apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love leather. No interest in fur. (Not being hypocritical, I just don't like the fur look.)

Individual beliefs/habits aside, I don't think AT is out of line for pointing out that a certain fur product exists. I like to see the discussion that bubbles up around products that are greenwashed, ethically abhorrent, stupidly designed, stupidly marketed, etc. AT has no obligation to only highlight products that everyone loves - that would be boring (and probably impossible).

I feel ok about leather--and about both products, I always feel better buying them used so I am not supporting the industry and recycling.

I like the idea of there being a wholesome purpose to an animal's life. Like utilizing it for many different purposes, not just to skin it and to toss it's carcass. This is similar to what early Americans did to the Buffalo during their expansion West. It seems rather disrespectful. Exotic fur also encourages poaching. I don't know why I find myself blowing all this steam, I guess I still have a little bit of idealism and altruism left in an otherwise cynical and pragmatic shell.

I am a vegi, for many reasons: the environment, the way animals are raised for mass consumption and I've never liked the taste of meat. I must say I take less issue with an animal being raised with respect and then a farmer utilizing all the parts of the animal. Fur production is not ethical, they don't allow the animals to roam, nor do they use all of the animal.
If you like the idea of fur, get a living breathing animal from your local pound and cuddle away.

I don't have a problem with leather or fur that is used appropriately. I do eat meat, and I find the idea of pieces of the animal being thrown away horrifying and disrespectful.

A delicate leather that can't take much use and abuse isn't well suited to upholstery, and that *bothers* me since it does not respect the life of the animal(s) who died to produce that leather. I prefer leathers from livestock, since I'd rather not support an animal being killed just for their skin. A sturdy leather can last for decades in a sofa or armchair, and can be very comfortable. That seems like a good use of leather, since few fabrics are that sturdy and easy care.

Fur is not well suited to home decor use normally. It can be a bit fragile for a natural product (meaning it won't hold up to 25 years of use as upholstery, not that it's especially delicate). It's also very warm, which is good for winter clothing in terrible weather, but not so good in your centrally heated living room. There are furs that I'd be more comfortable using in a home, such as rabbit fur. More exotic furs make me very uncomfortable, since if I'm not willing to eat the meat I don't think I should be using the skin.

I think AT does have an obligation to cover fur and/or animal skin. It is part of what a lot of people use and want in their spaces.

Personally, I'm o.k. with leather, but not fur. Animal skins -- pony, tiger, zebra, etc. -- depends on the use ultimately. But if you're using the classic animal skin rug you had better have shot it yourself, or at least inherited it from a favorite uncle.

Without ever thinking about it, I've accumulated a bunch of vintage fur items, beginning with my grandmother Violet's leopard muff and moving on through various artifacts to the mounted boar's head I have in my living room. The history is that a friend had Eva (the boar) in her antique store, and I was always revolted by the homeliness of this little gem of taxidermy. Then, one day, I walked into her shop, looked at Eva, and loved her. I've loved her ever since. Through her I developed the feeling that late respect for a slaughtered beast is better than none at all, and I feel happy with this point of view. I can't bring myself to wear fur, though. Weird.

It's no longer necessary to use animals for food or for their skins/fur. We now have superior options, some of which are even "green". I don't give my friends or co-workers a hard time about eating meat or wearing leather, just as they don't give me a hard time about being a vegetarian. I support not using animals for products not only for ethical reasons, but also for environmental reasons. I hope that someday everyone will feel the same way.

Uh, is there a voting category for fake fur is fine, but real fur is just gross?

I have a leather sofa and two leather club chairs and I love them. I also have some vinyl upholstery on some other chairs, so it's basically that I like the looks of both, and I like the relatively easy care of them both, since I like my home to be pretty, but as Phoebe Buffay on "Friends" said once, "I have to live in a world where people can spill."

I also eat beef a time or two a week, because I think a certain amount of that IS actually kind of good for you, especially if you're a certain "hunter/gatherer" blood type.

I think that shooting exotic animals is really kind of a grotesque thing that rich white men do to show off the fact that they can afford safari hunts and can afford to bribe governments, and that they're macho, and that's kind of gross.

However, I also think that the patterns of animals are pretty, so I don't really mind the faux animal-print rugs, if they are done well, and make sense visually with what all else is going on.

Basically, I like things to be pretty and to function well, and I'd rather not spend a squillion dollars on pretty much anything, because not only do I not have it, but partly because I value engenuity and resourcefulness and at least a certain amount of frugality tempered by a certain amount of humor (not slapstick, but wit) and jeu d'esprit.

But I think that when we start telling other people what they should or shouldn't use material-wise, then we start being just another flavor of self-righteous, which is, itself, VERY tacky (he said self-righteously).

not generally a fan of leather furniture, unless its totally thrashed. i love vintage taxidermy, but i hate the new stuff. i buy old hides and fur coats from thrift and antique stores, but i'd never buy a fur blanket or a new fur coat...