Imagine a world without leather boots + shoes.

In a society that generates so much waste, the use of leather as a by-product of producing meat is quiet an effective way of using the maximum of a resource. The thing i disagree with is the torture of animals to source these items. We all know about that sheep fiasco on the ships a few years back and the way cows are slaughtered these days is pure evil. anyway to serious...

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Agreed with Philphy on the by-product issue - certainly an excellent point. For instance, did you know that the skin from meat at Safeway goes to make the seats in BMWs? That's clever use. Unclever use is Adidas who use kangaroo leather to make some of their shoes, but not from a meat by-product.

Post by Miss JT

If there is an alternative fabric to animal skin I'd personally go for that.

I've seen faux fur which convinced me, but never fake leather. Any examples anyone?

This is one of those issues that can never be resolved, as there are logical and emotional arguments for and against.

Hot leather jacket becky! xx

i agree with dpd ive owned (and paid a lot for) fake leather and it has always just broken down after a while. I think the by-product thing is an important point, its much better than throwing it away. It comes down to personal preference. I'm justnot for people who feel that because something is preferable to them, everybody else needs to be the same or they are just wrong. And I was simply pointing out that leather is a far superior product, with a ton of uses, that humans have been utilising since the beggining of their existance. but to each their own.

Ruru, it seems like you think I was "deciding" that everyone should buy fake leather products but that was never the case. When I said 'It has to be fake leather' I was simply refering to myself. My apologies if I offended you. As said later on, everyone is, ofcourse, entitled to their opinion.

Philiphys point is a valid one. The usage of a leather as a by-product does make sense. But, there is a thin line. Buying leather products results in feeding the leather indusrty. When there is a huge demand of a product, the pressure of supplying it naturally grows. I believe the outcome is that the concern of the production of the leather (whether by-product or not) decreases. Using my common sense, I do not think the majority of leather suppliers are too concerned with animal rights, especially not if the production happens in countries that do not have supporting animal rights laws. In how many cases do we really know whether the product we have in front of us is a by-product or not? Will the consumers consume regardlessly? This is a case of me lacking in trust for the leather industry, I wish not to gamble on animal security.

Animal welfare is important in the industry, but I think most operators are responsible in that regard. When the animals are bruised, cut, scratched, inhumanely transported or slaughtered, it damages the final product (be it meat quality or the quality of the leathers) - so it is in their best interest to be responsible in this regard. In developing nations, its more a matter of education than greed-motivated exploitation.

My concerns for the leather industry is the waste generated. Millions of litres of liquid waste (hyper-sailine, heavy metals and bio-contaminated effluents) are generated daily by the industry, and dumping it is an easier solution to implementing a high-tech waste management system, especially in this price/commodity driven industry where so much of the processing has moved to developing nations for cost reasons.

Just 100 years ago, leather was still being processed by manually rubbing dog poo into the skin, so its come a long way since then, but with the massive scale of current leather production today, it is incredibly harful to the environment if not managed responsibly.

Post Last Updated:04.09.2007 at 02.05

A pregnant Nicole Richie has been wearing a lot of the leather jacket trend lately, spotted here also with Rayban Wayfarers.

Hmmm....where could I find a cropped, fitted leather motorcycle style jacket for around $200? Any suggestions?
I saw a cool one at asos.com but size 6 is all sold out. Some XS ones on ebay looked good, but I'm always outbid. Seems impossible to find a tiny fitted leather jacket in stores.....well I live in a small town too...any suggestions of where to look online?

Have you tried Topshop? They have some nice ones, like some in the Kate Moss collection.

Topshop have the latter in their current sales line-up. I've really liked the leather jackets they've released from the Kate Moss range to date.