Doll Clothes and Accessories made from Fur and Leather

This might just be the crazy talking but I have no moral issues with wearing\using fur or leather, (dolls or people), just so long as the animal isn't endangered or illegal to hunt. That's all I have to say.

 

Would you be insulted or shocked to see a doll wearing clothes made from animal byproduct?
In general I'm insulted by the meat & byproduct and animal testing industry. I would never ever use them however I don't care what other people do. I would love to see a world where we don't use them at all though. We aren't living in the prehistoric era where we actually use every single part of an animal and actually need fur and meat to survive. We can live and thrive on natural plant fibers/textiles, alternative fabrics, and veg food. Sorry, don't want to sound all preachy.

Does it make a difference if the byproducts came from animals we eat?
Nope. As someone else has already said the farming factory system actually has animals butchered for meat and animals butchered for furs/leather. There is a terrible amount of cruelty and waste with it all.

Would it make a difference if you bought the leather/fur from a crafts store?
It doesn't matter where it comes from... fur is fur, meat is meat.

Would it make a difference if you bought the byproduct straight from the distributor, whom you knew to use all parts of the animal? Or is it all the same to you?
I would love to see people who do use leather or fur to do this but for me it is all the same.

 

People can't be against fur but fine with leather... that's ridiculous. Anyway, I'm a hunter and taxidermist and as a result of my work oftentimes I have very beautiful and prime fur scraps left-over. Throwing these out is not an option, although the thought of crafting something for my doll out of such a precious material is a bizarre irk of mine... I could also get some great shots of him with/on one of my coyote, fox or wolf but I can't bring myself to it out of immense respect for the animal.

As far as dolls go, no, they shouldn't have clothes or accessories made of animal products out of pure respect for the animal, not because "OMG its sooooooooo cruel!!!!!111!!!1one!1!1", and this is coming from one that deals with such things (fur, taxidermy and death) daily.

Edit: Before I cop it everything I do is ethical and humane, nothing goes to waste and all animals are harvested in season and in accordance with state guidelines.

 

As for myself, my family is Native American or American Indian as many will say. Either is fine with me. As such I was raised to respect life in all it forms. Don't kill it if you are not going to eat it. And if you kill it and eat it then use all of it that you can. Our family raised pigs and chickens and we hunt and fish still. No trophy hunting and that includes deer, rabbits, some birds and squirrels. To me that includes purchased animal products too from food animals. I will use leather from cattle, sheepskins, and mohair from goats. But absolutely not ermine, mink, fox, or anything like that. They are raised to be killed and stripped of their skins, often in very inhumane ways to preserve the hides. The bodies are wasted. There is no excuse in most countires these days not to use synthetic furs if warmth is an issue. Plus I am very involved in and am on the board of directors for two animal rescue groups in my home town. Somehow it seems like a conflict of interest. Killing or using animal products from animals killed for only their fur is a great disrespect and an affront to life in my opinion.

 

It's possible, if not a bit ironic~ I think people have an issue with fur and not leather because the two industries run very differently. A lot of leather comes from the same cows we eat so people can probably justify it easier. Fur is a whole other story and has a much more negative connotation over all. Animals are farmed just for the pelts and I think some methods of skinning have been portrayed as really brutal by some groups. I'm no expert on this. I don't personally know much about it, but certainly have overheard more than a few rants about it. It's just one of those things people have specific bias over for a multitude of reasons. Maybe if I knew more about the difference I'd be less okay with fur ^_^;;

Anyways-
I don't see a problem with using leather for BJD things. I'd certainly like to give making something out of leather a try. Fur just seems less practical considering how nice of fake fur you can find for much less cost from the real stuff. Not that I'd be offended if someone decided to use real fur over fake. If someone really wants to pamper their dolls, that's totally up to them.

 

i'm vegan so yes i'm shocked when dolls wearing animal skin and i ignore them , also i banned from my flickr contacts list all "doller" who show their dolls with fur and other stuffs that i reject , before to order on doll's companies websites i demand if it's synthetic or not .

i don't want compromises or tolerance , i don't care about it .

animals are not "products" , just living beings and i respect their life and it's more important for me than the tolerance towards those which are not agreement with me.


sorry for my english ... he's sucks but i'm french , i do efforts to speak english .

 

Would you be insulted or shocked to see a doll wearing clothes made from animal byproduct (furs and leathers and such)?
Shocked isn't really the word... I don't like it, but I wouldn't be shocked... Unless maybe someone starts bragging about their doll wearing only stoat or leopard's fur or something else endangered or bred for fur. That would just be disgusting.

