The Discerning Brute

GQ’s Spring Suggestions, SeaWorld Must Drown & Bad Parenting

• GQ’s Spring Must-Haves include a vegan new-wave boat shoe from Sperry Topsiders (without those leather laces, finally), fancy pocket squares of every pattern and color, bright and bold striped ties and straw fedoras.

When searching for a striped tie that isn’t made from hundreds of worms who are boiled alive, we suggest hitting up your local thrift or vintage store which typically have piles of ties or our favorite vegan tie company, Jaanj.com. As for straw fedoras, that one thing we love about spring. You can avoid the wool hats and go with a 100% plant-based straw hat. LiViTY makes recycled, hemp, organic, and fair trade fedoras in some bold patters and classic shapes, and Engineered Garments makes an organic linen boater cap. We suggest keeping a lid on it and sticking to classics like these:

The Hill-Side offers some selvedge Pocket Squares that we find quite fetching:

• I’ll be as happy as the next guy to see SeaWorld go under. The next guy is our pal Gary Smith, and he’s written an article on SeaWorld and the exploitation of dolphins and whales that flooded the enterprise with a 1.4 billion profit last year. In the article over at Elephant Journal. Ric O’Barry, who was featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary film “The Cove” and serves as the marine mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute, shares some thoughts with Gary on the recent killer whale tragedy. If you needed to be convinced that captive seas mammals are unhappy, this will do it!

“Orcas are the most social animal on the planet, even more so than us,” said O’Barry. “Males will stay with their mothers their entire lives. When we capture an animal like Tilikum, we take him away from the two most important things of his life; the world of sound and family. We put them in a concrete box and expect him to stay mentally healthy. It simply doesn’t work.” - Rick O’Barry, Marine Mammal Specialist EII

• Is Discovery’s Planet Green FINALLY getting the meat/global warming connection? Or not. The promos for Emeril’s Green(washed) Kitchen still lists “beef” as a major ingredient, but I got a recipe for vegan chocolate mousse in my inbox this morning, and they have a vegan section. Strangely, their new show Future Food: Gastronomic Geniuses seems like a bunch of dudes playing with their meat. The video showcases these “geniuses” shooting bratwurst with paint-balls, and trying to figure out the tastiest way to serve this meat up in mad-science ways. The maddest science is showcasing meat on a self-proclaimed “green” network when it’s the #1 cause of global warming! Hey Discovery, WTF!?

• Rock It Out: A Night to Benefit New York’s Farm Animal Sanctuaries

http://woodstockfas.org/art/animals/DylanPlusOlivia.jpg

Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary

This benefit will feature live musical performances, a scrumptious vegan bake sale, and an awesome raffle all to benefit farm animals at Farm Sanctuary and the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary! Check out what these sanctuaries do to save animals like Billy, who was taken in after almost being killed by a sledgehammer at a dairy farm just a few weeks ago:

Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Location: Reidy Hall at All Souls Church, 1157 Lexington Ave @ 80th St, Basement Level
$10 pre-sale, $15 at the door (cash only)
Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at:
https://www.mycommunitytickets.com/event_info.asp?eventid=26496

• Did society create monstrous people, or do a collective of monstrous people create civilization? This was the topic of last week’s Hardcore History, and we suggest you listen. Totally mind-bending! Could widespread child abuse and bad parenting in earlier eras explain some of history’s brutality? We think so.

• Learn to Lobby for Animals with the HSUS. We are only a few weeks away from the 2010 New York State Humane Lobby Day on Wed, March 24th in Albany. Join fellow activists to help pass legislation to crack down on animal fighters, stop puppy mills, end canned shoots of captive exotic wildlife, and protect farm animals from cruel treatment. To RSVP and get more info, click HERE.

• Jessica Reid asks GGA readers if a No Kill Nation is possible when it comes to dog shelters. There’s always a fierce discussion on the GGA comment-board, so have you say!

