As a vegetarian, would it be bad to buy a recycled-leather handbag?
Posted in Vegetarian & Vegan | Asked by anonymou... | 2012-02-16 01:08:42 | (30) answers

I'm a vegetarian who does not believe that killing animals is inherently bad - because in the wild, this is what happens all the time (ref. the food chain). I do, however, disagree with the industrialisation of killing animals for products of any description - as this turns animals into commodities, and not sentient beings. My request today, however, is for some moral guidance. If I buy a handmade, recycled-leather handbag (i.e. a bag made by a designer using pieces of leather from old garments etc.) would that be contradicting my beliefs? The money that I spend on this bag would not be going towards the leather industry (as this bag is made by an independent designer using recycled materials), therefore I would not be supporting the animal-killing industry directly. What do you think? Thanks in advance.

by Hannibal The Cannibal      2012-03-02 18:08:48

I know what you're saying, but there are two issues here being overlooked:1. The fact that you're still saying, "Hey, I like leather, please continue to stock this item, thank you" is you using your money to ask for more leather products. 2. You'll constantly be touching and reminded of the fact that you're carrying around the skin of an animal that died as a result of the industrialization of killing animals for products...which you state you're against. I'm against buying products made by unethical means (like child labor), and even if I bought it second-hand, I'd be constantly reminded that some kids are in a factory somewhere, being given pennies a day and malnourished. No thanks, I don't need that.

by Erica      2012-03-02 07:08:49

speaking ethically it would be, i still own a lot of leather products but dont buy them anymore and everytime i put on shoes that are leather i can't help but think that i am wearing a corpse

by ☮Jen D☮      2012-03-02 06:08:44

I think it is entirely up to you. As a vegetarian, you're on safe ground as long as you don't eat the handbag.

by Kendall B      2012-03-01 10:08:54

If you bought her bag, shes going to want more leather, and its not free. Shes probably shopping in 2nd hand stores, to make your bag. But this second hand store is making money from the leather too.. so in the end, every one is supporting the industrialization for the leather.But the loophole may come from the fact that the leather was a byproduct of the animal killed? Not the direct commodities the animal was killed for in the first place?

by Valentin      2012-03-01 03:08:56

Yes, it would be.

by tamara k      2012-03-01 03:08:46

I personally feel it is NOT okay to wear eat meat,leather or use leather products unless YOU personally are prepared to go out and kill, skin, butcher the carcass and tan the hide.I DON'T feel it is okay to buy leather products, even secondhand if you are a vegetarian- you're saying 'it's not okay to eat it but it is okay to wear it' If you are going to wear leather you should eat meat. Simple as that.I'm a meat eater, but in a way I agree very strongly with the vegan ethos- I feel people have become very disconnected with the food they eat and because of this, treatment of animals raised for eating has become cruel and beyond tolerance. I AM prepared to hunt for, kill, butcher and prep the meat I eat and the leather I wear. I may need help with some of the steps as I do not have the upper body strength needed but I am prepared to do it.

by Hannibal The Cannibal      2012-02-29 19:08:45

I know what you're saying, but there are two issues here being overlooked:1. The fact that you're still saying, "Hey, I like leather, please continue to stock this item, thank you" is you using your money to ask for more leather products. 2. You'll constantly be touching and reminded of the fact that you're carrying around the skin of an animal that died as a result of the industrialization of killing animals for products...which you state you're against. I'm against buying products made by unethical means (like child labor), and even if I bought it second-hand, I'd be constantly reminded that some kids are in a factory somewhere, being given pennies a day and malnourished. No thanks, I don't need that.

by bleafy10...      2012-02-29 06:08:44

no it wouldn't because VEGANS are the ones who take it that nuch further and say no wearing the product produced by an animal.. so if you want to have one i dont see a reason you cant... unless you become a vegan that is.

by Moxie      2012-02-28 16:08:47

I have to start out by pointing out your flawed logic. Yes, there are omnivores and carnivores in "the wild", but humans do not live "in the wild". Factory farming has very little to do with the food chain. By buying even a 'recycled' handbag creates a demand for cowhide and a second-hand market for it. Theoretically, it could also create a first hand market as well. If someone likes how the bag looks, they might search for one from a non-recycled designer. If you are against the use of first hand leather, I don't think that secondhand leather is much better, unless it's a direct hand-me-down.

