Fashion Fridays: Dear Vegans

I support you in your effort to decrease the amount of meat consumed, but please stop making shoes with fake leather. In support of this fake leather, you are promoting the use of plastics in fabric which will take much longer to disintegrate than real leather. You, above all people, should know how wasteful this modern society is. As we know, the material used to manufacture plastics is not so good for the environment. Furthermore, said shoes are uncomfortable, don't stretch well, don't wear well, and (depending on the type of fake leather) don't breathe well. Most importantly, COWS ARE NOT KILLED FOR THEIR LEATHER. Most leathers are actually a by-product of the meat industry. It would be a real waste if animal hides were just discarded. If you really wanted to make a difference, you could hit up the local thrift store (or Ebay) and buy some of those leather goods and donate them to countries like India (who have a real waste pile-up problem). Buying secondhand leather goods does no add demand for such product. The biggest way to save ourselves (and this goes out to everybody) is to USE THE THINGS WE ALREADY HAVE. USE YOUR ITEMS TO DEATH. OMG I have to go out and buy 40 re-usable shopping bags and 5 reusable water bottles! You really don't because chances are, you already have a tote or mug or whatever you can use for such purpose. What really kills me was the "I am not a plastic bag" totes that were so hugely popular. People didn't even bother to notice that those totes came wrapped in plastic bags. No matter how eco-friendly a product may be, there will always be pollution from production. Consuming new products adds to the demand for more. Oh, and you can quit taking those "eco-friendly vacations." One flight can pretty much reverse any pro-environment steps you've ever taken. And the chance that local community members were underpaid and overworked to build that all-wood resort? Pretty high. What about all the trees that were cut down and the animals that were forcibly relocated to built said resort and the airport needed to get there? The most earth friendly vacation is having fun with your own family and friends. Host backyard parties. Go sledding at a nearby hill. Swim at the beach. Take a bicycle ride to a park and take some nature and happy couple/family/friends pictures.

Sincerely,
Brianna Headley

P.S. If you ever decide to invade a laboratory to rescue the animals, make sure you don't start a fire as plastic leather will melt onto your skin and make for a very painful time in the ER.