So we were having our usual catch-up when he suddenly brings into the conversation the problem of plastic and its killing the Earth. Well yes we all know!
But, he says: how can we justify plastic shoes then?
He knows I am vegan, and this is a big issue for me.Well being a long term vegan I pretty much eliminated all leather from my wardrobe. I do not buy leather although I have a very old 1980s biker jacket and a few pairs of leather shoes which are still going from the 90s which I refuse to just throw out or to donate.
And I get it!
I have, recently to us having this discussion, thrown out several pairs of shoes. All were faux leather - aka PVC.
The soles are all intact yet the shoes have disintegrated. And these soles which are really good condition then went off to landfill and that is criminal! And this keeps happening to me year after year. And I just keep buying more because I need a decent pair of "leather" waterproof shoes to live my life effectively.
Historically, people used to get their leather shoes repaired over, and over again, and keep them years.
Nowadays, if you buy faux leather or faux suede you are lucky to still have it in a wearable condition two years later. And most affordable shoes are PVC.
PVC = Planet killing Plastic.
How is this better?How is this moral?
Its killing our world.
Its killing the fish, and lets face it if its found inside fish it must also be inside us. Its in the water maybe even in the air we breath and if you eat meat you take it in even more directly because being inside fish its in the food chain.
But I need waterproof servicable shoes!
So now I have a problem: what to do about this plastic that I am contributing to the problem of world pollution?
Yes, you can wear canvas which is vegan or satin or denim or other fabrics but in a cold wet climate like the UK that is really not an option. People do, I am sure, and fair play to them, but wearing wet dirty cloth shoes all day at work will not be a viable option for me personally. Despite work dress codes its very unpleasant.
Well it has taken me a whole year to come to terms with this discussion, but I cannot just forget it and it does not leave me. I truly agree with George on this huge environmental issue which is why I am writing this. Probably this will not be a post many people will bother to wade through, but if you do get this far into reading this I hope you will bear with me a little longer..............
I am still thinking about this conversation a whole year later. Its bugging me so much I cannot just forget it. To me the solution seems so completely obvious.
Its just my vegan-ness that has stopped me from admitting this, but as a rational person in the end I simply must. I am sure this will make me very unpopular with many other vegans too, but I still l am going to write this down. I finally have come to a conclusion or an admission, depending on how you look at life.
As someone who has a PhD in chemical engineering, a degree in chemistry and a job history in the plastics/ polymer industry, this is bad news from a jobs perspective for me as well!
But despite this, I need to accept that I am no longer going to be able to buy plastic if I can find any way to avoid its use.
A long time ago a friend of mine became a vegan and he donated his leather jacket to charity. It did not change the fact he had bought it or it was made from an animal.
All it meant was that he could pretend he never owned it. Some other sensible person bought it from Oxfam and gave money both to a good cause and got themselves a very good jacket which maybe they might even still own. I decided in my late teens/early twenties I was not going down that route. For me to donate changes not the fact you bought it, it just slightly salves your conscience. I am not a hypochrit hence I still own most of the leather I ever bought. But I do not wear it!
Pretending you never bought leather is just a con to yourself and everyone else so I never did that. I still own the leather I bought all that time ago it and I am going to wear it again. I still love my ancient leather biker jacket which I bought in 1984. I was already a veggie then and the idea of buying leather somehow did not worry me then. I was a child really though. I did not question things as much.
I actually got it out a few weeks ago and cleaned the leather because this was on my mind. I have hidden that jacket away in my loft for many years not wanting to throw it away but feeling guilty for owning it. And I have worn faux leather/ PVC with pride - because its vegan. And I have contributed to killing our planet. But what the hell, I am going to wear my leather jacket again now because the PVC one gave up the ghost. And I am going to wear it out maybe, but at least it will then be reasonable to dispose of it. Some poor animal died. Giving the thing away does not change that.
Do you know that tanned leather is sent to landfill and takes between 25 and 50 years to completely decompose?
Reference here:https://www.reference.com/science/long-leather-decompose-c6ece124c2dba5a4
Well that is also a shocker for me as well.
So all those old but serviceable leather sofas, chairs, coats, bags and shoes that get sent to landfill take up to 50 years to biodegrade. BUT AT LEAST EVENTUALLY THEY DO BIODEGRADE!
PVC doesn't!
So we have literally tonnes of leather than is going into the earth, and not biodegrading, and we have a problem with killing the planet with manufacture, as well as disposal, of plastic.
It seems the obvious solution for both problems is not to dispose of any of this leather but upcycle it, reuse it, take care of it. Wear it. Yes the vegans will hate me for writing this, but I honestly cannot deny what is obvious.
Plastic shoes are terrible for planet earth and its the only home we all have. We should take better care of the planet and stop making this rubbish. For that to happen we must stop buying it. So I need to change my buying habits quite drastically. Buying a vegan advertised product is great, Its self serving, its enjoyable, it seems riteous and the right thing to be doing. Save the animals etc.
But pretending its good for the planet is simply, for me, no longer possible.
Thank you George, for opening my eyes!
I will not be buying any more plastic fabrics. You will not notice a difference on this blog, I would expect for many years, because I already own the polluting fabric and its very warm, wearable and easy to keep clean and I am using it all up, but since I am no longer going to replace this its going to mean it has to be a bit more precious and so it should be because every tiny item I sew is contributing to my part in the murder of animals and the pollution of our world.
I already own a half a roll of faux suede,
several metres of stretch faux leather
I own polyesters - possibly 50-100 metres
And I will be using these up. And its going to take me years to sew this lot up completely and no I will not donate because how does that solve anything?
I am not exactly going to buy leather or at least not new leather. But I am going to replace my shoes with leather ones - second hand leather but leather it is going to be.
After all you only need a couple of pairs at most of decent waterproof shoes, and then I can carry on using my canvas shoes the rest of the time. But sorry folks, I cannot find anyway round this problem other than accept that leather is really much more the way to go than any version of vegan pleather and PVC.
It does grate with my morals I admit it.
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