Does it make a difference if the byproducts came from animals we eat (cows, rabbits, pigs, sheep, etc.)?
Yes. If you are to kill an animal, then at least make sure it's death has been useful and use all of it, not just the skin, fur, or horns.

Would it make a difference if you bought the leather/fur from a crafts store (like Hobby Lobby or Michael's)?
I was a bit confused about this question, until I saw the next one:
Would it make a difference if you bought the byproduct straight from the distributor, whom you knew to use all parts of the animal?
I think I'd rather have it from a distributor. In a store there's no way telling where it came from.

Or is it all the same to you?
Definitely not. I'd rather have my dolls wearing man-made products, including fur or leather: I'd rather have it fake. Especially since with dolls it's just about the look: It doesn't need to be resistant to the weather or anything, you know, like a human buying a pair of leather boots with the idea that he will be using them almost every day for the rest of his life until they are completely worn out. Dolls will never need stuff like that, so why bother giving them the real thing while the fake thing looks just as good?

I do understand that there are cases in which the man-made material is simply not as good as the real thing. For instance, I haven't managed to find a fake suede yet that would be stretchable and durable and thin enough to suede my doll with... I'll keep looking, but there might be a point where I really would need actual suede. However, when I decide to use real suede, I will still try to use a shoe-maker's leftovers or something, rather than buying it new. At least that way I won't contribute to the demand of new deaths.

 

I'm uncomfortable with the fur/skin wigs. They feel great, look beautiful, and still make me uncomfortable.
I don't know why fur makes me more uncomfortable than leather, but it does.

 

I do not buy anything leather or fur. I won't put it on my dolls or myself. Fake leather or fur is fine to me, but not the real thing. Not only do I feel horrible about the poor creature that died for that, but also the idea of wearing dead animal skin or putting it on my doll grosses me out. lol

It doesn't matter if it's a rare endangered animal or a cow or pig. To me, all creatures deserve the same respect, no matter how "tasty" they might be...(this coming from the person who picks up beetles to put them outside and cries if she accidentally squishes one...)

That being said, though I would LOVE to see everyone support animal rights, I know it isn't logical to expect that and I wouldn't be shocked or u\insulting to someone who did choose to dress their doll in leather or fur. Condemning and criticizing people never makes them want to see your side.

 

Would you be insulted or shocked to see a doll wearing clothes made from animal byproduct (furs and leathers and such)?
-Insulted / Shocked wouldn't really describe my reaction, as fur / leather are both common 'fabric' materials and used often in outfitting a figure or item... as far as how I feel about it, I personally don't like to use them. I have no real issues with people that do, because lets face it... even if I get upset with every person that uses such items, its not going to do anything. (Yes, yes I know - if EVERYONE stood up - blah blah / that will never happen. :P) So I wouldn't be shocked, but I'm still not going to buy/use anything that is from the fur / leather fabric family.

Does it make a difference if the byproducts came from animals we eat (cows, rabbits, pigs, sheep, etc.)?
- No, if it does you're a hypocrite. Just my opinion.

Would it make a difference if you bought the leather/fur from a crafts store (like Hobby Lobby or Michael's)?
-No, I actually used to work at a Michael's - I still didn't care for the items. hah

Would it make a difference if you bought the byproduct straight from the distributor, whom you knew to use all parts of the animal? Or is it all the same to you?
-Yes. If, for this discussion sake, if I HAD to buy something from the leather / fur fabric family, I would ONLY buy it from this type of distributor. I totally understand having to use animals for survival, but on the same side of the coin, use EVERYTHING you can. Killing something for just one thing (fur, pelts, leather, horns, whatever and etc... ) is wrong. No matter how you look at it, no matter what you say. It's wrong. And that's not just my opinion, that's fact. Thanks - sdrcow

 

People associate fur more with animals, it resembles the 'cover of the book' if you want that for an example. But I agree, fur has more of an impact than leather. They both make me sad =/

 

People associate fur more with animals, it resembles the 'cover of the book' if you want that for an example. But I agree, fur has more of an impact than leather. They both make me sad =/

 

Would you be insulted or shocked to see a doll wearing clothes made from animal byproduct?
Not really, so long as the material is handled with respect and comes from a source that uses every part of the animal. I might offended if I see a doll wearing a full fox pelt with the head resting atop theirs because it's tacky and foxes are primarily used for fur and the rest is thrown away.

Does it make a difference if the byproducts came from animals we eat?
It does for me because then the there isn't waste happening. I'd rather buy a pelt that comes as a byproduct than something harvested from a fur farm,

Would it make a difference if you bought the leather/fur from a crafts store?
Only if I knew the source of the fur/leather before it reached the store.

