Leather- if you are vegetarian

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If you are vegetarian- do you still buy/wear leather? Eg bags / shoes / jacket?

I am assuming that cattle are not specifically killed for this; but then if you wouldn't kill the animal to eat it, then it's wrong to still wear its skin?

I'm not asking about vegans here, but people who eat dairy but not meat.

No - I don’t buy/wear leather. In some cases, the skin is taken from the animal when it is alive - meaning that our want for unblemished soft animal skin is actually creating new ways for animals to be harmed. Same as other fabrics sourced from animals - I won’t wear it

www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/animals-used-clothing-factsheets/leather-animals-abused-killed-skins/

@FlamingoAndJohn - has your DH looked at Wills Vegan shoes? wills-vegan-shoes.com/men-s-vegan-shoes.html

He has Will’s Vegan shoes thanks @floffel. They didn’t really last. Just like the M & S vegan shoes. My M & S ones seem to be lasting a long time though.

An issue I've found with buying 'vegan' (ie faux leather) bags etc is that often they have animal components, for example fish glue. M&S clearly label items which are vegan and it's surprising how many faux leather stuff they sell isn't - I used to assume that if it wasn't leather, it was fine. I wish it were mandatory across the board to label things the way M&S do.

Ophelia that's a good point regarding the glue. I was wondering what the difference was between specialist vegan shoe manufacturers which are normally quite expensive; vs the cheap plastic shoes you get in Shoe Zone. Possibly better environmentally too? I would certainly continue wearing any leather shoes I already have, I think it's wrong not to.

I wouldn't buy leather furniture or a car with leather interior for example, but I do wear leather boots and shoes. My feet can get really smelly and get worse in artificial materials. Also I find leather boots are much more durable in the winter weather.

No, I don't and never have. I have boots from www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/ that have been going strong for over ten years, canvas bags (I'm not a handbag kind of girl!) and a faux leather sofa.

Life long vegetarian & for the last 19 years almost vegan (only eat eggs that come from my Aunts hens) & have never worn leather.

People love to look at my shoes/bag & think they've 'caught me out'.

If I'm honest I've been wavering on this recently. I don't like the idea of wearing dead animals, but also I don't like the idea of buying endless pairs of plasticy shoes and boots which have to be thrown away when they fall apart every 2-3 months. I don't actually know what the most ethical (or least unethical, I suppose) option is.

I just say ‘I eat vegetarian’ rather than ‘am vegetarian’ as I do wear leather (shoes and bags) and have a car with leather seats. Since eating veggie (several years), I’ve pretty much stopped buying fur, exotic leathers and silk (with a couple of shameful exceptions). I would love to stop wearing leather altogether but can’t bring myself to do it as other stuff looks cheap to me. The best I’ve found so far are LV bags made of canvas with only a tiny leather trim. I tend to stick to those mostly.

This reminds me of years ago when I was flatting, a parcel with 'vegan' scrawled across the label was delivered for my flatmate. So I put the parcel in the (enormous) fridge, wrote 'in fridge' on the delivery card on the table. Cat promptly knocked delivery card under couch (I assume!).

Over the next few days my flatmate made several remarks about his holey shoes and wet feet. It was only when I heard him berating someone on the phone about his missing new shoes that I realised I'd only gone and put his bloody vegan shoes in the fridge.

When I was vegetarian I didn't care about animal rights so I would have happily bought leather.

People assuming I was an animal rights extremist was a big factor in me not wanting to be vegetarian any more. Never again do I want to be confused with those maniacs.

I'm am vegetarian but I do eat chicken sometimes and own a leather jacket. It's personal preference

I'd never purchase something made from an animal that was bred specifically for the skin, or for that product (rhino horn anyone? For an extreme example).

I'm not fussed by cow leather, as there is a vast surplus of cow hide thanks to the existing beef/dairy industry. Refusing it would be disrespectful of the poor cow who gets killed for meat anyway.

I was a bit worried about only having down/feather duvets when vegetarians come to visit. Was happy to buy new artificial ones. Turns out vegetarians (some!) like sleeping in down/feather duvets as much as I do.

Yes, I'm a strict vegetarian and I wear leather. I'm not a vegetarian for animal welfare reasons, so there's no conflict between those two statements. It does get slightly annoying when people think they've caught you out or that you're not a 'proper' vegetarian because you wear fur or leather. As long as I don't eat my leather handbag I'll still be a proper vegetarian

I am quite militant about cruelty in the meat supply chain so struggle with this. I do buy second hand stuff on Facebook and also accept gifts which I appreciate makes me a hypocrite. I'm surprised nobody has pointed this out to me actually. When you give up meat, it quickly becomes repellant. But a Gucci belt doesn't become ugly. Fair point OP.

I wear secondhand leather but won't buy new--and most of the second hand I have is my mother's cast offs.

@OpheIiaBaIIs I have problem feet and find Arcopedico really good--they will fit normal orthotics, but their own insoles are pretty good too. I actually started with them because they make amazing lightweight good shoes, great for travel. Please feel free to ignore me if you're already aware of them!

@Sahej you're not vegetarian. Please don't say you are. It will literally make me ill if someone feeds me fish or chicken (gut issues) because "vegetarians eat that".

I'm am vegetarian but I do eat chicken sometimes

Please don’t be ridiculous.

Really interesting to read all the points of view.

I've been veggie since a child and yes, I buy leather. Cow, pig and lambskin are a by product of meat and dairy which are not going anywhere and so I view it as a better environmental choice than plastic 'vegan' leathers. I fully understand PP's point about not wanting to wear animal skin but I don't mind this. Would never wear fur though, or exotic animals' skins that had been bred specifically.

My leather bags (most), jacket and trousers are all second hand/ vintage so I suppose I only really buy leather shoes new.

Leather shoes and boots are more hard wearing and water resistant, which we need in this climate (UK), than alternatives so I do see them as a more efficient choice taking animal rights and the environment into account when weighing up the ethics.

@AnneLovesGilbert and @CallItLoneliness I'm vegetarian actually I don't eat chicken all the time. Anyway you shouldn't judge people only I know me.
Anne I think you should wind your neck in

I've been vegetarian for decades and I wear leather shoes. I think I do my bit.

@Sahej, only you know you, but vegetarian means literally does not eat animals. Chicken is an animal. Not eating it all the time means you sometimes eat chickenwhich means you are not vegetarian, by definition. If you need to eat chicken for your wellbeing, no problemyou do you! I'm not judging you for eating chicken, people need to eat in ways that work for their physiologies and budgets.

Calling yourself vegetarian then eating chicken, though is harming actual vegetarians like me, who get sick if we eat meat. It is also (often) reducing the choices of actual vegetarians, because chicken will be offered as a vegetarian option because people like you accept it--when it is unacceptable to most vegetarians. Order the vegie option, by all means, get yourself a special meal on planes, do what you need to do. But please, don't call yourself vegetarian when you aren't one.

You might as well ask animal lovers why they wear leather if they love animals so much. Vegetarians like anyone are allowed to live however they want without someone trying to judge them based on dubious ethical credentials.

You’re not vegetarian Sahej. Vegetarians never eat chicken. Or any other dead animals or fish or seafood. Never, not occasionally. Eat what you wish my friend but don’t call yourself vegetarian. My neck is perfectly fine, thank you.