Stop Shopping the Planet to Death

The Environmental Effects of Leather

Reposted by
Kindness of Strangers for the Earth & Animals

Leather:

Beauty Isn't Only Skin Deep



Everything But the Moo

Meat producers joke that they make money from "every part of a cow but the moo," and indeed, since red meat consumption has been dropping since the late 1970s, the profits of the meat industry are largely dependent on the sale of animal hides.

Skin accounts for approximately 50 percent of the total byproduct value of cattle. When dairy cows' production declines, their skin is also made into leather; the hides of their offspring, "

The Whole Ark

Most leather produced and sold in the United States is made from the skins of cattle and calves, but leather is also made from horses, sheep, lambs, goats, and pigs who are slaughtered for meat. Other species are hunted and killed specifically for their skins, including zebras, bison, water buffaloes, boars, deer, kangaroos, elephants, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes. Thousands of endangered olive ridley sea turtles are captured and butchered illegally in Mexico solely for their skins. It is estimated that 25-30 percent of imported crocodile shoe leather and other wildlife items are made from endangered, illegally poached animals.




Other "exotic" animals, such as alligators, are "factory farmed" for their skins. Ranched alligators are kept in half-sunken tin-sided structures of cinder blocks on concrete slabs. As many as 600 young alligators may inhabit one building, which reeks of rancid meat, alligator waste, and stagnant water. Although alligators may naturally live 40 to 60 years, on farms they are usually butchered before their fourth birthday.

Humaneness is not a priority of those who poach and hunt animals to obtain their skin or those who transform skin into leather. Alligators on farms may be beaten to death with hammers and axes, sometimes remaining conscious and in agony for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Crocodiles are often caught with huge hooks and wires and reeled in when they become weakened from blood loss or drown. Poachers sometimes kill one species of animal to use as bait to capture another. Snakes and lizards are often skinned alive because of the widespread belief that live flaying imparts suppleness to the finished leather. Flayed snakes have been observed to take more than four days to die. Kid goats may be boiled alive to make kid gloves, and the skins of unborn calves and lambs-some purposely aborted, others from slaughtered pregnant cows and ewes-are considered especially "luxurious."




Tannery Toxins

Although leather makers like to tout their products as "..biodegradable" and "..eco-friendly," the process of tanning stabilizes the collagen or protein fibers so that they actually stop biodegrading.

Until the late 1800s, animal skin was air- or salt-dried and tanned with vegetable tannins or oil, but today animal skin is turned into finished leather with a variety of much more dangerous substances, including mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal tar derivatives, and various oils, dyes, and finishes, some of them cyanide-based.

More than 95 percent of leather produced in the U.S. is chrome-tanned. All wastes containing chromium are considered hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In addition to the toxic substances mentioned above, tannery effluent also contains large amounts of other pollutants, such as protein, hair, salt, lime sludge, sulfides, and acids.

Among the disastrous consequences of this noxious waste is the threat to human health from the highly elevated levels of lead, cyanide, and formaldehyde in the ground water near tanneries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the incidence of leukemia among residents in an area surrounding one tannery in Kentucky was five times the national average.

People who work in tanneries are dying of cancer caused by exposure to dimethylformami..de and other toxic chemicals used to process and dye the leather. The coal tar derivatives used are extremely potent cancer-causing agents. According to a study released by the New York State Department of Health, more than half of all testicular cancer victims work in tanneries.

The leather industry also uses a tremendous amount of energy. The Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology states, "On the basis of quantity of energy consumed per unit of product produced, the leather-..manufacturing industry would be categorized with the aluminum, paper, steel, cement, and petroleum-..manufacturing industries as a gross consumer of energy."

This does not even take into account the waste and pollution involved in raising the animals whose skins eventually become leather. Huge amounts of fossil fuels are consumed in livestock production. (By contrast, plastic wearables account for only a fraction of 1 percent of the petroleum used in the U.S.)15 Trees are cleared to create pastureland, vast quantities of water are used, and feedlot and dairy farm runoff are a major source of water pollution.

Alternatives

As evidenced by a May 1990 poll in Parents magazine-in which 69 percent of those polled said they were against killing animals for leather-more and more people are realizing that leather is something we can do without. There are many alternatives, including cotton, linen, rubber, ramie, canvas, and synthetics. Chlorenol (called Hydrolite by Avia and Durabuck by Nike), used in athletic and hiking shoes, is an exciting new material that's perforated for breathability, will stretch around the foot with the same "give" as leather, provides good support, and is machine washable.

Vegan shoes and accessories are inexpensive-up to 60 to 75 percent cheaper than leather. Some, like Déja Shoes (call 503-682-8814 for retailers near you), are even made from recycled materials.

Where to Shop

Leather alternatives can be found just about anywhere you might shop. But some places, such as discount shoe and variety stores like Payless Shoe Source, Fayva, Kmart, J.C. Penney, and Wal-Mart, offer larger selections. Designers like Liz Claiborne, Capezio, Sam & Libby, Unlisted, and Nike (call 1-800-344-NIKE for a current list of vegan styles) offer an array of non-leather handbags, wallets, and shoes.

For more shopping tips, send for The Compassionate Shopper (Beauty Without Cruelty, 175 W. 12th St., #16G, New York, NY 10011-8275), or send $3 to the Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203, for "A Shopper's Guide to Leather Alternatives." (The guide can also be downloaded for free from VRG's Web site at VRG.)

