A few weeks ago, I went out to a fancy vegan dinner party, where a friend and I were seated with a group of vegans we didn’t know. At one point, the conversation turned to discussing various “pregan” items (i.e., those non-vegan items that predated one’s conversion to veganism, such as old leather dress shoes). It got me wondering about the ethics of keeping such things around. On the one hand, they were purchased before going vegan & it would be wasteful to simply throw them out. On the other hand, it’s promoting a lifestyle that you are ethically opposed to (wearing leather is in effect promoting its usage, even if you’re not actively paying for it [to directly support production]).
Perhaps an unusual aspect of my personal vegan philosophy is that in addition to boycotting non-vegan items (as in “do no harm”), I also think it’s important to spend money on vegan goods (especially vegan-marketed goods, but any cruelty-free goods will do) as together they more effectively encourage change (since companies are primarily concerned about making money & taking money away from one product and giving to a competing product that is more ethical is the best way to grab their attention).
After thinking it was a bit silly that these people would keep around old leather items, it dawned on me that I myself have one “pregan” item remaining in my closet (despite getting rid of all leather shoes within the first few years of becoming vegan) – a wool cloak. This has some sentimental value as my mom and I made it together and I spent a lot of my early college years gallivanting around in it. At some point, I’ll no doubt retire it, but for the meantime, it’s hanging around.
All in all, I think it’s pretty reasonable to make a gradual transition out of non-vegan materials, but, barring extreme sentimental value, it should be done within the first few years. The Edict according to luQueue. 😉
