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Happy Cow: Not sure how I feel about it
Started
by Jennifer Dios
on February 2, 2011
I am vegan and admit I love the show Burn Notice the bag Fiona has is a Happy cow bag. Seems like the company is eco friendly and reduces suffering by only using leather left overs, but being vegan I'm torn. Here is some info on the company? What do you think?
http://www.happycow.com.au/
The phenomenal success of Happy Cow since its establishment in 2004 is a testament to how customer's demands of fashion are changing. No longer can fashion be overpriced, harmful to the environment and completely impractical.
Happy Cow began almost by accident. We had always loved to use leather as a material. There is no better raw material in the world. Only leather is so strong, yet soft at the same time. Like a good wine, leather looks better as it ages and each crease tells the story of the adventures the customer has been on. However in our early 20's we became vegetarians and no longer felt comfortable with causing suffering to an animal in the name of fashion.
Then one day a friend of a friend told us about his family's furniture manufacturing business. He explained that it was a shame that they had to throw out so many off-cuts. The off-cuts were in perfect condition and of a high-quality, yet too small to use in the manufacturing of furniture.
I would not use any leather products no matter where they came from. If you want a leather look bag there are lots of vegan leather bags out there from much more ethical/cruelty-free companies.
Alicia has mentioned Happy Cow - but it's not that company. I believe it's www.happycow.net that Alicia references (I use happycow.net every time I go on holiday too, to find vegan diners and stores).
Leather is tricky. I still use my old pre-vegan leather goods, and will continue to do so until they are no longer useful. That said, it has bitten me in the butt recently, when a rude salesgirl pointed out my leather bag after I had declined to try on a fur trimmed jacket.
So, is it better for leather to be thrown in the garbage heap, or used for a fashion item that might prevent the buyer from purchasing from a company who actively participates in the slaughter of cows? Personally, I would not buy from them, as I no longer purchase leather goods. However, if someone was going to buy a leather bag anyway, I'm glad that they have the option to purchase from this company. At least it contributes less to the landfill, and uses every bit of the leather procured from the death of that cow. Just my two cents.
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