by Kendall B      2012-02-28 11:08:57

If you bought her bag, shes going to want more leather, and its not free. Shes probably shopping in 2nd hand stores, to make your bag. But this second hand store is making money from the leather too.. so in the end, every one is supporting the industrialization for the leather.But the loophole may come from the fact that the leather was a byproduct of the animal killed? Not the direct commodities the animal was killed for in the first place?

by Erica      2012-02-26 14:08:49

speaking ethically it would be, i still own a lot of leather products but dont buy them anymore and everytime i put on shoes that are leather i can't help but think that i am wearing a corpse

by **0_o**      2012-02-26 10:08:58

I think its strange that you need to ask others to justify/clarify your beleifs for you to buy a purse...you don't seem very sure of yourself. I personally think that if you kill an animal for food you SHOULD try to make use of every part, so as not to let it be wasted..Either way, the purse is leather, it came from an animal and if people did not buy leather goods, recycled or otherwise, demand would go down and animals would not have to be killed for fashion, blah blah blah. However, people eat meat. so if you are okay with that, I dont see how boycotting the other parts of the cow becomes a moral dilema.

by ☮Jen D☮      2012-02-25 09:08:57

I think it is entirely up to you. As a vegetarian, you're on safe ground as long as you don't eat the handbag.

by **0_o**      2012-02-25 08:08:45

I think its strange that you need to ask others to justify/clarify your beleifs for you to buy a purse...you don't seem very sure of yourself. I personally think that if you kill an animal for food you SHOULD try to make use of every part, so as not to let it be wasted..Either way, the purse is leather, it came from an animal and if people did not buy leather goods, recycled or otherwise, demand would go down and animals would not have to be killed for fashion, blah blah blah. However, people eat meat. so if you are okay with that, I dont see how boycotting the other parts of the cow becomes a moral dilema.

by **0_o**      2012-02-24 06:09:00

I think its strange that you need to ask others to justify/clarify your beleifs for you to buy a purse...you don't seem very sure of yourself. I personally think that if you kill an animal for food you SHOULD try to make use of every part, so as not to let it be wasted..Either way, the purse is leather, it came from an animal and if people did not buy leather goods, recycled or otherwise, demand would go down and animals would not have to be killed for fashion, blah blah blah. However, people eat meat. so if you are okay with that, I dont see how boycotting the other parts of the cow becomes a moral dilema.

by J      2012-02-23 13:08:51

Go for it if you want it. Justify it anyway you want; your beliefs should not be dependent on the thoughts of others. If you feel it is Moral, you are the only person that has to live with the decision. The animal is already dead. If you buy the handbag, the person that made it will receive compensation for their work, and as the leather is recycled, it will not just be going to rot in a landfill somewhere. On the other hand, if you don't buy it, someone else probably will and you are out of a handbag you apparently do want. I am trying to see it from your point of view (which I don't share, but can respect) and I can't see a downside for you buying the bag. Seeing part of an already dead animal that still has utility going to waste, unused in a landfill is not a Moral superiority to you gaining that utility and (if this matters to you) off-setting the resources that would be used to obtain a different handbag.

by Moxie      2012-02-22 08:09:00

I have to start out by pointing out your flawed logic. Yes, there are omnivores and carnivores in "the wild", but humans do not live "in the wild". Factory farming has very little to do with the food chain. By buying even a 'recycled' handbag creates a demand for cowhide and a second-hand market for it. Theoretically, it could also create a first hand market as well. If someone likes how the bag looks, they might search for one from a non-recycled designer. If you are against the use of first hand leather, I don't think that secondhand leather is much better, unless it's a direct hand-me-down.

by J      2012-02-21 18:08:46

Go for it if you want it. Justify it anyway you want; your beliefs should not be dependent on the thoughts of others. If you feel it is Moral, you are the only person that has to live with the decision. The animal is already dead. If you buy the handbag, the person that made it will receive compensation for their work, and as the leather is recycled, it will not just be going to rot in a landfill somewhere. On the other hand, if you don't buy it, someone else probably will and you are out of a handbag you apparently do want. I am trying to see it from your point of view (which I don't share, but can respect) and I can't see a downside for you buying the bag. Seeing part of an already dead animal that still has utility going to waste, unused in a landfill is not a Moral superiority to you gaining that utility and (if this matters to you) off-setting the resources that would be used to obtain a different handbag.

