Why I Shed My Skins
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - PETA
February 08, 2006
By Paula Moore
When people find out that I’m an animal rights activist and a vegan, their eyes invariably drop to the ground—not because of some lingering guilt over that last hamburger they ate, but because they want to check out my shoes. Then they look up and pose the inevitable question: “Are your shoes leather?”—certain that they’ve “caught me” being hypocritical. Obviously, you can’t have shoes without leather, right?
Wrong. I haven’t worn leather in years. I decided a long time ago that if I wasn’t going to eat anything with a face, I shouldn’t be wearing anything with a face either. These black boots I have on that look so much like the “real thing” are purely pleather—with a “p,” please.
Sometimes, a girl’s just gotta fake it.
Most young people today wouldn’t be caught dead in fur. They know that real fur—including those tiny bits of fluff on collars and cuffs—is about as fun as a steel-jaw trap clamped on your leg. Animal suffering is also the number one reason most people stop eating meat.
But a lot of fur foes and vegetarians don’t know—or never stopped to think—that animals suffer in the leather trade, too. It took me awhile to figure it out, but once I realized that leather is kind of like hairless fur, I knew I could never wear it again.
Most leather sold in the United States comes from cows, but it can also be made from horses, lambs, goats, pigs—even dogs and cats. In the Philippines and Korea, dog leather is routinely marked as “cow skin” for export purposes. When you wear leather, you can never really be sure whose skin you’re in.
In India, the source of much leather sold in the West, cattle are transported under bone-breaking conditions in overcrowded trucks or forced to march hundreds of miles to slaughter, without food or water. To keep the cows moving or force them back on their feet after they collapse from the heat, workers beat them and rub hot chili peppers into their eyes. Many animals’ hooves are bleeding and worn down to stumps by the time they reach the slaughterhouse—this from the country where cows are considered sacred.
Cows in the United States don’t fare much better. Before being turned into belts and bags, cattle suffer all the cruelties of factory farming—overcrowding, castration without painkillers, branding, inhumane treatment during transport—and the slaughterhouse. An exposé of one slaughterhouse in Seattle revealed that cows are routinely trampled and dragged, hung up on chains, and dismembered—all while fully conscious. Said one worker, “It’s ugly what they do.”
Whoever said fashion was pretty?
It’s ugly, but not all that unusual. Slaughterhouse employees routinely strangle, beat, scald, and skin fully conscious animals.
So what’s an animal-friendly fashionista to do? Go with the faux. These days, it’s as easy to score synthetic shoes, jackets, bags, and more—in hot brands like Stella McCartney, Matt & Nat, Nine West, l.e.i., Unlisted, and Mudd—as it is to find soy milk and veggie burgers at the local supermarket. No matter what you’re into, I promise you can find an animal-friendly option, whether you want running shoes or a skin-hugging bodysuit, a biker jacket or bondage gear. Just remember to look for those four magic words: “All Man-Made Materials.”
Ready to shed your skins yet? You’ve heard it a hundred times before: Clothes make a statement. Wearing cruelty-free synthetics lets others know that animals shouldn’t be fashion victims just because you look good in Gucci. You’re not going to change the world by buying pleather pumps, but it’s a step in the right direction.
So, it’s my turn to ask: “Are your shoes leather?”
Paula Moore is a senior writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; PETA.org.
When people find out that I’m an animal rights activist and a vegan, their eyes invariably drop to the ground—not because of some lingering guilt over that last hamburger they ate, but because they want to check out my shoes. Then they look up and pose the inevitable question: “Are your shoes leather?”—certain that they’ve “caught me” being hypocritical. Obviously, you can’t have shoes without leather, right?
Wrong. I haven’t worn leather in years. I decided a long time ago that if I wasn’t going to eat anything with a face, I shouldn’t be wearing anything with a face either. These black boots I have on that look so much like the “real thing” are purely pleather—with a “p,” please.
Sometimes, a girl’s just gotta fake it.
Most young people today wouldn’t be caught dead in fur. They know that real fur—including those tiny bits of fluff on collars and cuffs—is about as fun as a steel-jaw trap clamped on your leg. Animal suffering is also the number one reason most people stop eating meat.
But a lot of fur foes and vegetarians don’t know—or never stopped to think—that animals suffer in the leather trade, too. It took me awhile to figure it out, but once I realized that leather is kind of like hairless fur, I knew I could never wear it again.
Most leather sold in the United States comes from cows, but it can also be made from horses, lambs, goats, pigs—even dogs and cats. In the Philippines and Korea, dog leather is routinely marked as “cow skin” for export purposes. When you wear leather, you can never really be sure whose skin you’re in.
In India, the source of much leather sold in the West, cattle are transported under bone-breaking conditions in overcrowded trucks or forced to march hundreds of miles to slaughter, without food or water. To keep the cows moving or force them back on their feet after they collapse from the heat, workers beat them and rub hot chili peppers into their eyes. Many animals’ hooves are bleeding and worn down to stumps by the time they reach the slaughterhouse—this from the country where cows are considered sacred.
Cows in the United States don’t fare much better. Before being turned into belts and bags, cattle suffer all the cruelties of factory farming—overcrowding, castration without painkillers, branding, inhumane treatment during transport—and the slaughterhouse. An exposé of one slaughterhouse in Seattle revealed that cows are routinely trampled and dragged, hung up on chains, and dismembered—all while fully conscious. Said one worker, “It’s ugly what they do.”
Whoever said fashion was pretty?
It’s ugly, but not all that unusual. Slaughterhouse employees routinely strangle, beat, scald, and skin fully conscious animals.
So what’s an animal-friendly fashionista to do? Go with the faux. These days, it’s as easy to score synthetic shoes, jackets, bags, and more—in hot brands like Stella McCartney, Matt & Nat, Nine West, l.e.i., Unlisted, and Mudd—as it is to find soy milk and veggie burgers at the local supermarket. No matter what you’re into, I promise you can find an animal-friendly option, whether you want running shoes or a skin-hugging bodysuit, a biker jacket or bondage gear. Just remember to look for those four magic words: “All Man-Made Materials.”
Ready to shed your skins yet? You’ve heard it a hundred times before: Clothes make a statement. Wearing cruelty-free synthetics lets others know that animals shouldn’t be fashion victims just because you look good in Gucci. You’re not going to change the world by buying pleather pumps, but it’s a step in the right direction.
So, it’s my turn to ask: “Are your shoes leather?”
Paula Moore is a senior writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; PETA.org.
Print
Email
