WHY I DON'T EAT MEAT BUT USE LEATHER?
This is it. My most asked question. I am not kidding. I have been called a hypocrite for this so let me enlighten you, my friends, on why.
PEOPLE ARE CONSUMING MORE MEAT THAN EVER.
So vast that according to US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health less than 5% of the population is vegetarian. I won’t bore you with stats or rave on this post about the horrifying effects eating meat has contributed to climate change but you can read more about the systematic review written in April of 2019 here - and truth be told, this has not changed much despite the last years of change. (Read more here - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6479556/ or here - https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021AV000391 or even here - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/13/meat-greenhouses-gases-food-production-study and this is just a teeny tiny spec for you)
Back to my Ted talk - Now, that is not even considering the cruelty many of these animals face, this is simply considering the air we breathe. Today’s topic at hand is simple - WASTE.
This goes without saying but this entire topic fluctuates with meat consumption - if meat consumption is down and hides are still selling and farmers and ranchers start buying more cows then leather products are the problem. Currently the meat production is out numbering that tenfold. There is so much meat that there are farmers burning skins which is not only wasting a NATURAL BYPRODUCT but also incredibly toxic for our ozone layer. Truth be told there are many reasons. Besides the fact that using a natural byproduct reduces waste, but your leather handbag or shoes will outlast your polyurethane shoes that you have purchased 3x over. Many will argue the leather alternatives such as the afore mentioned faux leather, or pineapple leather, even cactus leather. All sound like viable options - they all contain micro plastics, break down at horrifying rates but they just don’t last in wearablility.
Now I believe these plant based alternatives (pineapple, cactus) are actually incredible ideas if they can remove the micro plastic backing to hold it together (we will talk about this on another episode y’all bc wow its a doozy). There is a new player called MycoWorks - https://www.mycoworks.com - and damn if it’s good enough for Hermès its definitely good enough for me. Containing 0 micro-plastics and completely plant based and grown in a lab from mushrooms! Wild! HOWEVER - its literally available to like 5 people that are major designers and I may be on the waitlist to get a sample, I am at the bottom of the food chain (no pun intended I swear) on this one. All of that being said, I will still use leather even if I can get my hands on this wild mushroom alternative until the meat industry subsides or entirely dissipates which is highly unlikely. However I will do my part to not be a part of the problem by consuming meat but ensuring the skins do not get wasted causing even more methane emissions to pollute our beautiful planet.
Some of my goals are to offer full transparency on my supply chain including carbon emissions on my product by 2023, fully traceable skins from ranch/farm to tannery to my hands, and work with non-profits supporting these efforts to reach more people.
Closing out - I hope this clarifies why I do not eat meat but I use leather. I did not even begin to touch on animal cruelty or even conservation of exotic animals. That is for another day my friends.
Salut,
Erin
