What are vegan fabrics?

Question

Today on What Not to Wear there was a girl that was vegan and she wouldn't buy silk or wool. I understand not wearing leather or fur, obviously the animal has to die for this "material" to be made but silk is a natural substance produced by worms. The worms aren't harmed in any way in the collection of this substance.

Also wool is made from sheep hair/fur that is collected by giving the sheep a haircut that actually benefits the animal. If they weren't sheared all that wool would become matted and be very uncomfortable.

Is this normal among vegans? I was a little confused by this and I'm just curious if all vegans feel this way. I'm not trying to say it's wrong or anything.

Answer 1

Vegans do not believe in the exploitation of animals.  Until silk worms and sheep donate their silk and wool of their own accord, they are being used and exploited by humans.

Answer 2

Several wear cotton...I saw that episode as well. Wool, well I have no problem with wool. It doesn't hurt the animal.

Answer 3

Hemp is good.  It comes from the marijuana plant.  When the clothing wears you you can smoke it.  How's that for recycycling?  

Answer 4

You also understand that a great number of Vegans do not eat sugar*, because it is processed with animal bone char, they do not eat honey because it is an animal byproduct, no gelatin because it is made by boiling animal bones....

There are many things Vegans do not use or eat because animals are either directly or indirectly involved in the processing of a product, or create the product (like wool and silk)

As for the sheep needing to be sheared to be relieved of all that matted fur,  it simply isn't true. You could theoretically just clip off the top 2 inches to alleviate the discomfort.

*Most sugar is processed this way, though some is not, and therefore is "allowed".  

Answer 5

the point is, animals are still being exploited, and vegans dont use any animal by-products.

Answer 6

The point is that the animal cannot physically give consent to have ANYTHING taken from it, and since we can't receive their permission, vegans assume it's forcibly taken from them and thus won't use whatever it is that has been taken.

Plus, if you've seen the way those sheep are actually sheared (not the happy Mr. Rodger's version of it), you'd see that they're actually treated really terribly.  Vegans believe that all animals should be treated in the same way humans are treated.

Think about it the way it would feel to you - Someone could cut off all your hair, and you wouldn't be able to say whether you cared or not.

Personally, I'm not a vegan, but I can see where they get it from.

Answer 7

Please read this information about wool, and how sheep are treated:

http://www.veganviews.org.uk/vv77/vv77wo...

Silkworms, which are actually caterpillars, are killed for the harvesting of silk. To some people, worrying about insects may seem silly, but the point is, we don't need to wear silk in order to be warm or happy.

http://www.vegansociety.com/animals/expl...

Vegans do not agree with exploiting animals, whether mammals or insects, to meet our needs. There are plenty of plant-based and synthetic materials we can use for clothing.