What to do with clothing

[pixiexxs]

I have been successful in transitioning our household into a vegan one. There are still things that our being rotated out (donating certain foods away, etc), however there is one thing I am having trouble with. I have never been much into very expensive clothes but there are 3 things in our closet that were gifts, two of them from my husband to me. One is a cashmere sweater from my husband to me one xmas and the other is a lambskin leather jacket my husband gave me when I visited him in Korea. Both are more sentimental things than actual staples in my wardrobe. I think I wore the sweater probably 5 times and the leather jacket just always seemed too dressy.

So, the problem really lies in what to do with them. They were gifts from my husband to me so that is why I would hate to part with them (we've never really been rolling in the money which is why they were such special gifts). But in addition, I can't really keep them now the way I feel about our new lifestyle. I'm very confused in this situation. Can anyone offer any suggestions I could work with, and present to my husband. He knows I don't wear them much, but I'm afraid of hurting his feelings if I just get rid of them. Is there a way to get rid of them, make my feelings known how much I appreciate the gifts? Thank you to anyone who can help.

[MrsKey]

I am going to assume that you have shared with your husband your reasons for transitioning to a vegan lifestyle.

Why not just tell your husband that you really appreciate the gifts and the sentiment that they represent but now that you are aware of the animal suffering that they represent you don't feel right keeping them in the house? Assure him that you will always treasure his thoughtfulness and the love that went into choosing the gifts. And remind him that with or without the physical presence of these gifts you will always remember how meaningful they were and the love with which each was given.

Just be honest with your husband and tell him what you have told us. I think if you have already talked about your reasons for going vegan it should be something you can talk about without hurting his feelings.

[vegma]

Then there's the other view. You won't bring any animals back to life by getting rid of something you owned before becoming vegan. I say if they have sentimental value (or you are getting use out of them), keep them! Just let your husband know not to give you any more animal products!

[PikkuMyy]

I'm with vegma. If you aren't actually using any of the items anyway (back in the side of the closet) then give them away. Otherwise, keep using them until they "die" and then buy non-animal alternatives.

I have quite a few leather shoes and some belts. I'm not going to get rid of perfectly good items when it isn't going to do any good for the animals. I can't afford to replace them with new vegan stuff. In fact, a few shoes were bought after I went vegan from the thrift shop.

If anyone asks, I explain that I don't have a problem with something as necessary as shoes as long as they were bought used and not new.

But as long as he understands not to buy you new items, it should be OK.

[bazu]

I agree with the last 2 posts-- there's no rule that you have to get rid of everything that was made with animal products. The fact that you (and your husband) shop consciously now counts for so much more. I actually believe that it is more respectful to the animal to use the item until it wears out or give it to someone who would really get use out of it. None of us benefits from wasting/throwing away. And I really feel for your emotional attachment to the gifts!

[pixiexxs]

Thank you so much for the thoughtful replies. I love the fact that these are gifts from my husband, that he put so much thought into them. As I mentioned, I never really wore them much at all. I was just thinking that if I kept them and then decided they went with something, I know it sounds stupid but I just didn't really want to look like a hypocrite. Does that make sense? Well, again thank you all very much for your responses and they will be staying in my closet after thinking about it more. By the way, my husband has been great through this all and is even asking me "Is this allowed?" a lot. He's so supportive.

[xmysticprincessx]

Originally posted by PikkuMyy


If anyone asks, I explain that I don't have a problem with something as necessary as shoes as long as they were bought used and not new.

same thing with stuff like baseball gloves, ice skates, ballet slippers, etc.
i saw something in the past on peta's website where they were collecting fur coats to donate to the homeless people near their headquarters in VA.