"Vegetarian" Business/Formal Shoe Options - Page 3

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I've avoided synthetics for that main reason but have been criticized because I'm an activist who happens to use leather. It also matters where you are sourcing. The leather products I use are sourced from the US or Europe while other leather products (usually sold in retail stores) come from places where the cattle is abused and cruelty is well-documented. They are forced to travel long distances while being ill and have pepper rubbed in their eyes to keep moving.

Agree with the above. Of course the ideal is to not kill an animal at all, but it goes a long way if you can research the different types of production methods used and how animals are treated. Definitely let me know if you find more info on this.

When the animal is abused, badly fed, etc. it will show on their hides, so it will work against the caretaker. The bad treatment also shows that hides are just byproducts. Hint: Canadian cows are the best source for hides. In general, the more expensive the item, the better leather that is used and therefore presumed better treatment

I don't know where this BS that shell cordovan comes from horses that have died natural deaths comes from. Most shells and horsehide come from France where horses are still slaughtered for food.

I can recall asking Leighann, who worked at the Allen-Edmonds Cabazon outlet and bred horses on the side, whether selling cordovan shoes bothered her. She replied that it did, but she took some solace in the fact that it came from French horses.

The best way is to ask The Source. I'll get back when I have the answer

nvm, found it.

get cloth shoes, no big deal.

also, be prepared to not get job offers

Interesting, I didn't know about that and cordovan.

There's a black market and horse slaughter goes on in the US at illegal slaughter farms. There was a TV episode about a woman who infiltrates them and tries to have them shut down, they are armed and she risks being injured.

What kind of pleather does Stella McCartney use? Get shoes made out of that.

I'm confused by this "shell cordovans are a by-product," and therefore ethical for vegans, idea. The producers who raise horses for food are still profiting off of the skins, which they factor into their production plans. If they weren't able to sell the skins, presumably the prices on the meat would have to go up, which in turn means consumers would face higher prices, and respond by buying less horse meat. Thus, in the end, fewer horses would be slaughtered. If the skins are just donated, then that's a different story. The story there, then, would be about not only the ethics of wearing shell cordovans, but how we can all get into the best business in the world.

Not really. If vegans didn't buy second hand leather shoes, stores carrying second hand leather shoes would lower their prices in order to move more units, at least in the short term. This means that people without these ethical concerns would be more willing to buy second hand shoes, which would then lower their likelihood of buying brand new leather shoes, which in turn would make producers respond by lowering production. The two markets - new and used shoes - are obviously connected. Aside from practical concerns, a vegan could forgo second hand leather shoes just based on purely ethical grounds. Obviously if you think the killing of an animals is completely unethical, you wouldn't buy leather shoes even if they were second hand. There's no real way around this - if you buy leather shoes, you're compromising your vegan beliefs. However, I still hold that it's difficult to make a real calculation on this because buying pleather shoes still has a negative impact on the environment, and consequently animals. Trying to weigh which has a larger negative impact is almost impossible. Either way, I still advocate that one take a slightly more flexible view. Be as vegan as you can, where you can, but recognize that militant rigidity is unreasonable. When you go to a friend's wedding, you can't request that they make a special serving of vegan cake just for you; when you go to a serious business meeting, you can't go looking like a bum; when you travel to other countries, you can't expect to purely vegan; so on and so forth.

Which pretty much defines hypocrisy.

I wear vegetarian shoes every day. To my knowledge, the cows my shoes were made from did not eat meat. /thread