Ethical clothing

This is such an interesting topic. I try to buy most of my dolls and their accessories second-hand, so I'm making sure things don't go to a landfill or get wasted. On the other hand, It's really hard to figure out the supply-chain for things like toys because I assume most are made under exploitative conditions. I didn't even think of the fact that most plastics are byproducts of the oil industry (a personal bugbear for me!) until it was pointed out in this thread.

 

My dolls have the same level of "pickiness" to their wardrobe as I do since I make their clothing lol. I use recycled bits of fabric from my own wardrobe or remnants of fabric from clothes that I've sewn for myself (great way to get rid of my scraps!) If I would buy from a seller, I think I would prefer to buy from a small seller on Etsy or the like who is using upcycled materials. I wouldn't buy from someone using real fur, for sure.

 

Considering that I pick my own clothes based on ethical considerations, it would be odd for my dolls to have more lax rules. I'm still the one doing the choosing and buying (or sewing), not them!

Like the poster above, my dolls get mostly secondhand clothes or things that I've sewn from leftover fabric or repurposed people clothes, no leather, fur, or silk.

 

I've repurposed leather and fur from old gloves and other human-scale clothing to make things for my dolls (Reusing those vintage materials is considerably more ethical in my opinion than just throwing them away-), and I do have one doll that wears a carefully-sourced rabbit hide. (It's from a local farm here in western Washington that raises rabbits for cooking. The hides are a secondary product, since they're very big on not wasting anything that comes from their animals... I think that's a good attitude to encourage, which is why they're my primary source for "food bunnies".) I also have a few dolls who wear skin mohair wigs from sheep or goats. Like the rabbit hide, those skins are typically a secondary product of the meat industry.

I wouldn't buy new leather just for doll outfits, or any fur that wasn't either vintage or from a food animal... but that's just where I draw a personal line. Silk, honestly, I am less picky about... but even there, I like repurposing just on general principle, so do that when-ever I can.

 

I'd really like it if I could find more real leather doll shoes. Plastics are terrible for the environment (both in manufacturing and disposal), and in climates like mine they break down quickly. I have several pairs of real leather doll shoes from Volks that still look new a decade later. Then I've tossed three-year-old shoes in the trash because the plastic coating was breaking down. I'd prefer to spend a little more on shoes that can last and be used for my lifetime or longer, rather than cycling in and trashing "disposable" plastic coated shoes that will sit in a landfill for centuries.

Most leather is a byproduct of the food industry, so I don't have any ethical issues with using the entire animal and not letting anything go to waste.

 

If you haven't already, try Etsy with the search terms "sd bjd parka." There's one I see that's described as having artificial leather, and the fur trim looks fake, but you could message the designer and find out for sure.

As for my own boundaries, yes, I apply the same standards to my dolls as to myself: I purchase leather, but not fur. I recently bought a 1/4-sized outfit from eBay with a little beret, and it had a pom pom with real rabbit fur. I was kind of shocked! Was not expecting. When I re-sold it, I made sure to mention that the fur was real. Luckily, someone bought it, anyway.

 

Problem with leather is that not all leather skins are created equal. That means, not only do you have to look that it is real leather, but also how it was tanned.

Obviously, this does not matter so much if second-hand leather is used. But I look more closely if I buy a new skin. Organically tanned is always more expensive, but it is worth it. Much less harming to our environment.

 

I am really on the fence about buying leather shoes for my dolls (or me), and the pros and cons of it keep me thinking.

Those of you who say that leather is ethically justifiable for you since it is a byproduct of the meat industry - what do you think about these arguments laid down in this article (and many, many others)?
It basically says that while leather can sometimes be seen as a byproduct of the meat industry, it is also valid to say that meat is often more like a byproduct of the leather industry since leather is much more valueable than meat and gives farmers a better profit (and a higher incentive to deliver it) than meat - while causing immense environmental damage in its production. And also because many animals are purely killed for their hides, like the very soft glove or bag leather that comes from unborn or newborn calves.

I am already trying to only get leather that has been vegetable-tanned and aniline dyed, but in doll shoes it seems impossible, expensive as they often are. Do you know of a source?

 

The article uses highly emotional language in an attempt to influence the reader, no sources are cited for the statistics or assumptions, and the website receives a commission from the bag/shoe stores linked in the article. I think the arguments are highly biased and shaky.

 

You are right! I think I chose a bad article for what I meant. Thanks for catching this.
Here are your facts and references:
Peta's factsheet and their references on the wool, fur and leather industry
Peta's report on animals used for leather production
There are tons of more facts and reports on the impact of leather consumption on animal farming and related topics on their site. If that does not suffice I am sure Peta will provide more hard facts if asked, I know from other topics they do their research thoroughly. I did not think their language is overtly emotional, either. I find they do call things by their rightful names, though.

So my questions still stand, kind of

 

I don't know if this exactly fits the category, as it seems this topic is talking about animals and not people, but I also have concerns about ethically made BJD clothing, but more in the sense that I don't want to buy from sellers who do not compensate their workers adequately, or offer their workers poor working conditions.

There are various opposing arguments surrounding this ("clothing manufacturers offer sometimes better wages than other businesses in the area," ignoring that these wages are barely livable or that they are sometimes an order of magnitude below what you would pay people in the company's home country), but I still try to limit the harm my buying habits are doing to other people (although I guess you could argue that since BJDs are purely art and serve no useful purpose that any waste or harm they cause is superflous).

I tried to do this by going "all-in" in high school for myself. You research ethical clothing manufacturers who claim to offer goods "made in the USA" or "made with livable wages" and then it turns out that like Levi's, the good is made in a foreign country and assembled in the USA (there's a certain percentage of "in USA" work that must be done to claim "made in the USA"), or the fabric and materials are not similarly sourced.