“The truth is you cannot blame having to kill shelter animals on an “irresponsible public” or “too many animals” when a shelter doesn’t implement lifesaving and low cost programs. I personally witnessed missed opportunity after missed opportunity from alienating potential fosters to terrible customer service to rude behavior toward rescue groups. I heard the same stories from other volunteers. These were not isolated cases. These were failures of management and staff to do what they should be doing: saving lives.”

No Comments

joshuakatcher, March 2nd 2010 | Tags: dan carlin, fair trade fedora, farm sanctuary, gary Smith, gq, hardcore history, HSUS, jessica reid, lobby, mousse, no kill shelter, pocket square, rick o'barry, seaworld, sperry, the cove, ties, Tilikum, vegan pudding, vegan shoes, woodstock farm animal
Posted in Health, Shoes, Uncategorized, activism, animal rights, cruelty-free, design, dogs, environmental justice, event, fair trade, fashion, food, global warming, green, news, organic, pets, philosophy, recipes, recycled, social responsibility, trend report, vegan, vegetarian

Who Wears The Pants?

“We’re looking to kill a deer in the name of manliness”.

That’s what the host and subject of the documentary film “An Emasculating Truth” (presented by Dockers) says in the trailer. The trailer consists of very “manly” killing-things-drinking-womanizing-weight-lifting-bull-riding-gun-shooting-circumcising stuff that all lead to a Dockers-wearing dude trying to find out why men are becoming such sissies? Gosh, can’t we get back to being rugged, chiseled, animal-killing, stoic cowboys? Or can’t we at least embrace being lazy, apathetic, sloppy, couch-potato assholes who ignore our kids and expect the woman to cook and clean? I mean, if we’re gonna’ embrace gender stereotypes, why not all of them? When did becoming a man have to have so much… hair product in it?

“Women will succeed. They will eliminate men probably in a thousand years. There’ll be like a few men and like a lotta’ lesbians”.

Masculinity is in danger! Testosterone is down, 17% in the last 14 years! Men are becoming superficial, vain, feminized, gay, metrosexual, and ruled by the ladies they should otherwise be smacking around! Let’s blame it on Tofu! Or how about your female boss. That bitch. We’ve gotta organize and take this society and turn it into a patriarchy! oh, wait…

While Dockers doesn’t actually advocate violence toward women in this film, (just animals – who really aren’t deserving of consideration anyway, you sissy) they are capitalizing on a very trendy idea. A percieved loss of male identity within a culture that is already male-dominated seems to be satirical. But what if there is some truth behind this joke? Being the one who “wears the pants” basically means not letting a woman influence your decisions. Jamie Doak over at BUST Magazine does an excellent job of summarizing the sexism-as-satire vs actual sexism that can be found in this new Dockers Campaign. I guess it might be humorous if the Levi-Strauss company didn’t have such a recent and horrible history of abusing female workers:

Late in 1991 a Levi’s contractor in the US Pacific territory of Saipan was accused of keeping imported Chinese women in virtual slavery, confiscating their passports and forcing them to work 84-hour weeks at sub-minimum wages. A contractor in Indonesia who had been given a clean bill of health by a Levi’s inspector was found to be strip-searching female workers to determine whether they were menstruating as they claimed and thus were entitled to a day off with pay in accordance with Muslim law. Employees of a former Levi’s contractor in Mexico said that at least ten children aged under 14 worked at the plant; workers were laid off for a few days if they went to the toilet ‘too often’, and rain-water poured through the roof, collecting in puddles and causing electric shocks. source

May favorite part about Dockers’ Facebook page is the poll:

“Right or wrong taking a stand”? Total bullshit. Wearing toxic conventional cotton pants made by underpaid, mostly female workers is not taking a stand. It’s falling in line. Did you know that between 1981 and 1998 the Levi Strauss company, who owns Dockers, closed 69 plants and put 17,795 people out of work in the United States, including 1,000 white-collar jobs? They moved all their labor overseas and into Mexico where they can pay people less and factories continue to expectantly violate human rights. Even more factories have been moved overseas and into Mexico since then.

