Blog #284: To Vegan, or Not to Vegan?

For years, I've wanted a pair of Doc Martens (those classic back combat-style boots that "edgy" people often have). Not only are they cool shoes, but they're crazy durable and last a really long time. That said, they're also pretty expensive.

So, now that I've been working quite a bit, I've been saving my tips from the coffeeshop specifically for a pair of Docs. It's been slow going, as I'll walk away from a good shift with about a max of $10, but I've finally saved enough to get my first pair. Now, the only question is which pair exactly I want.

In reality, my debate is whether I want to buy a pair of vegan boots, or to purchase the classic boots which are made with leather. They're both exactly the same price, so that doesn't affect it at all.

As a quick reminder, I'm not currently vegan, but I sometimes refer to myself as an almost-vegan when explaining it to others. I don't eat meat or dairy and I try to avoid products made with animal products or which use animal testing, but I still eat some non-vegan foods like eggs and honey. Additionally, my motivation for this is mostly environmental, but I have ethical concerns with the meat industry as well.

That said, it may seem like the vegan boots would be the obvious choice, but this wasn't necessarily the case.

First of all, the vegan boots are obviously made from non-animal materials, which means plastics. Putting more plastic out into the world is not something I feel great about.

Additionally, I have an inclination that the vegan boots would not last as long as the leather, which would mean a more frequent cycle of waste and production.

On the other hand, though, the leather boots take thousands more gallons of water to make, and they're dependent on the cattle industry, which is absolutely horrid for the environment.

None of this sounded that great to me, so I decided to do a little more research into the way that Doc Martens are produced. This is the link to their ethical policies page, https://www.drmartens.com/uk/en_gb/social-responsibility, and this is the link specifically to their policy on their leather and how they source it https://d3pjhixl6ywqix.cloudfront.net/product/uk-assets/corporate-and-press/drmartens-animal-derived-material-policy-2019.pdf.

In regard to their leather, it's company policy that it must be sourced only as a byproduct of animals which have already been slaughtered for use by the food industry. They don't source any leather from animals which have been raised and killed exclusively for their skin.

For me, knowing this made quite a bit of a difference. Again, although I do have ethical concerns which lead me toward veganism, my main concern is the environment. If these animals are being slaughtered for the food industry regardless of whether or not their skin is used for leather, the adverse environmental effects I'm trying to avoid with vegan products are also still happening regardless. Whether or not I buy the leather boots, cattle are still going to be raised and slaughtered— the only difference is whether their skin would then be turned into a pair of boots instead of being discarded of.

So, with this in mind, I think I've decided to avoid the plastic production and go with the non-vegan leather boots. As much as I'd like to be completely vegan, I think it's always important to take all of the information into consideration, and in this case, the non-vegan option is better in ways that are more important to me at this point in time. What happens if I go full vegan in the future? We'll see. For now, I think this is the right choice for me and the environment. If you have a strong opinion either way, I'd love to hear that as well!

*I do want to note that debating which pair of expensive shoes to buy probably seems really frivolous and is very privileged of me in a lot of ways. I realize this. That said, I'm trying to be more environmentally conscious in all parts of my life, and I think a large part of that is investing in quality, durable products that will last me a long time. I have to have shoes, so I see a benefit in buying an expensive pair that will last me a last long time rather than getting caught in the wasteful fast fashion cycle. And, if I'm going to invest in an expensive pair of shoes, I want to make sure I'm using my money in an environmentally sound way.

These are the non-vegan leather boots I will probably end up getting!