shoebox

I've toyed with whether or not to express my opinion about this next subject, because I will be perceived as an unhip, unenlightened, red meat eating, knuckle dragging, Bible thumping midwesterner. But... people from the heartland, especially those who are farmers, have a whole different perspective on animals then oh let's say folks from Boulder, Colorado who wear Birkenstocks, eat tofu and don't use deodorant. To put it as gently as possible...

an animal is a freekin' animal, okay...they don't have "rights".

This seriously makes me crazy. I was watching "The Fashion Show" the other night and they highlighted a shoe manufacturer called "olsenHaus". olsenHaus has been leading the charge in vegan-land by creating cruelty-free fashion accessories as in shoes, wallets, belts...anything that might be made with animal parts like leather. My first thought when I saw "vegetarian shoes" was, "I'm not interested in eating the shoes, I just want to wear them." If you haven't had the pleasure, let me bring you up to speed by posting the olsenHaus philosophy that is listed on their website.

"The philosophy of olsenHaus is anchored in the universal truth, respect for all beings, with a dedication to the expression of truth in the material world. We are committed to being 100% animal-free / cruelty-free, producing functional goods, with a high standard of ethical social responsibility in animal rights, human rights, and the environment. Products are made of non-animal materials, in sample rooms and factories that are personally checked for ethical practices & environmental impact."

So, my first issue is the use of the phrase "universal truth". Really? "Respect for all beings" is a universal truth? Let's break that down. Universal...meaning "done by all people or things in the world" and truth--"in accordance with fact or reality". I don't know what world you live in, but the one that I live in cannot be remotely characterized as being of one mind in regard to respect for all beings. And, depending on where you have your shoes manufactured...you might want to talk that up with the women and children you're employing for pennies a day.

Second...and I'm just being honest here...I don't get how people can elevate "animal" life as more important than "human" life. In speaking out about animal-cruelty, olsenHaus states the following on their website:

"To produce Persian lamb--the mother sheep is killed just before giving birth and the fetus is extracted for it's pelt".

Yea...so? I mean really. Most people are not cold-hearted toward those things, but that compared to the estimated amount of US human abortions in 2008 reported at 1,206,200...doesn't it seem logical that we would care less if sheep are killed for their pelts? Human fetuses are killed on a daily basis merely for convenience. Right? It seems fairly naive to think that people would respect animal life, when human life, of which I'm assuming we can all agree as being light years more important, is devalued. Please tell me we are all agreeing that human life is paramount to any other life on the planet! If not, then I really don't get it...I really don't.

olsenHaus also has a picture loop of quotes from influential people on their site. This is one of them:

This from a guy who's entire country starves from lack of food, while supposedly "sacred cows" possessing the spirits of dead ancestors wander the streets. Is it just me or is this totally wacked?!!!

Okay, this is the last thing i'm going to say on this topic...well, maybe not the last thing ever, but...oh, you know what I mean. You might ask the question, "Hey Miss B. If these shoes aren't made out of leather, then what green, environmentally friendly material are they made of?" Funny you should ask...many are crafted from synthetics. Just for the record, the dictionary states that, "Synthetics are made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a 'natural' product." Interesting that they used the word N-A-T-U-R-A-L, don't you think?

With price tags like this, don't get all 'noble' about this being anything other than what it is...a way to make money. Vegans may not like that animals are killed for our food and clothing, but at least animals (ie: leather) are bio-degradable and probably have less impact on the environment than a chemically manufactured synthetic shoe, of which, I might add, we've had for years. You can find them at Payless for under $20.

Sidenote: Treehuggers would disagree, but talk about environmentally friendly. These puppies not only last a lifetime, but if you get tired of the style, you can just whip out your swiss army knife and wa-laa, granny's got a new set of teeth.

Shoe be do be doo, Miss B.