While Levi’s now claims to enforce strict labor standards at its factories, its recent history of mostly-female worker exploitation and its even more recent business (late 2007) with Maquiladoras that continue to violate workers’ rights in Mexico tells a different story. As recently as August of 2009, a factory in Lesotho making Levi’s was caught dumping needles, razors and harmful chemicals at two municipal dumps that attract young children who search for pieces of clothing to sell. It’s not a desirable thing have leaked into the mainstream media, but the point is that when you have factories all over the developing world, its difficult and costly to maintain strict environmental and labor standards. Levi’s has made huge improvements – including beginning to purchase organic cotton and offer recycled denim, but WRAP certification might be a smart next step.

So what does it really mean to be a man who wears Dockers? Is this campaign a joke? You tell us.

3 Comments

joshuakatcher, February 25th 2010 | Tags: dockers, levi strauss, Levi's, male, manhood, manliness, maqiladoras, sexism, sweatshop
Posted in activism, environmental justice, fair trade, fashion, news, philosophy, social responsibility, trend report, vegan, video

Fashion Harm Reduction, & Turk + Taylor AW 2010

After writing so critically yesterday about the heritage luxury brands (Gucci, et al) finally hearing the death-rattle and attempting to figure out how to become sustainable (or at least greenwash their marketing enough to convince people that leather and cashmere could be sustainable), it’s important to point out clothing lines that are using organic cotton, fair labor, and moving towards having a substantial vegan product base. Lines like Vaute Couture, Matt & Nat that are entirely vegan and utilize organic and recycled textiles and ensure fair labor are taking their rightful place in the limelight.

It’s easy for some activists and critics to brush off the entire fashion industry (including the sustainable and vegan brands) as “frivolous” or have a “down with it all” attitude and concentrate on what they see as more pressing issues – but the fashion industry impacts the environment, people, and animals in such huge ways that it deserves much more detailed attention. For example, conventional cotton is responsible for 25% of all insecticide use worldwide, and leather and wool products are an incredibly profitable aspect of the hugest cause of global warming (livestock production). It’s a classic harm-reduction vs abstinence scenario. Clean needles or denial that people are doing drugs? Condoms or denial that teens have sex is happening. Sustainable fashion, or denial that people are buying into these images and ideas?

That being said, we are so excited to see that Turk + Taylor has many vegan items in the new winter collection (which is something that is always hard to come by). Typically, when we think of winter clothing, it is almost invariably wool or other animal products. Below are some images from the new menswear look-book, and our favorite vegan model, Jayce, is featured in them.

Featuring western-style “Panhandle” organic cotton button-downs, “Glen Canyon Grandad” pea coat-style, french-terry, shawl-neck sweaters with organic cotton fleece, and military-inspired “Washington Square” jackets in waxed organic cotton and upcycled sailcloth – the vegan highlights from this and other growing collections and brands are something that the old-school luxury brands who, like the polar bears, are on thin ice, need to carefully learn from and look up to.

2 Comments

joshuakatcher, February 25th 2010 | Tags: greenwash, matt & nat, organic cotton, sustainable fashion, turk + taylor, vaute couture, vegan
Posted in fair trade, fashion, green, news, recycled, social responsibility, upcycled, vegan, vegetarian

Pride and Luxury

Grasp your pearls, for the future of the luxury market is at risk! We saw this video over at EcoStiletto (a special that appeared on The Luxury Channel) and were both intrigued and sort of disgusted by these luxury brands who are finally realizing that their own futures are at risk if the resource-tap they call Earth dries up. With their own mortality in sight, the main question this video raises is, “Does looking and acting rich conflict with sustainability?” Hello? Does a bear shit in the woods?

Let’s get over the noble idea that these brands actually care about the Earth, right now. It’s like the classic case where a Hollywood mega-star get’s a disease and then suddenly they’re the biggest advocate for finding a cure. They are simply trying to save their own existence, which is not the worst thing. Often it can help, but in the case of an entire market, that means certain sacred cows can not be questioned. Like what? Poverty. Caste and class systems. Money. Materialism. Greed. Hierarchical power structures. Resource access. Viewing the planet as a stockpile of resources. Anthropocentrism. The list goes on.

