It was the mixture of the fur and the dog. Oddly enough, they were abusive to the dog. It only maybe weighed 3 lbs. My husband took the dog away from them. He said they were too stupid.
I do not wear or buy fur. But, it is a individual choice.
I'm for natural fibers and extremely for reuse, as in vintage clothing. There's a reason it's vintage. It lasts.
I am totally against disposeable clothing for the very reasons you state. Drain on resources, questionable production, carbon footprint. I see no reason to be trendy or fashion forward constantly. It's wasteful.
I use string bags to do my grocery shopping because I am not aware of any product that can be made from those plastic grocery bags we bring back to recycle.
But I do buy acrylic yarn that has been made from soda bottles. Simply Soft Eco is one. It's soft or softer than normal yarn and is made from recycled materials. And since I'm the labor, I'm OK with that.
I make my clothes when I can using natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk, etc. I also buy vintage. I repair and reuse. I quilt so even when my clothes are past their use, they're not. They go in the rag bag for housecleaning. And my clothes can be shredded and put in the recycling to be used again.
A vintage piece that has been passed through four generations is something to be proud of. You shouldn't have to defend it. Not unless they have a time machine sitting around no one knows about where you can go back and stop that ancestor from buying that coat. We can't change our history to conform with the politically correct present.
I am a knee-jerk vegan-wearing vegetarian. I totally abhor the killing of animals for clothing (well, unless the animal died of peaceful natural causes....). But I have absolutely no problem with anyone wearing vintage, before-we-all-became-enlightened furs. I wouldn't be doing the wearing but I don't begrudge the people who have had those furs hanging in their closets for years from wearing from wearing them.
Think people, think.
Organic? Lady the fur you're wearing was ripped off the hides of living creatures at a time when consciousness about animal suffering was less developed even than it is now.
Good try. But I'm not buying it for a second. If you want to wear a vintage fur, that's your business. But please don't try to dress it up like you're making a conscious environmental choice.
Your friend is right.
The animals that were killed (albeit 60 years ago) sure weren't interested in becoming someone's fur coat.
"Oh, hon, go ahead and put your head on the chopping block, we'll be something that becomes an heirloom and make a woman proud that she has it and wears it..in defiance".
And if they're diabetic they use insulin.
And if they needed bypass surgery or stents they'd consent.
If they're using any product that is a result of the animal testing they protest against, then they're still hypocrites.
Let's see them willing to die instead of replacing that defective heart valve.
I agree that vinyl is terrible for the environment, which is why I don't buy it. But the cruelty in fur production just goes too far.
Also, don't forget that fur is processed with toxic chemicals.
Ideally, we could wear cotton-canvas parkas stuffed with insulation made from recycled plastics. Until then, I'll do the best I can, but I will NOT wear fur.