As I was walking along in my toasty down warmness, I got to thinking. While I was living in Northern Canada, I bought some fur (wolf I believe) and one of the yellowknife moms sewed it on to the hood of my parka. This is how a politically correct MEC parka becomes not so-politically correct. The thoughts of how fur being incorrect and the activists turned my mind to leather as I looked down at my boots.
One of the constant criticisms yelled back at activists, whether they be anti-fur or pro-vegan, is the hypocrisy when they wear leather, for example their birkenstocks. Now I recognize, not all of them do, but it is an interesting question for those who do.
This got me thinking back to my down parka, maybe it wasn't so politically correct to begin with. Is there 'say no to down' movement? Do anti-fur activists oppose down? Wouldn't the argument be the same?
What about down parkas, vests, comforters, feather beds, etc? Where are the protesters trying to save the birds' feathers.
Intrigued, I wondered how down was collected and what happened with it. I found the following information on answers.com.
Down can be collected in a variety of ways. Birds which provide the feathers may be used for other purposes, for example to provide meat. Some birds are killed solely for their down, while some birds (particularly some geese) are periodically live-plucked of their breast feathers. Some birds line their nests with down, and such down might be harvested safely after the young leave the nest.
Am I now going to have to buy free-range down feathers? Must my pillows be certified "collected from an empty nest". Where will we draw the line on what is the appropriate use of animal products?
As I wear my fur-trimmed down parka and leather boots on my walk to a restaurant for a steak dinner, to come back home to my down comforter, I realize I may not be the best person to answer this question.
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