Ethical shopping

I shop a lot, I love fashion but I still struggle with leather vs pleather or any alternative ethical material, don’t get me wrong I would happily choose a more ethical product if they actually made a fashionable one. I’ve seen other people wear cool pleather jackets, and I own the coolest pleather bag, so why can’t I seem to find more?

 This includes shoes, bags, belts and jackets. I don’t deny that I love the idea of a vegan lifestyle and when it comes down to my choices I do pretty good for the most part. I choose ethical products, ethical food and try my best at ethical clothing. The first stage is awareness and I am really trying. I really am.

I’ve seen some really great non leather materials out there, I even own some, even so that my very snotty fashionable friends actually thought my non leather bag was leather. So tell me this, why can’t these manufactures just copy the styles of some of the cool shoes, bags and belts out there and make non leather versions? Like these from Nine West, I love these boots but I just couldn’t bring my self to buy them. In the back of my head all I can see is some poor cow giving it’s life for my fashion addiction. This is such a struggle for me. It also was a shock to find out how lambs are treated for wool. It’s all very distrurbing.

If you go high end there’s Stella McCartney her stuff is great but wow it’s expensive! No thanks! I’ve been know to spend some cash but come on! I did recently find some great ethical boots at Nice Shoes and I have to say I am loving them! They also carry these  fantastic runners . Most of my non leather bags I find at Urban Outfitters. If you know of any great stores or links to online ordering please let me know. I just ask that you don’t suggest pleather Doc Martins, I’m over the 90’s! but there they are on every ethical shoe site!

Nice Shoes 3568 Fraser Street (between E 19th & 20th) Vancouver, BC  604-558-3000

Urban Outfitters 830 Granville Street Vancouver, BC V6B 2C9 604) 685-1970

I know this post is a little harsh and the picture is even worse but think about how that sheep feels? The harsh reality is we are creating this unnecessary suffering. The desire to produce mass amounts of wool has lead to the decline of the ethical treatment for these animals, wool was once considered expensive, the reason it is more available and affordable is clearly due to the mass production and the lack of standards of farming lamb for their wool. All at the hands of suffering sheep.

Have a Heart—Don’t Buy Wool

Via Heather Drennan, Special Assistant PETA

Sheep are gentle, intelligent animals, but in the Australian wool industry—which produces most of the world’s merino wool—many are subjected to the barbaric mulesing mutilation. Farmers cut huge chunks of skin and flesh from lambs’ backsides—often without the use of painkillers—in a cruel and crude attempt to prevent the maggot infestation known as “flystrike.” Every wool scarf, sweater, and hat contributes to the pain and suffering of tens of millions of lambs every year.

In addition to suffering because of mulesing, every year, 4 million live sheep are exported by ship to the Middle East and North Africa for slaughter. Most are forced to endure filthy conditions, and many succumb to disease or starvation.

Please help us speak up for sheep today and sign the pledge not to wear wool. See a list of wool-free clothing options,  be a part of the wool campaign so that you can stand up for lambs today.

On my mad search for sweaters not made from wool, wool blend, angora or fleece, I started to get a little annoyed and found my self questioning why I was making vegan choices. Then I reminded my self the suffering that goes on during the process of getting the curly hair off the backs of millions of sheep on to the backs of millions of people. Crap! Why does the wool industry have to be so cruel!

Urban Outfitters carries some really great, stylish, acrylic sweaters! I found at least 10 different sweaters 2 of which became my favorite sweaters. When I wear them just knowing that I haven’t contribute to the suffering of any animal makes me feel good. I had no idea how warm acrylic was.

To my surprise this unisex store also carries vegan friendly bags, shoes, belts, and jackets!

Check out Urban Outfitters Vancouverites! Located on Granville Street, Happy Shopping!

Non leather shoes are one of the most frustrating things to find! You can find them but in my experience they are either ugly or dorky.

Im sure you have all heard this when someone states the leather being of good quality or cheap, I think it’s so sad to call the skin of an animal cheap. I’m pretty sure the animal who died would happily take there cheap skin back!

There are some great online vegan shoe stores and stores that offer both non leather and leather  shoes, also available are Stella McCartney and Beyond Skin but I fond them to be a lot more expensove.

I have a solution: a place for you budget conscious fashionable ladies out there. Check out Cutsey Girl and Mod Cloth if you can they have some pretty great shoes and for a really a great price  Here are my picks.

Before we talk about the fabulous coats at Vaute Couture lets talk about why we should limit our use of wool.

Wool is another product that seems like it could be an innocent by-product, but just like cows are raised for leather, many sheep are raised only for wool.

Sheep raised for wool are bred to have wrinkly skin which produces more wool, but it also attracts flies and maggots. A procedure called mulesing is used to prevent this problem and involves cutting out a dinner plate-sized portion of skin from the sheep’s back usually with no anesthetic. The procedure itself can also attract flies and maggots which can cause deadly infections.

Workers who shear sheep are usually paid by the number of sheep they shear per hour,  so they are forced to move quickly and it’s not uncommon for ears, tails, nipples and skin to be accidentally removed in the process.

Fortunately, there are many alternatives to these products made from synthetic materials that look exactly the same as the real thing. No one would ever know otherwise. These products usually tend to be less expensive than the real thing too. The best way to tell if something is made from animal products is to check the label. Animal-free clothing and accessories can be found in many stores and online.

If you are in need of a great winter jacket for this cold winter season, your winter coat search stops here. Vaute Couture is a tiny renegade fashion house that has developed a line of vegan, eco-conscious, fair trade clothing.

Vaute Couture‘s snuggly coats and jackets, made from recyclable vegan materials, warming bodies and hearts alike. The line is timeless, try on the black pea coat or the fashion-forward fluorescent puffers, they are  to die for.

“Vaute Couture proves that compassionate style can be cute chic and sexy”~ Oprah

I have spent countless hours looking for cruelty free clothing and shoes either locally or online. It was to my dissapointment to find lines that only cater to something my grandmother might wear. I did however recently discovered Olsen Haus. I purchased a pair of these shoes and I am loving them. In addition to offering cruelty-free shoes, Olsen Haus strive’s to provide you with the best service, and peace-of-mind concerning animal advocacy, sustainability, and human rights. Olsenhaus actively participates with animal advocacy organizations through financial and product support.

E C O   G R E E N :

Olsenhaus believes in accountability. The livestock/leather industry is the largest contributor to global warming, land devastation, environmental pollution, usage of valuable natural resources and water supply contamination. The leather industry is more harmful to the environment than the textiles, medicine, fertilizer, and paper industries. It is a 1.5 billion dollar industry that directly relates to abuse and death of 100 million animals from factory farms and slaughter houses.

From start to finish, the amount of energy required to create a leather hide is 20 times greater than the production of a synthetic material. The production of leather requires the transportation of feed to animals, removal of waste, electricity in housing facilities, electricity for operations and killing, pesticide use, vaccine and antibiotic use, transportation to remove carcasses and transportation of pelts.

I know how difficult it can be to find eco friendly and animal free clothing lines. As I find them I promise to post them. If you know of any please let me know. In the mean time do your best. I know I am.