Whats with vegan leather ?

[2013]

Hi all can someone explain this to me, I feel a little stupid not knowing the hype around it.

Lately I see a lot vegan leather tags but I dont understand it is it just me ?

I mean can leather even be vegan ?

is vegan leather not just faux leather / PU leather just with a new trendy name to confuse people that cant think for themselves ?

 

[Dis86]

Tends to be made of PU and of a higher quality than your typical faux leathers.

 

[bremen1874]

It's a plastic oxymoron.

It's amazing what they get away with labelling as leather.

 

[Yaayuh!]

Vegan PU does not use any real leather. Standard PU (Bonded) Leather usually has a thin layer of real leather.

Bonded PU Leather will peel over time since it is this thin real leather layer that is peeling away from the bonding process, as such, Vegan PU should not peel.

 

[2013]

Vegan PU does not use any real leather. Standard PU (Bonded) Leather usually has a thin layer of real leather and eventually peels.

Bonded PU Leather will peel over time since it is this thin real leather layer that is peeling away from the bonding process, as such, Vegan PU should not peel.

So it just some sort of plastic

 

[Haggisman]

It's neither leather, nor vegan.

Leather is made of hide.
Vegan does not use animal products.

"vegan" "leather" is a LSM (leather substitute material) made of plastic (usually polyurethane) - plastic being a product of oil which is formed of dead microorganisms including animals, ergo, not vegan.

 

[Yaayuh!]

So it just some sort of plastic

Usually plastics, but there's probably other materials that can be used.

Other names include: "leatherette", "faux leather", "pleather".

 

[Blue160]

- plastic being a product of oil which is formed of dead microorganisms including animals, ergo, not vegan.

I’d never thought about oil not being vegan. I know a couple of people who’d really enjoy this being pointed out as they fill up their cars!!

 

[d_brennen]

Pretty sure oil has been dead long enough to count as mineral in the Animal Mineral Vegetable scale

 

[Haggisman]

Pretty sure oil has been dead long enough to count as mineral in the Animal Mineral Vegetable scale

And this is what really winds me up about vegans, making up/bending the rules as it suits them

If we're going to arbitrarily decide that oil is "old" enough to no longer count, you could make the same argument about a block of extra mature cheddar or a nice aged steak*

That's without taking into account the huge impact oil drilling has on the environment and local wildlife...



* no of course I'm not seriously comparing oil to a steak, but if you're going to be vegan at least have the conviction to stick to it, rather than making arbitrary exceptions

 

[Yaayuh!]

Just LOL if you believed that this thread would stop after the question was answered and wouldn't turn into a good ol' triggerin'.

And this is what really winds me up about vegans, making up/bending the rules as it suits them

If we're going to arbitrarily decide that oil is "old" enough to no longer count, you could make the same argument about a block of extra mature cheddar or a nice aged steak*

That's without taking into account the huge impact oil drilling has on the environment and local wildlife...



* no of course I'm not seriously comparing oil to a steak, but if you're going to be vegan at least have the conviction to stick to it, rather than making arbitrary exceptions

People can and will do exactly that. Being Vegan doesn't instantly mean you need to live in a hippie commune, wearing hemp, banging trees and drinking your own urine.

As with any way of life, belief or following, it's doesn't have to be binary (us/them, Tory/Labour, Christianity/Islam etc), it's more a spectrum. Believing, agreeing, following with only part of an idea doesn't necessarily render it completely worthless.

 

[Haggisman]

As with any way of life, belief or following, it's doesn't have to be binary (us/them, Tory/Labour, Christianity/Islam etc), it's more a spectrum. Believing, agreeing, following with only part of an idea doesn't necessarily render it completely worthless.

I totally agree. However it does kind of dilute your argument if you're one of the "meat is murder" etc. nutters who insist on vilifying anyone who isn't as far along the spectrum as you are. (interesting choice of words there )

I'm actually vegan myself, I just have more exceptions than some of the other vegans, e.g. milk, cheese, eggs, leather, all fine. I'll eat meat, but I do draw the line at eating live animals.

 

[Hagar]

Just LOL if you believed that this thread would stop after the question was answered and wouldn't turn into a good ol' triggerin'.




People can and will do exactly that. Being Vegan doesn't instantly mean you need to live in a hippie commune, wearing hemp, banging trees and drinking your own urine.

As with any way of life, belief or following, it's doesn't have to be binary (us/them, Tory/Labour, Christianity/Islam etc), it's more a spectrum. Believing, agreeing, following with only part of an idea doesn't necessarily render it completely worthless.

Actually drinking your own urine is consuming a product extracted from an animal.

 

[Yaayuh!]

I totally agree. However it does kind of dilute your argument if you're one of the "meat is murder" etc. nutters who insist on vilifying anyone who isn't as far along the spectrum as you are. (interesting choice of words there )

Indeed, you definitely get (more than) a few **** stains with anything like this. But again, they only speak for themselves, the person that shouts the loudest shouldn't become the voice for all.

I'm actually vegan myself, I just have more exceptions than some of the other vegans, e.g. milk, cheese, eggs, leather, all fine. I'll eat meat, but I do draw the line at eating live animals.

Very good

 

[Bug One]

Actually drinking your own urine is consuming a product extracted from an animal.

Now you're just taking the p.

 

[ttaskmaster]

So, saving the planet from the nasty animal murderers, by choking the environment up with plastic.....

 

[Participant]

So, saving the planet from the nasty animal murderers, by choking the environment up with plastic.....

Classic unintended consequences.

 

[Von Smallhausen]

Next up ..... beef flavoured carrots.

 

[Ahleckz]

You get plenty of vegan leather which aren't made from plastics. Cork and some fruits are also used if I recall. I'd hope that those who are making it out of plastics are doing so with recycled plastics, but it's obviously worth checking out each manufacturer. Certainly, some companies are just putting it out there to appear green when they probably aren't which needs challenged.

'Real' leather is still awful for the environment, and I'd suggest on balance plastic vegan leather is much better, recycled vegan leather even more so and the stuff made from pineapples even better still. Also, I think it's a bit harsh criticising vegans for using oils. Those animals weren't killed for our benefit. They just died naturally. It's a bit different to taking a life of an animal.

I do find it odd when people get so upset about having a vegan something. I recall the horror people had at Greggs having the audacity to release a vegan sausage roll. Lighten up!

For full disclosure, I'm not a vegan but my diet is probably 90% vegan.

Next up ..... beef flavoured carrots.

I found it quite funny when I bought a multipack of crisps (Ready Salted, Salt and Vinegar & Cheese and onion), as well as a pack of meat flavoured ones (Chicken, Bacon & Roast Beef) from the supermarket the other day. The 3 meat flavours are completely vegan whereas only the ready salted ones are in the other multipack!

But here's a picture of some smoked salmon I made with carrots recently.

 

[adam cool dude]

What if it is made by people who are non Vegan? Does it still qualify as Vegan as technically animals were killed to feed the workers to make the Vegan products.