Is using mohair fur okay?

No we don't make wigs from cow or pig skin because the fur is very short, but leather from both pigs and cows are used for clothing, bags, shoes, car seat covers etc etc etc. Nobody slaughters a cow or pig just for the skin, so I doubt very much that a poor farmer in a third world country is going to slay his goat or sheep just to take the skin when his family is hungry. Maybe you don't eat goat meat, but be assured that are those in the world who would.

 

Educate yourself using all sources (not just People Talking Empty Air) and make the choice you feel is right for you.

I am a pescetarian for reasons that were once PETA's and are now health-related only. Several of my dolls have mohair wigs and I ADORE them. I have leather products. I have wool outerwear for winter. These things are unavoidable in the Western world, and it's not a fight I wish to pick. Especially since pretty much everything you own, eat, and wear hurts some being in some way. (Your computer's made of animals, you know. Look into what most plastics are made of and follow it back.) And if my buying a mohair wig, thus enabling the wigmaker to purchase mohair from Tibet which is a very impoverished, very oppressed area (again, research is key), hey, I'm helping people.

EDIT: Also:

Baby seals are not killed by humans. It is illegal to do so. As for eating seal for dinner, you would be very surprised. I went to university in a place where yes, they DO eat seal. And they kill them, too. Le gasp.

 

Almost every animal in the world is used for food somewhere. And many insects, too (my sister ate a grub of some sort in Peru... she said it was yuck but the kids there loved them). Especially in an impoverished area an animal that is killed for food will absolutely be used for leather, fur, and in any other way possible; and animals killed for their hide will be eaten as well - as little waste as possible.

 

It might be possible. You'd definitely have to train your body to get used to it.

 

I actually own two Mohair wigs which have no animal skin attached to them at all, so I know for a fact they also make them from animals which are from sheered animals, and not killed animals. I never knew about Tiebetan lambskin wigs.

But with the Tibetan lambskin ones we do not know what other parts of the animal they are using... I'm pretty sure they wouldn't kill a sheep just to make wigs from the hide and then not use to rest of it.

As long as the animals are being used for multiple purposes I really don't have a problem with it....

It profits the farmer to have the animal used for more then one things so its a good thing they're not just throwing out the hides...

I don't know much about the Tibetan lambskin mohair making process or where they buy their wool but I'd figure they get the left over pelts from slaughter houses and places that actually use the meat as well...

 

Buy what you love, enough said If you have doubts about something, than do what many people suggest here and use another option. I think things are getting a bit to philisophical here, no?

 

... there's a Wikipedia page on it. It might be illegal to kill the cubs in some parts but not everywhere (and I doubt it's policed successfully across such vast countries).

 

I appreciate your drive to educate others on other peoples' diets, but the sarcasm was a little bit much. Some people have not experienced cultures or other people who do eat seal, and that's not a crime.

As for my stance on the mohair issue, I try to buy as little furs and leather as I possibly can. I do own a mohair wig, but like someone else had mentioned, I believe it is made from sheared wool. My wallets are cloth and cotton, and so are most of my clothes. I agree with all the people that have said that using all of the animal is the ideal situation, and though I'm not vegetarian or vegan, I support local farms that slaughter their animals humanely or cage-free (though America hasn't passed a strict law on what 'cage-free' means entirely) chickens.

In any case, it's awesome to be asking questions like these - conscientious questions are what helps spread awareness.

 

Actually, the majority of the seals killed in Canada are under 3 months old. (CBC Fact Sheet.) But I suppose that's neither here nor there, since I don't think anyone is selling baby seal wigs...

Back on topic, a lot of people have said they don't mind using leather-skin wigs because they are a by-product of the meat industry. I wonder, would it make a difference in people's opinions if the lambs/goats/etc. were killed only for their hair? What about baby lambs vs. adult sheep?

 

I personally will not purchase leather products or mohair that still has its skin attached to it. Honestly, it's your own call as to whether or not something is "okay." Even though leather is usually a by-product of the meat industry (and not solely), I refuse to support such a corrupt and greedy industry that continues to lie to its own people especially in America. I am vegan, but what other people do with their money and their lives is their business; if you want to eat meat, wear leather, etc., it's your call. I would hope that people would research just what their dollar supports. If you don't care, it isn't a concern, then there isn't more to say.

This is so untrue that it's laughable. Those things you listed are not "unavoidable" in the Western world. There are so many alternatives to animal-derived products that are readily available even in the cattle state capital of the US where I live. If it's not a concern or a priority to you, then so be it, but I fail to understand why you would make such a misinformed statement. Buying non-animal-derived products in the Western world IS avoidable, and many people do so. While you may never get 100% straight up pure vegan products where there was absolutely no suffering or dying at all, there are so many companies who do their best to eliminate as much human and animal suffering in their products and goods.

It never stopped anyone from doing anything illegally, and again, that statement is incredibly far from the truth.

 

Most plastics are made from petroleum not animals. Including those in your computers. It's very rare that any plastic comes from animals since it's way more expensive and way less stable.

"petroleum, the raw material that is chemically altered to form commercial plastics." from wiki and a few other sources. Nothing like a little education.

Better life from science baby.

 

How do you feel about using a mohair wig on your doll?

No problem - the same way I wear and use rabbit fur, wear and use leather etc - all from animals I eat, so using more of the animal rather than using some and discarding the rest.

Does it go against what you believe?

Nope. I'm not a vegetarian (virtually the opposite in fact since I don't eat vegetables, for the most part on account of finding them so vile they make me heave) or anything like that, and have no problems with using other bits of the animals for clothing and other uses.

