Is using mohair fur okay?

It's actually from a goat. And they aren't killed to harvest the wool, they're washed and then sheared and then left to regrow the hair to shear again. So I think you're ok, ethics wise. ^__^

 

Lots of mohair wigs are in fact, skin wigs, made from the hair attached to the cured skin. If the idea bothers you, ask before you buy. It doesn't bother me personally.

 

I agree using fur even on pelts, if it's a secondary product from the animal. We use leather that came from cows and pigs. Since we use their meat, why not using the most parts of the animal, and don't make waste? For example, my puki has a rabbit fur wig, since I eat rabbit, I don't have any problem with that. I simply don't agree killing animals only for the fur.

I have some dyed mohair in the pelt, so they also kill the goat, but I agree in shearing the animal is better.

Conclusion, if the animal serve us as food, use the others parts also, and don't waste them.

 

Unfortunately it's impossible to know if the fur is from a good source or a bad source as they're often auctioned off in batches from different farms, sorted by colour or length... I do use furs but I prefer the wefted mohair that's been shorn off and sewn onto flexible caps becuase they have a little grip. I hope that the rest of the goat is used and I expect it is (why waste all that meat?) but I think it's the meat that is secondary to the fur in this regard.... it's the treatment of the animal whilst it's alive that concerns me, not what happens after death.

I have an Impala skin at home, I use tibetan lamb, yet I don't eat meat I can't speak for the lamb, but the Impala I know was shot on the Reserve I was working on becuase of a surplus of males, he was eaten by the staff on the reserve and his skull and skin was sold to raise money for the Reserve so in the future they can support more animals and have to cull less... I wish the same guarantee could be put on the skins. The Impala I have (Arnold :P) has some immortality now, albeit as a decorative item... maybe the same can be said for the wigs.

(PS I agree with you about PETA: good message, bad way to spread it -_- In England recently some activists dug up a mans grandmother and displayed her bones to him because he runs a medical testing facility... not fun. We're animals too!)

 

as @Gantaeno said...
I think it would be economicaly best to let the animal live and shear it... But if they sell the pelt, they could use the meat so the animal is not just thrown away...

(unlike sharks, take the fins and throw it living back in the water...)

So I think it is ok if its from animals like goats, sheeps, bunnies etc. since the animal is not just for skin but used whole.

 

If an animal is killed for its meat, then I see no problem in using its pelt. It makes sense to use every part of an animal that must be sacrificed to keep the human species alive. (Vegetarians would disagree with this, but I could not exist on a diet of beans and rice.) My shoes are made of cow hide, my sweaters of wool , (OK, they don't kill the sheep to get wool), my wallet of pigskin, sooooo...

As long as the animal is not put down solely for its skin, fur, fins, etc. I see no moral issue here.

 

I agree with this. I have a lot of leather clothing, I eat meat, and I dislike people who hunt for the fun of it.

 

If you're really careful about who you buy from, I think that it's OK. I have two TinyBear wigs, and if you look on the FAQ section of her site she states that the fur is a by-product and that every part of the animal is used.

I'm not a vegetarian so I have no qualms about animals being killed for their meat, so in my opinion if the fur can be sold too it cuts down on waste.

 

I'm vegetarian since 15 years and I also wear leather shoes (in winter they are unavoidable), I have various clothes made out of silk and wool and some of my dolls wear mohair wigs. I personally have a guilty conscious because of any leather product that I buy, but I think mohair wigs are ... okay. I don't judge the consumption of products that are made out of animal hair (as long as the products don't come from endangered animals). But what really annoys me are the circumstances under which those animals have to live very often.

 

first of all, I hate anything that involves cruelty to animals, so I can understand where you're coming from ^_^
I sell mohair wigs actually, so I have my own incite behind it. I make sure that all my suppliers are cruelty free, with an inspection certificate from their state health department. So I think it's fine, as long as if you're concerned about it, you check it out. Any good seller of a mohair product will be able to confirm that their mohair is retrieved cruelty free ^_^
p.s. it also makes me feel better to know that they aren't wasting any part of the animal ^_^

 

A vegan friend was very sad when she found out my doll's hair was a skin, and didn't want to hold it anymore. I'm a meat eater though, so I figure it's all one thing, basically. Anji, it's cool your wigs are certified. I'd prefer to buy a certified wig.
I always thought they were from sheep. They're from goats? Tibetan lambskin is from sheep, right?

 

oh peta, how you piss me off. I hate how they just try guilt you.

anyway on topic now

It depends on your point of view, I eat meat wear leather and have a coat with fur on it, so i have no issue with it. I don't have a doll yet, but when I do I'll most likely get a mohair wig because i think they look the best

 

Mohair is goat, lambskin is sheep

 

How do you feel about using a mohair wig on your doll?/Does it go against what you believe?
I have made and sold wigs made of mohair and I bought my pelts from a distributor who assured me the pelts were a byproduct of the local meat industry of a area in China (I forgot where) and the people over there made extra money by making coats, bed covers, etc. of the pelts or dyed the pelts to sell them to doll and teddy bear makers. I'm okay with it when animals are not just breed and kept for the fur and the fur is not thrown away as waste after the animal is killed for the meat.
So personally I don't feel bad for using mohair when I know where it comes from. I also use rabbit fur from biological farms or pest control, but for example I won't use mink or baby seal fur, because as far as I know minks and seals are not pests and how many people eat mink or seal for dinner?

Still I know other people are sensitive about the subject and do mind it when an animal is killed, whether for meat or fur. I no longer make wigs for other people (so many people do that), but when I sell mohair wigs from my personal collection I include the information it's made from an animal pelt so buyers can make a conscious choice to buy or not.
Not entirely unrelated to receiving death threats from an, and sadly I cannot describe it any other way, animal rights nut case.

 

I don't like to wear real fur or leather it freaks me out a little and I am allergic to fur so I could never get a real fur wig anyway

 

I have absolutely no qualms with the idea of using animal pelts or hair for wigs, or leather for boots/clothing for my dolls... or myself!
I eat meat and I have nice leather shoes and coats. I do support ethical treatment of animals, because if you respect yourself, you should respect the creatures that feed and clothe you. Whenever possible, I buy animal byproducts like leather and fur from places that certify that the animals were treated kindly, and up until I got married and moved out to the military base, I only purchased meat from a local farmer who raised the animals himself, so I could see first-hand that the animals were treated kindly. He was also an advocate of sedating the animals before butchering, so that they would be asleep and wouldn't even have the fear or stress of knowing that butchering time was coming.

But I do wish it was easier to find resources to show that the things you were getting, for humans and for dolls, were from situations where nothing went to waste.

 

Sometimes they get called Tibetan lambskin, but they are from angora goats. I made sure, because I cared about it, and if I cared about it I figured my customers would. Though to be honest, I've never had a customer actually ask me O.O

 

Ack, you received death threats O.O I can honestly say I have yet for that to happen O.O I'm sorry they were instrumental in your discontinuing in making wigs though. I think its wrong that people would push other people out of doing what they like to do!