As you enjoy a happy time with your family, there are others too who are born with similar social instincts and they too crave their mother’s warmth or father’s protection. They too like us are social animals and live in groups. In fact elephants are believed to have feelings just like the humans and are known to have feelings of sadness or loss. They definitely understand when they love you. It’s not only dogs, but goats, cows, deers, they all understand your gesture and chances are they will even reciprocate. Then why the merciless killing for their meat, skin, bones, hair, teeth? Is it that easy to just close your eyes and pretend like you cannot see it? Even when you are told explicitly with statistics stated for you to take note, you pretend like you do not know? It could not be far from tragic that we constantly avoid the responsibility of animal killings just because we are not the ones directly doing it. It is our demand that generates the supply. How could you choose to not know where your stylish leather bag or the sophisticated leather couch came from? Being rich or being able to afford something does not automatically give you the right to own. Ownership of items which claim the lives of the innocent billions could never be or will never be a matter of style statement. If you think your leather jacket makes you look like you are worth a million dollar then think again as the same leather jacket renders your conscience hollow and your virtues of humanity a thing of hypocrisy and pretence.
You know you would not want to do it to them. There is no point in torturing your conscience to give you one whetted guilt ride after another because I understand that had there been an alternative to the capitalists mercilessly killing animals to bring in another stylish addition to their already decorated graveyard collection, you would immediately switch to it. And it is at this point that I should tell you that you have an alternative and you can still very much switch right now. There are many NGOs and Non-profit organizations are working on alternative to leather out of their concern for animal cruelty. So if you care, you would take not of them. It is just a step ahead, only google non-leather bags and see how many search results come up. So the world is moving on from leather and it is time that you do too. Anything earned out of pain and killing, cannot look beautiful or feel beautiful. Leather can never be style, in fact, if you ask me, it is a moral faux pas our generation has been burdened with and it is time that we immediately undo it.
There are Non profit organizations like Tapas India Foundation, based in Chennai which has launched its brand of non-leather items under the name of Merci and I am sure they will emerge as one of its kind in India as the youth realizes the need to move away from leather, it only does not have a choice. Merci has recently launched its non leather wallets for men and is scheduled to launch hand bags and purses for both the genders, men and women. So you can just go to their Facebook page which is title “Merci: Changing Fashion Silently” and stay updated about their latest projects and launches. I agree that there are very few organizations and companies who have taken such initiative and fewer still the number of companies that have committed them to diligently fighting for it by launching non leather items, no matter how unnoticed and underappreciated. Leather is prized to be always in vogue and so is animal cruelty.
There are people who have even switched to vegetarian diets out of their concern for animals killed for their flesh. The deer skin makes the finest leather and so has it driven the species to the threat of extinction. Cows’ skin because of its easy availability makes the cheapest leather by virtue of it a cow is subjected to even worse kind of treatment. If you do not yet know the kind of torture animals go through to make it to your plate, I suggest you immediately go watch the video ‘Farm to Fridge’ on Youtube. You know they do not deserve it while it is your responsibility to protect them, trust me you can. Stop demanding animal products. Switch to non-leather items with Merci. Stop building style statements and fashion trends on the dead bodies of innocent animals.
The skin of various animals is the most economic by product for the meat industry due to the growing demand of leather items. The various items made of leather are bags, coats, jackets, shoes, clothes, sheets, couch covers, sofa etc. Yes in order to come up with alternatives at all the levels will be a challenge for the civil society but you can always create a demand for non leather items by saying no to leather. So do not avoid responsibility by pretending you cannot make a difference, you can. It is easy. Choose non-leather items. Choose Merci.
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