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.
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its a very interesting subject. It seems to me that, as anything that we do has an environmental impact, we can and should do whatever is practically possible for each of us. our new house should be self sufficient in terms of electricity with solar , ground exchange and battery storage. However, each of those components are industrial processes and I couldn't reasonable ask each supplier to ask their suppliers for an environmental impact statement specific to those products.
Nica's point on design is interesting in its own right. Everything we make is a "copy" or "inspired" by something else. I dont think that there is virtually nothing totally, totally original that we could make. Take a watch strap; could I make a strap that is 100% unlike anything that has been designed before?
I come from a long cabinet making hobby/business. We were a hobby then a business and now, in retirement, its back to a hobby. We made hundreds of pieces and each was, to a larger or smaller degree, copying other pieces. We had a very good customer who loved Greene and Greene items and we made exact copies of G&G originals for him. Another loved UK Arts & Crafts and we used originals as a starting point but they were always recognisably different from an original
I'm not good enough to design my own leather items and so I "copy" pieces. They may be Philip's Turenne bag or a Hermes bag or whatever. There are always differences - mostly unintended.
Where I can sleep at night is that all the items that I make, furniture or leather, doesn't not have an original stamp on it (e.g. G&G) but has my makers stamp and an attribution explaining what the original was; who designed it; what timbers or leather I have used.
Well put! Price alone should not dictate demand. I think it comes down to your own personal integrity & ethical standards. I could never understand why someone would want to buy a faux LV or copy a design and claim as their own. If only more people adhered to higher standards (in anything)! It‘s amazing how herd mentality is so contagious. I prefer to hang out with the black sheep 😉