Teddy

 

This is a good question! I'm a veggie but I do wear leather shoes (and I have worn leather trousers in the past!) My littlefee has a mohair wig and I'm kind of ok with it. I think there's a big difference between breeding and keeping animals for fur and using biproducts of the meat trade. But that's just how I justify it to myself


oh and accidental_subjects I think OpheliaB was talking about the fact that petroleum is ancient life forms - mainly plants but there is going to be some animal in there too I guess the difference is we definitely didn't kill these ones!

 

I'm not bothered. I also eat meat, wear leather and wool, etc. I'm a big fan of trying to find a productive use for most or all parts of the animal, so using part of the animal to make mohair sounds good to me.

Edited to add, I think the whole "vegetarian discussion" is off topic to the dolls and the mohair, but since a lot of other people posted here is my 2 cents anyway. I can't speak for the human race but I have an iron deficiency and other issues and I feel much better when I consume a reasonable amount of red meat a couple times a week. Trying to get what I need from veggies, including beans and other sources of protein/ iron, would require me to put inordinate amounts of time into planning my diet and obtaining food, and might not have good results (I don't do so well eating soy). Every person is different and has to find the type of diet that works for them. It took me enough years, I'll say.

 

I completely agree. However, it is something that is brought up and not only by the "vegetarians." People come into this thread professing their PETA hate which has nothing to do with the topic (and really, I don't think twice about their organization), their diets as to why they choose to do or not to do something, and obviously, that opens up a can of worms. My personal issue with this is when debate is no longer debate but opinion and untruths that attempted to get passed along as fact.

 

How is it a debate at ALL though, if vegetarian viewpoints are omitted? It's pretty obvious that whether someone thinks using mohair fur is "ok" is very closely related to their feelings on other fur and leather products, and meat. There will be some who wear leather and eat meat who prefer not to use mohair, but it's going to be split fairly consistently - a vegan is not going to use mohair, a vegetarian is unlikely to do so, and a meat-eater is much less likely to have issues with it.

If we knew more about the conditions the animals used for fur wigs were kept in and how the rest of the animal was used, it would be more of a debate. As it is, we HAVE to fall back on general feelings about fur and animal use in general. There's not enough information to discuss specifically about fur wigs used for dolls without extrapolating our feelings about other uses of fur.

 

In more general terms on the subject of 'mohair wigs', it's become obvious in the thread that there seems to be misinformation about the definition of terms. Whatever the actual definition given when I'm buying wigs, unless it contains obvious keywords like "synthetic" or "skin", I'll message the seller and ask. I'd say that whether it's right, wrong or (most likely) a matter of personal choice whether you use animal products with your doll or not, there are plenty of people out there using 'fur' or 'mohair' as a generic term.

 

I really think that if you're going to use an animal as food, the best idea is seeing if you can get certified stuff, or secondary products from animals humanely raised as food.

I'm a hardcore carnivore, especially with beef and chicken, and use real feathers and leather in many crafts. I also buy fur coats from shops like Goodwill and use the fur from them, often times I'm pretty sure they're real (I don't think I'd ever buy the coats new. Even if I could afford them I don't like the idea of killing a creature purely for its fur).

I do not believe in animal cruelty, or slaughtering an animal just for something aesthetic (examples: tusks form an elephant, fur from any number of animals, claws, heads), but I believe the greatest thing you can do if you do kill an animal is make sure you use as much of it as possible and reduce the waste to as close to zero.

 

From your own source:

Again, from the MSNBC article:

I'm not sure how a mohair wig debate turned into an argument about the seal hunt, but I'm sure most of us have a certain image in mind when we think of baby seals. Certainly not gray seals who have lost that cute white appearance.

Therefore, it is incredibly misleading to present three-month old seals as "baby seals" when the latter's whitecoated pup stage only lasts for three weeks at the most. Then people should take into account the dwindling number of natural predators for seals, the subsequent impact of seal overpopulation on local fisheries & the seals themselves, and the laws that mandate quotas and humane methods of hunting.

For the record, I avoid wearing fur or real leather. I don't own any mohair wigs with skin attached to them. Meat is more of a hazy area since I have health issues and certain reactions to supplements. I understand the need for sustainability/animal welfare, and I also believe in the "every part used" system (which does apply to seals) and controlling threats to the ecosystem (ex. deer and rabbits). And I'm more on the side of local agriculture since my parents both grew up as livestock-dependent farmers who never ate so much as an egg until their 20s, but raised and sold mostly cage-free animals while working the land. Said animals likely went to rich people who could afford to eat meat and animal by-products. Since they never used plumbing, electricity, gas, or chemicals that affected the environment and the natural resources around them, the lack of harmful output and exploitation personally justified the occasional loss of animals.

 

What you pointed out has nothing to do with why I even posted that link. Since you decided to bring it up, I would like to explicitly state that I completely disagree with hunting animals for any reason whatsoever regardless of age (the logic of hunting only babies vs. adults is absurd to me). I'm not even going to touch the argument on overpopulation and hunting.

Also, I was addressing the issue of "baby seals" that was raised by OpheliaB. Illegal activity usually is not paraded around flippantly.

As AmyAngel mentioned, perhaps it is not possible to have a topic like this without touching upon others that may be labelled as off-topic. Many people have posted things completely void of the original post at hand. I have responded to these posts because I do NOT think it's fair to have people state their opinions to represent them as a straight-up fact.