Fur - To Do Or Not Do It?

You know, I'm on the fence on this subject. I used to be really against it. I am against inhumane animal farming in general. I dunno how the conditions in mink farms are. I stopped eating pork because I know how terrible pig farms are. And I would never buy a pet store animal because puppy farms are so horrible.

Sigh... so even if they weren't phenominally expensive, I would probably never buy a new fur coat.

Having said that, I did buy a vintage fur coat last fall. I found it in a consignment store. It's beaver. So soft! So warm! It's a casual, waist length cut, so I can wear it anywhere. I didn't wear it nearly as much as I thought I would though. Too bulky, and my purse just slides right off the shoulder. Yuck!

Anyway, I felt no guilt about it because the beaver(s) certainly lived and died long before I was born. I think the coat is from the 60s.

It is kind of weird that fur is making a comeback. I thought it was a thing of the past.

I too have never and will never wear fur. I'm not really an animal rights activist (ok, definitely not) but I eat very little meat and no beef at all. (As my mother would say, if it had a mother or a face....)

But I can understand the argument behind buying a secondhand fur. While I hate the thought of animals dying for fashion as opposed to nutrition, the creature was killed and made into a coat. And it would seem sad to just throw out all that's left instead of using the coat. So I suppose since the deed is done, you might as well make use of it. Waste really kills me. I don't mind at all if others eat meat, but it's painful to see half-eaten steaks thrown away in restaurants. In a way I would feel bad if I saw a fur lying in a dumpster.

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. I can't kill an animal for vain reasons. Or have someone else kill one for me.

If the whole animal is used ( like in the cattle industry... although it is awful how these cattle are killed ) then I personally feel better about it. I wear leather shoes. The leather products are part of our food industry.

But to raise mink, nasty or not, and kill them just for fashion, I think it is really sad. If a person can go and watch the process and still wear a coat, maybe they've earned it. Maybe they have cold hearts. So wearing a fur coat would be a symbol of a cold heart. Just trying to keep warm.

But then again, maybe it would change a lot of minds.

I am sorry that fashion has taken a swing in this direction again. I hate waste too, what's done is done. We can't change the fact that those beavers died and their coats became a wonderful coat to be used. It should not be tossed out by no means. But I would rather see a total stop on this sad part of fashion.

I won't buy, therefore I won't contribute...

I will wear what makes me feel wonderful though, and with all this sun well I am off to the ocean

Have fun girls!
wittils

I agree with Wittils.

I love leather and suede.
Both are parts of an animal that is used primarily for food. If the animal's hide was discarded, that would be wasteful indeed.

I totally disapprove of raising and killing an animal for it's skin. That is cruel, vain and wasteful of life.

I can fully understand why some people don't want wear fur or leather or even eat meat. They have the freedom to choose not to do those things. i have no problem with that.
What I do object to is the animal rights advocates who believe no one else should have the right to wear fur or leather, and no one should be allowed to eat meat.
It is the extremists, the totalitarians in the animal rights movement, that hurt the animal rights cause.

Nope, I will never wear fur.I don't see the point when there are so many realistic fakes available, and we don't need to kill for warmth anymore. Leather shoes/accessories are as far as I'll go, for the reasons Uzma stated.

Jean

Never had a problem wearing fur.

I have no real problem with fur. I've got several minks from my grandmother. I don't wear them though.. No reason or occasion. They are very pretty. I've got leather jackets as well.. And I love meat. Ehh that sounds so much worse than it actually is.