The following is a list of mail-order companies that specialize in non-leather clothing and accessories:

Aesop, Inc.
P.O. Box 315; N. Cambridge, MA 02140; 617-628-8030

The Ohio Hempery
7002 State Rte. 329; Guysville, OH 45735; 800-BUY-HEMP

Creatureless Comforts
702 Page St.; Stoughton, MA 02072; 617-344-7496

Pangea
7829 Woodmont Ave.; Bethesda, MD 20814; 301-652-3181;
Pangea Veg

ExTredz
7015 Ordan Dr.; Unit 12-14; Mississauga, Ontario; L5T 1Y2 Canada; 800-665-9182

Tomorrow's World
194 E. Ocean View Ave.; Norfolk, VA 23503; 800-229-7571


Heartland Products
Box 218; Dakota City, IA 50529; 800-441-4692

Used Rubber USA
597 Haight St.; San Francisco, CA 94117; 415-626-7855

Newport News
Avon La.; Hampton, VA 02072; 800-688-2830

Vegetarian Shoes
12 Gardner St.; Brighton BN1 1UP; England; 011-..441-273-691913




Source: AFC

Posted By: Living. "Cruelty-Free!"





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Reposted by Kindness of Strangers for the Earth & Animals
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Santa Paws Drive: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Animal Shelter

 http://www.santapawsdrive.com/blog/2009/12/twas-night-before-christmas-at-animal.html

Sunday, 6 December 2009

'Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Animal Shelter

'Tis the night before Christmas and all through the town, Every shelter is full. We are lost but not found. Our numbers are hung on our kennels so bare, We hope every minute that someone will care.
They'll come to adopt us and give us the call, "Come here, Max and Sparkie ~ come fetch your new ball!" But now we just sit here and think of the days.....
We were treated so fondly ~ we had baby ways. Once we were little, then we grew and we grew ~ Now we're no longer young, and we're no longer new. So out the back door we were thrown like trash,
They reacted so quickly ~ why were they so rash?

We "jump on the children," "don't come when they call", We "bark when they leave us," "climb over the wall." We should have been neutered, we should have been spayed, Wow we suffer the consequence of the error they made. If only they'd trained us, if only we knew... We'd have done what they asked us and worshipped them, too.
We were left in back yard, or worse ~ left to roam... Now we're tired and lonely and out of a home. They dropped us off here and they kissed us good-by.... "Maybe someone else will give you a try."
So now here we are, all confused and alone.... In a shelter with others who long for a home. The kind workers come through with a meal and a pat,
With so many to care for, they can't stay to chat. They move to the next kennel, giving each of us cheer.... We know that they wonder how long we'll be here.
We lay down to sleep and sweet dreams fill our heads.... Of a home filled with love and our own cozy beds. Then we wake to see sad eyes, brimming with tears ~
Our friends filled with emptiness, worry and fear. If you can't adopt us and there's no room at your inn ~ Could you help with the bills and fill our food bin? We count on your kindness each day of the year ~
Can you give more than hope to everyone here?
Santa Paws Drive mission is to bring these lonely shelter animals a little cheer, a little love and a few gifts this holiday season. If you can spare a few dollars to donate or toy or donate some money, the animals will surely appreciate it.
Donate toys or money to Santa Paws Drive.
See the shelters Santa Paws Drive supports.

Labels: santa paws drive, shelter animals

Santa Paws Drive: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Animal Shelter

Smart savings strategies

By Marie Oser

Posted Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:18am PDT

One dollar of every $10 purchase goes to the cost of packaging, and package waste accounts for more than half the trash in the U.S. These days, clever packaging can influence a purchasing decision and can be an important component in building brand recognition.
The purpose of packaging is to prevent damage and provide important information to the consumer about ingredients, usage, manufacturer, and country of origin.
Unfortunately, the ongoing quest to find new ways to safeguard food and transport products has become a slippery slope on the road to overload.
Smart shoppers know that packaging can add as much as 45 percent to the cost of a product. Shrink-wrapped, pre-cut produce on a plastic tray is twice as costly as whole foods. Choosing popular prepackaged salad mixes can take a bite out of your food budget while adding to the avalanche of unnecessary package waste clogging our landfills.
Savvy shoppers choose the least packaged products available; a strategy that is both cost effective and practical.

1. Avoid trendy little water bottles. Those ubiquitous water bottles contribute heavily to the glut of practically indestructible plastic polluting the planet. Invest in a water filtration system and durable metal sports bottles instead.


2. Buy food staples in bulk. Natural food stores and co-ops stock bulk bins with varieties of rice, lentils, dried beans, fruit, nuts, seeds, and cereals. Buying in bulk is economical and convenient, allowing you to buy in exactly the amount you prefer.


3. Buy fabric softener and detergent and in “ultra” or concentrated strengths. Smaller containers mean fewer for the product itself and in shipping. Toothpaste packaged in conventional tubes produces 70 percent less waste than the pump-type toothpaste container. And you get almost two ounces more toothpaste in the tube then the pump.

4. Choose reusable totes to carry groceries instead of paper or plastic to reduce waste and the toxic pollutants emitted in the manufacture of plastic bags, avoid dependence on foreign suppliers of petroleum for the plastic, and save trees from being turned into paper bags. Try reusable, compact Chico Bags


5. Breastfeed your babies! Mother’s milk comes in the best packaging of all, and human milk straight from the breast is always sterile.
Breast-fed babies are less prone to childhood ailments, and don’t require all the unnecessary packaging and accessories associated with bottle-fed babies. Commercial baby formula costs over $1,000 in the first year.
Nurse your baby and you will be giving away at least 1,100 calories a day, and that means you will get back in shape a lot sooner … and it’s free! Get tips on effective breastfeeding.


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