by Erica      2012-02-21 11:08:50

speaking ethically it would be, i still own a lot of leather products but dont buy them anymore and everytime i put on shoes that are leather i can't help but think that i am wearing a corpse

by tamara k      2012-02-20 18:08:46

I personally feel it is NOT okay to wear eat meat,leather or use leather products unless YOU personally are prepared to go out and kill, skin, butcher the carcass and tan the hide.I DON'T feel it is okay to buy leather products, even secondhand if you are a vegetarian- you're saying 'it's not okay to eat it but it is okay to wear it' If you are going to wear leather you should eat meat. Simple as that.I'm a meat eater, but in a way I agree very strongly with the vegan ethos- I feel people have become very disconnected with the food they eat and because of this, treatment of animals raised for eating has become cruel and beyond tolerance. I AM prepared to hunt for, kill, butcher and prep the meat I eat and the leather I wear. I may need help with some of the steps as I do not have the upper body strength needed but I am prepared to do it.

by Moxie      2012-02-20 11:08:54

I have to start out by pointing out your flawed logic. Yes, there are omnivores and carnivores in "the wild", but humans do not live "in the wild". Factory farming has very little to do with the food chain. By buying even a 'recycled' handbag creates a demand for cowhide and a second-hand market for it. Theoretically, it could also create a first hand market as well. If someone likes how the bag looks, they might search for one from a non-recycled designer. If you are against the use of first hand leather, I don't think that secondhand leather is much better, unless it's a direct hand-me-down.

by tamara k      2012-02-19 14:08:44

I personally feel it is NOT okay to wear eat meat,leather or use leather products unless YOU personally are prepared to go out and kill, skin, butcher the carcass and tan the hide.I DON'T feel it is okay to buy leather products, even secondhand if you are a vegetarian- you're saying 'it's not okay to eat it but it is okay to wear it' If you are going to wear leather you should eat meat. Simple as that.I'm a meat eater, but in a way I agree very strongly with the vegan ethos- I feel people have become very disconnected with the food they eat and because of this, treatment of animals raised for eating has become cruel and beyond tolerance. I AM prepared to hunt for, kill, butcher and prep the meat I eat and the leather I wear. I may need help with some of the steps as I do not have the upper body strength needed but I am prepared to do it.

by Valentin      2012-02-19 04:08:55

Yes, it would be.

by bleafy10...      2012-02-18 18:08:55

no it wouldn't because VEGANS are the ones who take it that nuch further and say no wearing the product produced by an animal.. so if you want to have one i dont see a reason you cant... unless you become a vegan that is.

by Valentin      2012-02-18 18:08:49

Yes, it would be.

by Kendall B      2012-02-18 03:08:56

If you bought her bag, shes going to want more leather, and its not free. Shes probably shopping in 2nd hand stores, to make your bag. But this second hand store is making money from the leather too.. so in the end, every one is supporting the industrialization for the leather.But the loophole may come from the fact that the leather was a byproduct of the animal killed? Not the direct commodities the animal was killed for in the first place?

by Hannibal The Cannibal      2012-02-17 19:08:45

I know what you're saying, but there are two issues here being overlooked:1. The fact that you're still saying, "Hey, I like leather, please continue to stock this item, thank you" is you using your money to ask for more leather products. 2. You'll constantly be touching and reminded of the fact that you're carrying around the skin of an animal that died as a result of the industrialization of killing animals for products...which you state you're against. I'm against buying products made by unethical means (like child labor), and even if I bought it second-hand, I'd be constantly reminded that some kids are in a factory somewhere, being given pennies a day and malnourished. No thanks, I don't need that.

by bleafy10...      2012-02-16 15:08:51

no it wouldn't because VEGANS are the ones who take it that nuch further and say no wearing the product produced by an animal.. so if you want to have one i dont see a reason you cant... unless you become a vegan that is.

by ☮Jen D☮      2012-02-16 13:08:57

I think it is entirely up to you. As a vegetarian, you're on safe ground as long as you don't eat the handbag.

by J      2012-02-16 04:08:48

Go for it if you want it. Justify it anyway you want; your beliefs should not be dependent on the thoughts of others. If you feel it is Moral, you are the only person that has to live with the decision. The animal is already dead. If you buy the handbag, the person that made it will receive compensation for their work, and as the leather is recycled, it will not just be going to rot in a landfill somewhere. On the other hand, if you don't buy it, someone else probably will and you are out of a handbag you apparently do want. I am trying to see it from your point of view (which I don't share, but can respect) and I can't see a downside for you buying the bag. Seeing part of an already dead animal that still has utility going to waste, unused in a landfill is not a Moral superiority to you gaining that utility and (if this matters to you) off-setting the resources that would be used to obtain a different handbag.