For the past year, I’ve been stuck in a moral dilemma. Is buying an environmentally friendly item that contains animal products better for the planet than plant-based products? Hear me out before you judge!
I’m only talking about clothing, not food.
I’ve been a vegan for 10 years now with no exceptions so far. I don’t own a car and travel by public transport or bike. I try to use as little plastic as possible and avoid single-use, non-biodegradable materials whenever I can. I take good care of my things and try to repair what I can. But now, many things I use regularly are starting to fall apart, like my hiking boots and winter jacket. I need replacements but can’t seem to reach a decision.
I’ve been taking conservation biology classes, and it’s clear that the state of our planet is very bad. Consumption and pollution are major contributors to global warming and changes in ecosystems.
I want to buy something that will last a long time and is biodegradable. I’ve bought many vegan shoes in the past, but they’re almost always made of plastic, and none of them last more than a year. It’s expensive, creates a lot of waste, and has a lot of emissions (probably some human exploitation, too). PU leather is just plastic, and pineapple leather falls apart after a year.
The vegan winter coat I looked at is made from plastic and polyester fill, Patagonia offers coats with recycled ocean plastics and recycled down.
This got me thinking. I really don’t want to buy and wear leather or contribute to its production in any way.
But isn’t it potentially better for animals to buy one pair of leather shoes instead of ten pairs of plastic shoes? Marine ecosystems are in a terrible state. I don’t want to add to the landfills and the plastic island in the Pacific.
Of course, you would have to find a company that makes leather without polluting the water and only uses skin from animals raised for food, but I’m not trying to get too technical here. I just want to know your thoughts on this issue because I’m personally torn.
I can’t imagine buying a piece of dead animal to wear, but is that selfish of me? What would the dead turtles in the ocean say about this? The dolphins wrapped in plastic bags?
I know this doesn’t technically fit the definition of vegan because I would still be exploiting an animal, but is it sometimes more ethically correct to prioritize sustainability over veganism to help the planet and all animals, not just domesticated ones?