Are you a vegan? Would you like this gift?

[Cocopogo]

My friend is a vegetarian she often does vegan month and is mostly vegan but not strictly.
I found what I thought was a lovely gift so I bought it for her and another for a relative.
It’s a ‘pearl necklace’ as in it comes with a locket and a clam and you break the clam open and there’s a ‘real’ pearl inside.
It just stuck me that clams are real living ?things? until someone pulls them out the ocean. I cant give it can I ?

No, it's about as tactful as a leg of lamb 😂

I'm a vegan and would definitely not want that gift. Don't feel bad though, if you're not in a vegan frame of mind then there are a lot of things like that which you probably wouldn't think about. For future reference vegans also don't use wool, leather, fur, silk, or things containing beeswax. Many alcohols are also not vegan. Hotel Chocolat do a lovely box of vegan chocolates which I was delighted to receive as a gift last Christmas.

I'm vegetarian not vegan which means I don't eat or use products that involve killing fish or crustaceans as these are living creatures. If it is a real pearl it has come from an oyster, and the clam shell has come from a clam - so that would rule it out completely. I would wear fake pearls, but not the item you describe.

Try looking for vegan gifts on Etsy - they have some nice bits and pieces - food, toiletries jewellery, accessories etc

I'm vegan and wouldn't like this, I wouldn't have wanted it when I was vegetarian either.

I'm confused. Is it a real dead clam or metal in the shape of a clam? And is it a real Pearl because you used quote marks.
If it's fake and not a real clam then I don't see too much of a problem. My vegan friend wears fake leather so I suppose fake pearls are the same.

Hard to buy for? Not really. Most things aren't made of dead animal.

Vegans don't use anything with any animal product in, dead or alive. It can prove tricky at times.

I'm confused, too. If it's a real clam, won't it stink to high heaven by Christmas?

Ps. I have given and received jewellery from Clean Waves Jewellery, which was nice, inexpensive and they give part of their profits to ocean charities

cleanwavesjewellery.com/

Jesus no!

"Here's an oyster for you to murder in your own time"

No sorry that’s an awful gift, even for a vegetarian.

My mum would have hated this as a vegetarian but even more so now she's vegan.

It's an inappropriate gift unless the person eats seafood and wears pearls.

I wouldn't want that gift but I'd love a fruit basket, or flowers, or a posh box of vegan chocolates (which I happen to know I am getting .....)

I wouldn't like that even as a non vegetarian/vegan . Why would I want to smash open a creature for the sake of jewellery?

Good job you asked OP! Don't be embarrassed, I certainly know of vegetarian friends who were bemusing everyone by eating something containing animal products because it wasn't obvious and they just didn't realise. You're not vegetarian so wouldn't have had any reason before to think about what stuff is made of.

Coral, ivory, shell and bone, suede, leather and maybe even wool are animal products too. Something wood or stone should be safe but look out for leather ties/strings/straps!

Sorry but I wouldn't like this at all

Wtf did you think a clam was This is a gross gift for anyone. Plus how is the clam staying fresh until Xmas

She's a fair weather vegan, so who knows?

what bollocks. She is vegetarian who sometimes goes vegan. Who knows, maybe she is trying it out. You sound very bloody sneery.

OP, i think even a vegetarian wouldn't like that since it kills the oyster?

What stance to vegans take on wool?

How do they square their position on eating plant based to save the planet with having to wear cotton which pollutes hugely, or artificial fabrics like polyester? I know silk and leather they avoid because the animal has to be dead to get those from it.

But wool?

@MLMshouldbeillegal

What stance to vegans take on wool?

How do they square their position on eating plant based to save the planet with having to wear cotton which pollutes hugely, or artificial fabrics like polyester? I know silk and leather they avoid because the animal has to be dead to get those from it.

But wool?

Strict vegans wouldn't wear wool as they have an embargo on anything coming from an animal. Sheep bred for wool have longer lives than those bred for meat but they are still kept and killed and eaten in the end. I don't think it's straightforward. These breeds need to be shorn for their own health as they have been bred to be unable to shed themselves. But by breeding them for wool it perpetuates animal suffering.

No I get that. But I am a knitter - and we are told that the worst thing we can buy environmentally speaking is cheap acrylic yarn which is really just plastic and sheds microfibres into the environment. Real wool is far "better" from that standpoint, or other natural fibres like alpaca or silk.

Maybe vegans just take up macrame instead.

How do they square their position on eating plant based to save the planet with having to wear cotton which pollutes hugely, or artificial fabrics like polyester?

people are always trying to catch vegans out - bizarre. So most vegans are doing their best and sometimes they don't realise how bad some things are.

Others continue to use all the things they already have until they are unusable, or can be upcycled into something else. Some donate everything that doesn't fit to their vegan life.

The ones i know are doing their best to avoid cotton, and use linen instead. Or thrift. I know one who has a fur coat (she lives in a very cold place) and will use it until it's threadbare, it's at least 40 years old at this stage and belonged to her mum.

They have different approaches depending on their resources and knowledge and commitment.

people are always trying to catch vegans out - bizarre.

They are. Very weird.

Its a terrible present for anyone, from the sounds of it, but especially a vegan!

I am an avid omnivore, but even I would be a bit bewildered by this one.

I'm not trying to catch anyone out. It's just that you have conflicting ideals - being vegan would say no wool/silk because it's an animal product, but if you're more interested in natural and sustainable products, you'd buy the wool.

I don't suppose there are any right/wrong answers and the main thing is that you buy mindfully rather than not considering the issues at all

"but if you're more interested in natural and sustainable products, you'd buy the wool."

There's nothing natural about the life of any farmed animal.