Stand Up to Duck Down — this vegan life

When you realise you want to prevent the harming of animals and invest in the future of the planet, there is the question of what to do with all the old animal products you already own. The shampoo containing ground up bones (and hair and feathers and hoof and claw and horn – that’s keratin, the charmer) and the jacket made from cow skin, for example. 

Some go so vegan they throw all these items out. Others use them up but never purchase their sort again.

At first, I ruled that those particular animals had already suffered so I might as well keep using the face cream / shoe / jacket out of respect to the poor sod I had never considered at the time of purchase. But as the new me evolved and emerged, I felt uncomfortable wearing my old wool lined boots and writing in my old leather bound notebook. Weirdly, these were once the very factors which had drawn me to the product. Oh look it’s leather! How fancy! Brain did not put two and two together.

As much as I used to want to be seen in my fancy leather boots or snuggle under a woolly hat, now I would be aghast at the thought of a fellow guardian of the voiceless seeing me in leather or fur or wool or suede or anything that used to belong to an animal and thinking, she’s one of those humans. I want to stick my hand up and say wait, don’t judge me! I have! I have thought! It only took me 34 years but now I do give a shit! Come back! My boots aren’t leather and my top’s not suede!