Why Your Leather Jacket Could Come From The Dog

There is hardly a topic that gets people mad like fur so quickly. But now the beloved leather goods are literally on the neck: According to PETA, your leather jacket could also be made from the skin of your favorite four-legged friend.

If this continues, we will only dress in vegan fashion : fur and leather clothing in particular has a dark flaw. Thanks to undercover investigations by Peta and other animal welfare organizations, consumers know that the origin of fur and fur comes from animals who have to spend their short lives in cruel conditions in tiny cages. Many fashion houses such as Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors or Armani acted accordingly and banished fur entirely from their collections. But what Peta tells us now about everyday clothing such as leather jackets makes us scary!

Do you wear Fiffi?

Dogs and cats should actually be used to extract leather textiles. Even luxury labels rely on animal skins that may come from India, China, or another country without an animal welfare law. China is the sad leader: the world’s largest producer of textiles, skins for street cats and dogs. Because in China, furs and leather from these animals are many times cheaper than from expensive cattle. How many of them are killed each year is not clear. In Germany, beef and pork are among the farm animals, and the processing of the resulting hides does not leave most consumers feeling uneasy.

Identifying features of “clean” leather

But how can you be certain that a kitty might have had to give her life for the leather jacket you wanted? Unfortunately, not at all. “There is no labeling or labeling requirement of which animal the leather comes from. Even the ‘Made in Italy’ seal of approval does not always mean non-violent. This is only stated for special quality products, for example calf leather, ”says Dr. Edmund Haferbeck from the animal protection organization Peta. With common fur and fur names, there is at least one type of code that reveals the real animal for the use of the textile. So “Gae-Wolf” stands for domestic dog or “Maopee” for a black domestic cat.

Luxury labels are not safe from dog and cat leather

Even with luxury brands, it is not possible for end users to tell whether the designer is using the prohibited cat and dog leather. “The leather goods are sold through wholesalers. Here you can unfortunately no longer trace the origin. Especially not in China or Bangladesh, where even the sacred Indian cows are made into leather, ”says Dr. Haferbeck.

What are the alternatives?

If you don’t want to do without the leather look, you should use synthetic leather or vegan alternatives. There are now countless alternatives to common leather that look like real leather. The designer Inder Bedi from “Matt and Nat”, for example, processes used plastic bottles and old bicycle tires into bags. The Berlin label Lian & Liv designs watch straps made from pineapple leather. And the Ono bag brand works exclusively with cork

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