What If I Can’t Afford to Replace My Wool Coat and Leather Shoes Yet?

This post originally appeared on The Previous Blog and was archived here for the purposes of this March 2010 post: “Classism from Vegans Doesn’t Help Animals, Nonhuman or Human.”

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When it comes to wool, leather, and down, one question tends to come up over and over again among vegans and aspiring vegans: Can I keep wearing my old wool coat (or leather shoes or down jacket) until they wear out, or until I can afford new? Different people give different answers to this, but here’s mine: Yes. There are some things that I personally wouldn’t be at all comfortable wearing or having anymore — for example, a leather jacket (or a leather couch) — both because of the emotions I would experience while feeling them against my own skin and because of the obvious animal nature of them and the statement I would feel like I was making with them. But it’s absolutely true that although some people may be able to quickly and easily replace their animal-based clothing, not everyone has that luxury. And that’s OK.

My confession, for example? I still have a pea coat made from wool and an old pair of leather sneakers in my closet. I feel uncomfortable about both, but since going vegan, I’ve worn the coat a couple times, on the rare occasions when I’ve gone somewhere requiring something that looks a little nicer than my big puffy dog-walking coat, and I’ve worn the shoes periodically, during weeks when my latest pair of non-leather sneakers has gone kaput, and I haven’t been able to replace them yet. Because financial circumstances require me to be frugal, and because by nature, I’m disinclined to buy much that I don’t need or throw out what is still usable, I hardly ever purchase new clothes, shoes, or coats unless I absolutely need to (said coat, for example, is 7 or 8 years old, and I rarely buy more than one or two pair of shoes per year, often just replacement sneakers). I haven’t bought anything leather or wool or down since going vegan, and I won’t, but I will also cut myself some slack for still having those couple usable items hanging out in the closet — and I hope new and aspiring vegans will do the same for themselves.

To be clear, I do recommend working to eliminate and phase out your animal-based clothing, and if you can do that all at once, that’s fantastic. Donating items you’ll no longer be using to others and surrounding yourself in clothes and items you can feel good about can be a wonderful thing, for your own sense of peace and values and for others whom you help with your donations. But as a tight-budgeted realist myself, I’m the last person who’ll tell anyone he or she must immediately donate or throw out all non-vegan coats, shoes, etc. and shell out what for some is precious money for brand-new everything. Do what you can, but don’t beat yourself up if changes like these have to be a process.

And if you’re worried about being judged by fellow vegans, please do know that the majority are conscious of the fact that we all have different financial situations and that some of us may need to keep using things for longer than we’d like. And then If you do encounter those rare people who don’t know what it’s like to be in your figurative shoes and who can’t seem to understand it, roll your eyes and walk away. And feel free to tell them I said to.

Photo by Flickr user striatic