A dilemma a lot of new vegans grapple with is what to do with all the animal-derived products they have from their pre-vegan days — leather shoes, wool sweaters, down-filled pillows, etc. — and a question a lot of people ask is “is it vegan to wear / buy second hand leather, wool, silk, etc.
In both cases, the harm has been done, right? So, where’s the dilemma? In today’s episode, I parse out all the arguments for and against wearing previously owned or second hand animal products, including:
- being vegan means not wearing any animal products at all, so you can’t be vegan and do so.
- even wearing second hand leather [fill-in-the-blank animal product] is giving tacit approval that it’s okay to kill animals for our pleasure / for fashion.
- second hand leather is more environmentally friendly than new synthetic leather.
- it’s wasteful to get rid of something that is in good condition, especially since there’s no harm done at this point.
- it’s just unnerving to wear animal products once you realize the animal cruelty behind them.
All this and more in today’s episode!
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About Colleen
Hello, and welcome. I’m Colleen, aka The Joyful Vegan, and I’m here to give you the tools and resources you need to eat, cook, travel, and live compassionately and healthfully.
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