Would it make a difference if you bought the byproduct straight from the distributor, whom you knew to use all parts of the animal? Or is it all the same to you?
It would make more of difference knowing and would encourage me to be a repeat customer should I ever need other products from them.

 

I would not be shocked, as fur and leather are products used for centuries. So wouldn't be bothered if someone had a doll in a miniature 'mink' coat for instance. Could understand if the animal was endangered of course. Something never really thought of.

 

Leather is fine. Other parts of the cow get used. I own/wear leather myself; I've got no problem with my dolls wearing it. Except perhaps that leather's expensive and it would probably be more cost-effective for me to use a synthetic.

Fur has one inescapable problem: it takes a disproportionate amount of small animals (the meat and anything else of which never gets used) to clothe a single human. Today there is little enough wild acreage left and enough inexpensive synthetics out there to render the practice more wasteful than it was to start out with. In colder climates fur can become a necessity, and that's fine, but for most, it's just an unnecessary status symbol.
(For dolls, the source/consumer ratio is inverted, but the fur would have been harvested for human consumption so I would still find it distasteful because of the associated waste.)

There is, of course, an exception to be made for vintage. Wearing/using vintage fur wastes nothing today. Though a fur anything would have to be pretty far gone for me to cut it up for doll clothes parts.

As far as it mattering which animals in particular, I personally have an emotional attachment to rabbits, and would never be able to wear/use rabbit fur under any circumstances. I would just be sobbing the whole time. It would be pitiful. >.>;

Yeah, I would need confirmation of total use from a local distributor before I bought new fur for a special project, if I WERE so inclined. (Can't really think of one, but just for the sake of argument.) I don't buy steampunk jewelery from artists who cannibalize antique pocketwatches instead of buying spare parts in lots off ebay. It all comes back to the same idea: I just think one shouldn't destroy things for frivolous reasons.

 

This may sound ridiculous, but I think it depends on the animal. If the leather or the fur comes from a common animal with no danger of extinction (deer, cattle, or rabbits) then its usage for anything is fine with me. If said animal is a common food source, then that's better because more parts of the animal are being used (cuts down on waste that way). If said fur or leather comes from something endangered or threatened (certain snakes, sables and such), then I have problems with that. And killing something solely for its hide? Count me out.

That being said, it's usually impossible to tell whether a fur outfit came from a common animal or not, so I usually don't bother. I stick to the faux stuff--easier to maintain, doesn't hurt animals either. The only exception for me would be the same as Shoesandcandles' reason--if it's vintage, then no new animals are being hurt, and an old pelt doesn't go to waste.

 

I suppose that if I were vegan, I would have a large problem with using clothes for my dolls, or even myself, that were made of real fur or leather. The only thing that keeps me from them now is that they're a) expensive and b) not my thing. I prefer faux fur and faux leather just for how easy they are to clean, and I find faux fur to be softer than real fur. And it doesn't run the risk of smelling, ew.

It would make a difference, though, if I knew that the product was a bi-product of an animal that was killed for a purpose beyond vanity. A common animal, like a cow, that I knew was also going to be made into food wouldn't bother me as much as, oh I don't know, a mink that was killed for the fur alone.

 

As long as it was obtained humanely, I have absolutely no qualms with my dolls or myself wearing fur or leather(even if I don't care much for fur). I won't go out of my way to buy fur/leather clothes for my dolls though. What I buy for them is based solely on the quality of the clothes and the personality of my doll.

 

I agree exactly. Though, I'd rather look for fake fur before I buy real fur. I'd just like to mention that I'm vegetarian, but I believe it has nothing to do with this.

 

Would you be insulted or shocked to see a doll wearing clothes made from animal byproduct (furs and leathers and such)?
Not at all.

Does it make a difference if the byproducts came from animals we eat (cows, rabbits, pigs, sheep, etc.)?
Yes - I prefer that animals, if any part is used for consumption then all of it is. I also am very interested in humane farming, and don't believe in trapping. I also don't agree w/the use of exotic furs/leathers etc (where the animals are endangered).

Would it make a difference if you bought the leather/fur from a crafts store (like Hobby Lobby or Michael's)?
Sure - I am not fond of chain stores - in fact any fur I get is from thrift stores. There is a local fabric shop that has leather scraps that I get leather from.

Would it make a difference if you bought the byproduct straight from the distributor, whom you knew to use all parts of the animal?
That would be ideal - or even better, someone that practised humane farming practises.

Or is it all the same to you?

No, it is NOT all the same to me. I'm fine w/using animals to live, & using all parts of the animal if some is used. I am very much against inhumane treatment of animals while they live. But I despise PETA, which is a hypocritical organization that advised vegetarian diets for cats, to name but one nonsensical thing. I could rant on but I will refrain.