An Alternative Look at the Vintage Fur Business
FFV experienced its first internet bully. Someone who had been an active follower on our social media platform over the last 9 months. Recently she went from fan girl to psycho girl in a single post.
With winter here we began promoting the vintage furs we have been buying and selling for 20 years. She saw this post and her response came as a surprising, aggressive and without questions. She opened her DM with the command “Change your fucking name . . .” and ended her DM by wishing harm upon us and our company. This topic was an obvious trigger for her but we won’t get an opportunity to engage her in conversation due to her tacky approach.
This interaction made us pause and reflect on our WHY. Why have we ALWAYS been ok with the vintage fur industry? We certainly don't condone the killing of animals, nor do we support the new fur industry, nor do support factory farming for food production. But when it comes to buying, wearing and selling very vintage furs we have not blinked - and we still don’t.
It’s simple, we believe in ECO-FRIENDLY-FASHION and LOW-CARBON-LIVING. This means - when we can - using what already exists. Our second-hand choices have been carefully crafted into a lifestyle and a career. The result of these conscious decisions has been less harm to our planet.
The alternative to not using these vintage furs is throwing them in a landfill. BUT WHY? They are still useful. They already exist. Aren’t we honoring the animals who’s lives were taken by the fashion industry by wearing them? Aren’t we extending the furs usefulness by up-cycling it into new items? Items that will continue to be used and cherished.
The alternative to buying second-hand items is buying new items. The alternative to long-lasting real fur and real leather is cheap “vegan fur” & “vegan leather”. The alternative to slow fashion is fast fashion.
Maybe you’ve never thought about it? Maybe you have never thought about the global consumerism machine and the constant direct marketing that we are bombarded with?
Do you know how much pollution a new pair of vegan boots or shoes produce - the ones you throw away after one season because the soles wear out and you can't repair them? More than 23 billion pairs of shoes are made every year. How many new pairs of shoes did you buy this year? Can you repair your shoes when they wear out or will you just throw them away?
Do you know how much pollution a vegan made belt produces? Vegan leather is ultimately much less durable than real leather and tends to be thinner, so it is common for it to tear over time - therefore ending up in a landfill. I can’t tell you how many times I have personally thrown away customers vegan belts because they were “broken” and have just purchased a second-hand leather belt from us. A belt that is already 20+ years old and still works.
Do you know much pollution your vegan-handbag produces? The one that cracks and peels because it's not real leather so you donate it or worse - throw it away. Think about that classic Coach purse dating as far back as 1941 - they were made to last, with real leather and timeless styles. How many purses have you “donated” to Goodwill? Why not just buy one nice handbag? Something you can use for decades and save the planet at the same time. The choice is ours. We choose everyday. We can choose different today than we did yesterday.
Did you know the fashion industry is the 2nd largest polluter of the planet, right next to the oil industry. The fashion industry is also the second largest consumer of water worldwide with textile dyeing, the world’s second largest polluter of water. Did you know that third world countries that produce our new “vegan” products have fewer environmental restrictions than the United States leading to the water from the dyeing process often dumped into ditches, streams or rivers? It’s all a mess. The industry of new fashion is a resource gobbling, planet trashing, profit over people machine. We choose how much we support it by how much we buy new. Maybe next time save up to buy that one nice item, instead of 10 crappy items.
At the end of the day, we believe in our WHY, eco-friendly-fashion, and because of this you’ll still find me wearing my vintage fur hat, the one that is 60+ years old, is still in great shape, and keeps me warm.
Our Best,
Jack & Jill Cash