rant in a while

I am all for cruelty free purchases and I am trying more and more every day to be more mindful of any purchases I make. I have recently transitioned to 100% vegan. No wait. I have been called out. Are those shoes of yours real leather? your sofa is made of what? Have you ever thought about where the hairs from your makeup brushes come from?

Watch out for the vegan police lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce on those who make the claim to vegan-ism while wearing their favorite old pair of Birkenstocks. Just saying.

Those of us who who are called to make changes in our lives know that most lasting changes happen over a long period of time. It has taken me about two years to change my diet to 100% vegan.

But getting rid of everything I owned pre-consciousness raising is kinda like throwing the baby out with the bathwater don't ya think? What about over consuming and the damage it causes landfill and our precious Mother.

Now I have never been one to hurt animals but I admit I was ignorant to a lot of things when it came to the treatment and care of animals. This was a time when good shoes were made of leather and I dreamed of owning a fine Italian leather sofa after 17 years with the same old kid puked on, wine spilled, dog smelly sofa and I certainly did not give one twinkling of a thought as to where the hair on my makeup brushes came from.

But consciousness gets raised one gentle moment at a time for me. What I mean is thank you people for asking the hard questions but thank you even more people who know how to do this tactfully without finger pointing.

I was confused lately when reading a blog and the person asked the later of the questions "Ever thought about where your makeup brushes come from?" and it seemed her immediate solution upon discovering where was to throw out the old one and get a new one. How and why anyone would ever come to the conclusion to just discard something for the sake of replacing it with something animal friendly.

I don't purchase leather shoes anymore but I am certainly not prepared to throw out any leather I owned pre-conscious raising. I simply make use of what I have, give thanks to the poor animal that lost it's life to serve me and in it's honour agree to choose and purchase carefully in the future.

Sure I admit I dream of an all organic eco and animal concious home where everything is made from natural fibres grown with renewable tread lightly on momma materials.....but imagine everyone throwing out or re-thrifting all of those things that didn't fit the pure vegan list at once. Who does it serve if it hits the landfill or somebody else is wearing my old leather belt.

I suppose one could argue it gives sellers an idea of what products we refuse to buy and which ones we prefer. One could also make the point it may be more helpful to slow down consumerism. Use up what you have, find a new purpose for what has worn out and when absolutely necessary choose carefully when making new purchases. Keep asking those questions but be gentle.

Don't treat your old animal products like they are contaminated. I say give them the honour they deserve.