Lately I’ve been thinking about the abundance of items out there that use animal products in their manufacturing. It seems that everywhere I look, it’s difficult to find something that doesn’t use animals in their production. From shoes to clothing and cosmetics, furniture, cars, books, purses and the list goes on and on, you can find leather or suede or feathers (one of the hottest new trends) or fur or silk or wool, and that doesn’t even cover all those brilliant colors that may use animal parts to create the vibrant effect that we all love to look at. I love to look at fashion magazines, but lately all I seem to notice is that I wouldn’t consider buying any of the products advertised because of what they contain. I should note, however, that I was very pleased to see in one of Oprah’s magazine issues a few months ago, a deliberate effort to not show anything using real fur or leather. These kinds of things are a bright ray of sunshine and hope for the future.

When I first made the transition from vegetarian to vegan I really focused only on the food aspect and what I put into my mouth – not what I put on it or on any other part of my body. However, the more aware I became of how animals are treated and abused and simply put, used for our benefit, the way I shopped for my food extended to how I shop for all other products as well. So the dilemma I then faced was, what do I do with all the things I currently own that are not vegan, which had been purchased or given to me prior to my new lifestyle. I felt strong waves of guilt and shame wearing a pair of leather shoes or toting a purse that was mostly made of cloth but had a bit of leather on the strap or buckle. Should I stop using these items (which would be wasteful in some sense), give them away, or throw them away, which would be the ultimate form of a waste? I wondered what other vegans have done and how they handled this concern.

So, I did what many of us do today when we want an answer to a pressing question. I googled it. And there I found many, many people discussing exactly the same conundrum, wondering how to rid themselves of the guilt they felt over all the things they had that they would never buy today. It all amounted to the same things I had thought about, and it basically came down to this. Everyone must make their own decision and do what they feel most comfortable with. Some felt that they wanted to give things away. A smaller percentage considered discarding the unwanted objects. Overall, it appeared that to minimize waste, many felt that it was better to use things until they were no longer useable and then replace them with vegan versions. There were also those who felt it was more important not to make veganism seem so extreme that it intimidates other people and keeps them from trying to adopt a more vegan lifestyle. It was felt that it would be better to have 10 people who were mostly vegan than 1 who was purely vegan, as that would make a larger impact toward a kinder and healthier planet. 

Just this past weekend, I experienced something like that. I was at a Chinese restaurant that has an extensive number of items on the menu called “strict vegetarian”. When I questioned whether they were vegan, I was assured they were. I asked them why they didn’t just list them as “vegan” and was told that it would scare people off. Most people can accept the word vegetarian, but somehow vegan is too extreme.

So, there is no right or wrong, but whatever stage you’re at, or whatever you choose to do, I think the main thing is to do it with the goal of being life-supporting and leaving a lighter footprint on this planet that we all share. There is no guilt in that!