Ethical clothing

I don't buy clothes for my dolls, but I generally use the same judgement for everything I buy regardless of what it is for :p

 

Maybe buy one without fur (I’ve seen them available) and then sew on some faux fur you can verify?

 

I'm vegan, so I prefer making all my dolls clothes. In my earlier years in the hobby I used to purchase shoes, but now to avoid any doubtful purchases I just don't purchase shoes either, or stick to vinyl. A lot of the sellers I used to ask about the materials of the shoes I would be interested in, would often respond in a vague answers. I think mostly due to language barriers, and mostly because a large amount of people don't care. Sad as it might sound, after many years in many toy-related hobbies, it's just the depressing truth (and I'm not just saying people in toy-related-hobbies don't care, I just noticed it in them because I am a toy-enthusiast -- generally, people don't care about how materials are sourced). Probably not helpful, but just my 2 cents.

 

Well, I'm going to be the opposing opinion here. I have several real fur doll coats but they are made from vintage fur. While I don't want beautiful animals killed just for fashions, I can't see anything wrong with recycling used fur. These animals were killed long ago. made into coats & now that they're out fashion (the style) I can't see letting the fur go to waste.

I guess I'm kind of a use it up, reuse stuff in imaginative ways sort of person. Especially something as lovely as fur.

 

Another trick for those who want the look of fur but not the animal product is to crochet eyelash yarn. It makes a decent facsimile of fur.

 

I'm actually probably MORE ethical when it comes to doll clothes, lol. My doll clothes are almost all either secondhand or made by small etsy creators, so none of the dubious sweatshop stuff that goes along with buying a tanktop from target. Or less, at least.

As for fur and leather, I've never really thought about that before! I sort of always assume any doll clothes in my price range would be synthetic...

 

I have never done it before, but you can turn yarn into fake fur. Ive seen lots of tutorials on youtube and pintrest. That way you can control the color a lot better.

 

I agree, if more people ask, they might offer more alternatives. It would be really neat too, if most sellers listed whether the materials are completely synthetic or animal-derived. That way people like me wouldn't bother them at all. I think only a few BJD makers list their clothing materials, I recall Fairyland doing so for one of their LE dolls that had real rabbit fur in her outfit a few years ago, but I don't know for sure if they are the only ones that do so, or even if they do it all the time. I know that most clothing shops that sell BJD clothes or shoes don't list the materials that were used, so that's why I stopped shopping for shoes. I didn't want to bother the sellers, only to be left confused and have to contact them again and then end up not buying anything because I wasn't sure we understood each other. You got some really good tips though, I didn't even think about buying the item you want without the fur and then adding some that you know is fake to it. Sounds pretty clever! (:

 

I know what you mean, NanouDinosaur, this is not exactly a popular topic anywhere. Ethical issues are not the most trendy, and certain lifestyles are not the most popular to be discuss unless you are in the specific forums to discuss them in. However, I think this might be a relevant topic to other people who don't want to use real animal fur on their dolls, and don't want to sew the whole item themselves (or don't know how to). Sewing is not easy if you don't know what you're doing (like for me), so more people might find this thread quite useful. Good luck with your parka! (:

 

That's part of my thought, too. I also imagine remnant bags are a great resource, because making things for dolls probably lets you make good use of those scraps that are too small for people-clothes (as well as allowing you to learn leatherworking skills on something you won't feel as bad about making mistakes with).

 

Was the fur rabbit fur? If so it was a by-product of the meat industry. Rabbits are raised for food, not fur but in the grand old tradition, use everything possible. I understand that a lot of people are vegetarians or vegans but I'm not so rabbit fur doesn't put me off. Neither does real leather (again a by-product of food) but to find real leather doll shoes is next to impossible. 99.9% of all commercial doll shoes are synthetics. Real leather shoes would cost much more, beyond most folks' price range.

Guess I'm just an old-fashioned meat eater though I was vegetarian for several years back in my 20s. It was ok but I have trouble with anemia & that didn't help/

 

yeah, i don't like real fur or skin for my dolls. so i always ask & confirm with the seller. if they won't give a straight answer, then i won't buy.

for me, part of the reason is religious. i am muslim, & i don't want the skin or hair that come from forbidden animals. other than that, i am also anti fur. unless it comes from livestock, like sheep or alpaca or rabbit...

 

Hm, as much as I can understand you, I do not think oil-based products are the way to go. They are also not really ethical, aren't they? I am trying to use only vintage leather (salvaged from old bags and clothes), or use not chrome-tanned leather. It is really difficult. Another aspect that vinyl does not hold up very well. But if you care for real leather the right way, it will not perish as quickly as vinyl or other pleather types.