The compromise I've found is to reuse whenever possible, and to make many of my own things. I try to toss any doll or human-sized clothing only when it wears through (often after many patching attempts), make many of my own human and doll clothes (this doesn't limit the labor of making the supplies, however), reuse clothing or repurpose "new old stock," resell or donate anything which I am not using to the fullest extent, buy clothing made to last, and try to buy handmade items as much as possible (not that this necessarily ensures that the artist is being kind to themselves).

I will admit that my concern is mostly focused on people and not animals, and I am not vegetarian or vegan (grew up on a farm), which may inform some of my focus in this case.

I do not refrain from buying natural materials, including leather (often they last longer than their synthetic, nonbiodegradable replacement), but I do skew toward buying from farmers who sell their animals for meat as well, or in buying preused or repurposed goods.

 

this is an interesting topic to me, as my other hobby is collecting animal bones/parts and the like. obviously I have no qualms about real fur or leather. I have what is perhaps a different definition of "ethical" than a lot of others, because I see a lot of nuance in how animals are treated and how they died.

let me explain: in my other hobby, some people only collect bones from roadkill animals, because it wasn't killed on purpose. but dying by car is still a terrible way to go, and I would not consider it "humane" in the slightest. being killed by a predator is "natural" but it still isn't pleasant. on the other hand, being cared for by a human and treated well, then euthanized for fur is technically kinder but also morally dubious. so if you're going to use real fur or leather, how do you navigate that?

I prefer, instead of shunning natural materials altogether, to try my hardest to know the origin of the material. how did this animal die? how was it treated beforehand? is it antique, or vintage, or recycled? these are the kinds of things I need to know when I'm using something that came from a living thing. if it was a wild animal that died in a "natural" way, or was the victim of an accident and not let go to waste, if it's recycled, or if the item is simply a scrap byproduct that would otherwise be tossed in a landfill, then I feel alright using that material.

if it was part of a commercial fur farm, where animals aren't treated well and it's all about maximizing profits, then I don't feel comfortable, and I won't use that.

as for doll items that are pre-made with real fur or leather, I typically avoid them due to price, and because I can't know the origin of the fur/leather.

I realize everyone has different morals and different ideals, however, so I don't disparage anyone their right to choose these things.

 

In the beginning, I bought mohair wigs on skin but now, I buy locks that I glue on caps.
Alpacas are trimed without being harmed.
I hope the animals are treated well.

 

I make most of my doll's clothes from quilter's cotton. I never thought about whether that fabric is fair trade. Much of the fabric I use is new, but I try to reuse as much as I can from my worn out clothes or things purchased second had. The only silk I've worked with is from recycled silk saris.

The wool fabric I've bought for my dolls' clothes has come from the annual Sheep and Wool festival in my area. It's all off-cuts from a rug-hooking materials business, and I'm sure whoever did the hand-dying was someone associated with the small business.

I won't wear fur so I wouldn't have my dolls wear it either, unless I was sure it was vintage. I'm totally in favor of people re-using old material, be it cotton or fur.

 

I think I can contribute.

I think everyone has a right to choose how they wish to go about things of this kind of nature. I'm by far more leery on plastics. Granted, that is because I am a bit more aware of the plastics in my house when it comes to containing food and the like.

I do admit my main concern is on the human element of this sort of thing. Since working towards getting my first doll, the human element is just as important as the future of where the supplies come from to complete. There are concerns about farms that just maximize profits. (for example, I avoid mink because that is often fur farm) The good news is that animals that can be harmlessly sheered has my vote of confidence. (alpaca and sheep for example. They do not shed their fleece, and this comes from someone who sometimes just looks up information because.)
I like having information of where things come from. I prefer people supporting their local farms because typically (at least from where I live with farms nearby that I could go to in theory with more flexible money) the animals are treated well. Now if the words have 'fur farm' I rather avoid that sort of thing.
So, I see no problem with not letting the whole animal be used, but sometimes that information is not always readily available if that is the case or not.

All in all, I like to try to reuse fabrics of clothing I am not wearing anymore or never really wore to begin with. I'm not quite sure on how repurposing leather will go about, since I never worked with leather before- but I think if I can find how to reuse leather for other projects; I'd be fine.
I've already encountered the issue of fragility of more plastic based faux leather, it doesn't even last me a year for my main winter coat. I don't want that happen to my dolls clothing too.


Edit: Ack. Just wanna add at the end to state clearly: Hopefully more options with clear information comes out for all. It does sound like there could be a demand for it after all. From those that want to avoid the real- and those that prefer to know the source of where the real comes from- if that makes sense.

 

Given their absolutely ghastly track record at how they treat people and animals, I would not put PETA and the word Ethical in the same sentence. Let's leave them well out of this discussion.

That said, I think it's always polite of a seller to indicate whether fur or leather or other animal products have been used in a doll outfit so people can choose the items that match their preferences.

 

This is an interesting question, and one that made me realize that I'm at a crossroads with my doll collection. Until recently, most of my collections of non-antique/vintage items were mass produced in some capacity. The older stuff gets a pass due to age, but the newer collections have been at odds with my personal standards otherwise. Moving into a direction of more intentional collecting means that I can establish new rules about the origins and methods of manufacture for the things I bring into my collection.

For me, this really comes down to buying/trading for products that create less environmental impact. Buying dolls at all is technically needless consumption, so I can't say that I'm waving a picket sign that reads "DOWN WITH CONSUMERISM!!" with a straight face. But, I can avoid mass-manufacture, cheap things that are imported at a huge cost of fuel and man hours, and most plastics.