One glaring issue is that companies like Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Alexander MQueen, and others that rule the world of luxury, who perpetuate images of desirable and unattainable lifestyles, are all addicted to leather, fur, cashmere, wool, and other animal products. We also know that raising livestock is the single greatest ecological threat that exists. So, until these brands covert all their products to be vegan (which is possible), it’s all greenwashing and very difficult to take them seriously. Even Stella McCartney, who uses no fur or leather, still uses plenty of wool and cashmere. Once again, when talking about environment and sustainability, the livestock industry was completely brushed over and left out, although it is the single greatest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

If we leave it up to luxury brands to define the mainstream understanding of environmentalism, of course extracting things from nature and turning them into expensive products (and the social and political atmosphere maintaining their position to do those things) will not be questioned in itself. If we let luxury brands use their powerful positions to create the mainstream discourse on sustainability, it’s like letting a drug addict head up the ATF.

I was astounded to hear the list of luxury brands who helped create the documentary “Home” by Yann Arthus Bertrand. Do they not see how drastically they need to change everything about themselves? If the current definition of sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without undermining the ability of future generations to meet their needs” then I wonder whether these brands could ever be capable of accommodating such an aspiration as that?

According to the video, the “I am not a plastic bag” phenomenon reduced plastic bag consumption in England, but is it simply an accessory of mass distraction as The Observer’s George Monibiot suggests? My fear is that greenwashing will prevail, not unlike the Canadian Fur Council’s “Fur is Green” and Diesel’s “Global Warming Ready” campaigns, and they will attempt to capitalize on the market value of “green” as opposed to actually changing industry practices from labor and environmental impact to animal welfare.

Heritage is what is at risk for luxury brands. Changing the factories, formulas, and ingredients of their products changes who they are at the core, which is a huge and uncertain undertaking. But if done thoroughly, honestly, and openly, it’s more than an opportunity. It’s common sense. It’s not biting off the hand that feeds them. It’s realizing that there is only one Planet Earth, yet many of us live in a way that requires three Earths to sustain the status quo.

What do you think? Can luxury brands change their ways? Or is the very nature of luxury in conflict with sustainability?

1 Comment

joshuakatcher, February 24th 2010 | Tags: Alexander MQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, luxury, sustainability, Yves Saint Laurent
Posted in activism, animal rights, cruelty-free, design, energy, environmental justice, fair trade, fashion, global warming, green, human rights, news, organic, philosophy, social responsibility, trend report, vegan, vegetarian, video

Etsy is for Dudes, Sundance Fur Fest & Futher Spillage

• We have green souls, right? Rachel Comey is back with more Vegan Spillers. This time, the cap-toe oxfords are in a beige canvas upper with a green sole. $208 at Steve Alan

• Planet Green weighs in on, the horror!!! - living without your Blackberry. “I was like Gollum in the Lord of the Rings, devoted to fondling My Precioussssss.”

• SUNDANCE FUR FESTIVAL : Heartless or Stupid? We know it’s hard for celebs to express how rich they are, but you’d think the creators of the The Green would have an anti-fur policy at their festival. Sundance has become known for it’s unhealthy association with fur-drenched celebs strutting around like idiots, literally. I mean you either have to not know how it’s made, or not have a heart. Usually the ladies are taking heat for wearing fur, but check out these images of some less-than-men I’d like to sic Mac Danzig on: Ashton Kutcher, Wesley Snipes, Nick Cannon, and Nick Hogan, all from the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. Find out what you can to help end this archaic industry.

• Six Reasons for Dudes to Hit on Etsy

1. Shoot dirt dead with gun soap scented with black tea! Practice your best Dirty Harry while scrubbing your hairy-dirty areas. vegan glycerin soap base and scented with black tea. $8.50

2. Yes, it’s OK to embrace the murse. But call it a portfolio and you’ll sound so much manlier. UNI-LAP portfolio case, vinyl $125

3. Find great one-of-a-kind vintage like this Vintage Tan Faux-Suede Jacket $40

4. Don’t Hurt the Bean Curd! Clever and/or offensive Organic cotton items like Tofu Never Screams and Small Hanging Wang Underwear! Also Skeletons and wings always make gentlemen happy.