Comments on: Fresh Friday Finds http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/2008/11/21/fresh-friday-finds-20/ fashion, food & etiquette for the ethically handsome man Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:56:52 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: joshuakatcher http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/2008/11/21/fresh-friday-finds-20/comment-page-1/#comment-606 joshuakatcher Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:59:13 +0000 http://thediscerningbrute.wordpress.com/?p=698#comment-606 Monica, I see what you're saying. In a perfect world, we'd all be self-sufficient and occasionally give a gentle haircut to our companion sheep who we'd have rescued. But as we have learned - livestock production - whether for wool or meat, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, water contamination, erosion, and wildlife killings (coyotes, etc..) on a scale that is amazing. The sheer number of sheep (no pun intended) to accommodate the amount of wool that is produced is staggering. Just as staggering is the amount of resources it takes to keep those sheep alive, reproducing, and fed. The amount of petro going into this process heavily outweighs synthetics. Especially the petro-based energy and chemicals used to grow livestock feed. There are certainly plenty of natural alternatives to wool - and the eco-textile industry is developing organic alternatives every day. I have a great bamboo/organic cotton sweater from Covet that is just as cozy as cashmere. By comparison, synthetics, while made of petro, are still not as ecologically devastating as the wool industry. Of course, if you buy wool locally from sheep whose names you know - I don't think anyone is going to give you too much heat for that. check this link for more info: http://savethesheep.com/environment.asp Monica, I see what you’re saying. In a perfect world, we’d all be self-sufficient and occasionally give a gentle haircut to our companion sheep who we’d have rescued. But as we have learned – livestock production – whether for wool or meat, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, water contamination, erosion, and wildlife killings (coyotes, etc..) on a scale that is amazing. The sheer number of sheep (no pun intended) to accommodate the amount of wool that is produced is staggering. Just as staggering is the amount of resources it takes to keep those sheep alive, reproducing, and fed. The amount of petro going into this process heavily outweighs synthetics. Especially the petro-based energy and chemicals used to grow livestock feed.

There are certainly plenty of natural alternatives to wool – and the eco-textile industry is developing organic alternatives every day. I have a great bamboo/organic cotton sweater from Covet that is just as cozy as cashmere. By comparison, synthetics, while made of petro, are still not as ecologically devastating as the wool industry.

Of course, if you buy wool locally from sheep whose names you know – I don’t think anyone is going to give you too much heat for that.

check this link for more info:
http://savethesheep.com/environment.asp

]]> By: Monica http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/2008/11/21/fresh-friday-finds-20/comment-page-1/#comment-605 Monica Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:37:18 +0000 http://thediscerningbrute.wordpress.com/?p=698#comment-605 Just a word on mulesing--it's not a reason to not consume wool, but to make sure you know where your wool is coming from and what type it is. Australian Merinos are the only sheep that get mulesed (which Australia will cease doing by 2012--i think that's the date, but not 100% positive). Australian Merino is about 20% of wool produced in the world. Therefore most wool purchased is not from a mulesed sheep. Particularly if you're buying from small fiber farms, where the animals are sometimes even rescues, using wool is a good thing. There are many lovely examples in the US. Another note, if environmental concerns are factored in, using common substitute fabrics like fleece, acrylic and other synthetics are pretty terrible considering their petroleum origins... Just a word on mulesing–it’s not a reason to not consume wool, but to make sure you know where your wool is coming from and what type it is. Australian Merinos are the only sheep that get mulesed (which Australia will cease doing by 2012–i think that’s the date, but not 100% positive). Australian Merino is about 20% of wool produced in the world.
Therefore most wool purchased is not from a mulesed sheep.
Particularly if you’re buying from small fiber farms, where the animals are sometimes even rescues, using wool is a good thing.
There are many lovely examples in the US.

Another note, if environmental concerns are factored in, using common substitute fabrics like fleece, acrylic and other synthetics are pretty terrible considering their petroleum origins…

]]> By: cowjonesvegan http://www.thediscerningbrute.com/2008/11/21/fresh-friday-finds-20/comment-page-1/#comment-604 cowjonesvegan Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:16:00 +0000 http://thediscerningbrute.wordpress.com/?p=698#comment-604 Hi Joshua - this is in response to the "Buy Nothing" post. Since this has been pretty much an entire season of "Buy Nothing", perhaps it should be changed to "Buy only ethically produced" day. Most of us retailers who are trying to provide ethical fashion alternatives are really hurting in this economy. We are not rampant capitalists, but this year it is hard for me to muster up any enthusiasm for a "Buy Nothing" day. Hi Joshua – this is in response to the “Buy Nothing” post. Since this has been pretty much an entire season of “Buy Nothing”, perhaps it should be changed to “Buy only ethically produced” day. Most of us retailers who are trying to provide ethical fashion alternatives are really hurting in this economy. We are not rampant capitalists, but this year it is hard for me to muster up any enthusiasm for a “Buy Nothing” day.

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