Old Leather
What do I do about my leather jacket? It’s so sensible and fashionable, and I love it so, but nowadays I feel uncomfortable wearing it. Maybe no one else will notice I’m clothing myself in a dead animal, but I notice! I’m aware with every squeaky bend of my sleeve that this skin was meant for some other creature. The weather is too haphazard to dump it; not until I replace it; not until I find it a good home.
My sandals are wearing out quickly enough, and the fact that they are on my feet makes it less likely that others will notice; other vegans, vegetarians, whom I somehow care to impress. True, these things were got before I became fully aware of their meaning. True, my mass-produced cotton clothing is probably not cruelty-free — people are animals, too.
But somehow that doesn’t make it easier to bear.