Hobson's choice

[DWFII]

[I would like to make note, right at the beginning, that this is not a criticism of anyone's personal point of view nor is it specifically in response to any particular post--although sometimes one thing can lead to another. It is, in my mind and my intention, more in the way of an essay or a thought exercise.]

For literally hundreds of thousands of years human beings have used the resources that the natural world made available to them and which came easily to hand. It seems as if the Creator thoughtfully provided just about everything necessary to survive. In utilizing these resources, human beings naturally came to understand the unity of all things, the harmony of existence, and the way in which we fit into the skein of life.

We were born and we died. We killed and were often killed. We ate animals and we used every portion of the creature that we had killed. Fur, leather, bones, hooves, teeth, ligaments, even the offal--the intestines.We were part of the eco-system and the cycle of life. We still are.

Many of these processes and the resulting by-products are still used today and are still considered the best solution to the needs of human existence. Wood, leather, natural fibers and even fur are are but a few examples.

Having said all that, I am a shoemaker--a Trade that is thousands of years old. It is a skill set that by virtue of its antiquity alone may confer a unique perspective that is germane to the issue at hand...

The simple fact is that no other product can replicate the marvelous and singular attributes of leather...and any product (faux leather, faux fur) that claims to is almost always so divorced from the web of life as to actually be harmful to life itself.

Almost without exception, products that are offered as substitutes for leather or fur are manufactured from fractionings of the petro-chemical industry. People don't often think through the consequences that proceed from that fact. One can make a case that the petro-chemical industry bears a great deal of the responsibility for pollution and the degradation of the environment. It follows then, that for every faux leather (or fur) sporran manufactured, or made DIY, damage is done to the environment that nature is not equipped to easily erase.

And to what end--shall we save a fox and destroy a forest? Where is the harmony?

Moreover, for every faux leather shoe, or belt, or handbag that is manufactured, or made DIY, a further demand is created. And not just for more faux leather...often for the real thing as well. If only for the simple reason that no manufactured product can reproduce the attributes and characteristics of the real thing. Characteristics that resonate with us as human beings. This isn't just a matter of vanity...it is a matter of durability, of utility, and of suitability to purpose. If faux leather were as good as real leather, it wouldn't have to masquerade as leather.

And if vanity is the only issue, or even the central issue, the case can be made even more strongly against faux or "Vegan" substitutes for leather and fur. At bottom, they all seek desperately to emulate real leather and fur...and to what purpose? Vanity...all is vanity.

For some (myself included)...the logical conclusion is that if you find yourself morally opposed to using real leather, then the same, if not stronger constraints ought to apply to faux leathers.