The KInd Life Community Forum

from the fashion sense of a guy, those Carhart brown cotton overalls are excellent in the cold. You could walk through the tundra then unzip, step out of the overalls in whatever clothes you wish.

True, the sheep are not killed during the process, however they are treated extremely badly. Sheep in modern wool farms are bread to have wool that is thicker than what is natural and subsequently need to be sheared. The shearers, however, are told to do it as quickly as possible to save money so they sheep come out with lots of cuts on their skin. Merino wool is the worst. These sheep are raised in Australia and are bred to have the finest of wool. Along with this came skin folds for whatever reason. This is a problem because the folds get dirty and flies lay eggs in them because it is moist. So, they cut off the skin folds (that's right, cut it off!) and leave open wounds covered with plastic. Please avoid wool at all costs.

I currently wear a faux shearling coat that is very warm, you can find them on the internet. Alternative outfitters has some cute coats as well. Even rescued sheep need to be sheared now, but Farm Sanctuary and other sanctuaries tell shearers to do it slowly and carefully. Needless to say they get weird looks because the others who raise them tell them the exact opposite.

That's awful! I am in need of a new coat this winter and will be sure to avoid the woolen ones. Luckily, woolen jumpers irritate my skin so I don't buy those anyway.

Hey starflower (cute name!) That is so great and helpful. I am glad to hear that its not that cold but for me down here in florida the 3 days of winter are pretty brutal so I guess I am just being a bit scared. But that coat looks great! As long as it keeps me somewhat warm its fantastic, plus I love the all the colors to choose from!!! Thanks so much!!!!

Glad it helped, Carly !

Claire is right - the weather definitely is all over the place here. One day its snowing, and the next day the sun is out again! You will get used to it eventually, and we do get LOT'S of sun. Unlike the Midwest or other areas, we don't often get those long, cold, gray, miserable stretches. We'll have a big snow and its all melted within a day or two most of the time. The reason I like that parka above is that it does keep the wet and wind out. That's one thing I forgot - the wind here can be pretty fierce. A hat or at least ear-warmer type thing is a must because of that (plus you lose a lot of heat through your head so its good to keep it covered!).