Ethical Leather

I just watched the video Philip posted some time back on leather and fur, Italy and China, and of course it is disturbing. Sadly, I think that any industry will have a rotten underbelly somewhere. We like brass buckles but what about the rivers polluted in lots of countries from copper mines, not to mention labour conditions. I thought to myself, perhaps if I only buy leather from American tanneries. Having seen videos on Horween and Herman Oak, their workers seem to be well treated. Then I realised the hides of course come from the meat packing industry, a poster child for maltreating workers. The cows themselves come from industrial agriculture, the malevolent force behind so much environmental and social destruction (read Fast Food Nation). I doubt that there is any industry which doesn't have a hidden social or environmental cost. So, what to do? We can join or support organisations which try to improve the nastier aspects of mankind's activities. I think,as importantly, we try to maintain the highest ethical standards we can in our daily lives. There is an economic impact of this on our own consumption, and the line we draw has to be based on the economic reality of our own circumstances. Perhaps we can't afford to source all our food from sustainable suppliers etc etc. For myself, it comes down to not looking to always buy from the cheapest supplier for a given item I want/need. It comes down to paying workers a fair wage, on the few occasions I need to hire someone. I'm not going to talk about politics, but there is an obvious role politicians need to play.... Sorry if this is sermonizing, and I am most certainly not congratulating myself for being such an admirable person (my first wife's nickname for me was shithead). I am lucky enough to do leather work as a hobby, not as a means to support myself, and, I just needed to vent.