This Made Me Feel Guilty About Wearing Fur Felt Hats

[KingAndrew]

One more important point is that the appalling cruelty in the video does not represent the entire industry. Although there are doubtless many who indulge in bad practices, there must also be some who do a better job. I'm sure that anyone wanting to do an expose will seek out the worst example they can find. And they should. But we can't assume that all other fur producers are as bad as the one in the video.

There is no PETA presence or awareness that I can see in Shanghai, which is by far the most Western-influenced city in China. Fur and leather are highly fashionable here. Since it is wintertime, most of the people I see on the street have on some leather or fur (of course, leather shoes and belts are always in use). Hats are everywhere, although most felt here is cheap wool. Although many hats are knitted or made of cloth, there are lots of felts, and quite a few hats are fur or leather (or imitation leather). Not only do I see leather flat caps and "biker" caps (like the Village People), I also see leather "hipster" hats with brims. And full-on fur pelt hats are very common, especially on cold days. Fur trimmed jackets and boots are very much in vogue right now among Shanghai's fashion-conscious women. In fact, the most popular look right now is to wear a heavy jacket, typically wool or leather with fur trim, and "Ugg" style boots with long hairy fur trim above the ankle. Amusingly, the legs are covered in sheer black leggings, which may be silk, cotton, or leather themselves.

My hats receive many positive comments from strangers here. Nobody else is wearing higher-quality fur felt fedoras. The hat market here is still too price conscious for Akubra or Stetson to reach many heads. But Shanghai is the world's #1 market for luxury goods (we have several Tiffany and Cartier stores, Luis Vuitton, all the designer shops, and so on). i have seen hats in some of the upmarket shops priced at the equivalent of $1500 or so. Perhaps if someone were to open a nice Optimo-style shop selling top-quality hats, Shanghai shoppers would support it. At the moment there is only one store that sells more expensive foreign hats, Futoshi Hats. That's where I bought my Stetson.

Andrew

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Well, we are not in Kansas anymore, Toto.......

It should be kept in mind, that our values and our view of what is humane is not shared by most other cultures on this planet. In most parts of Asia, dogs and cats are on the menu.

Once upon a time in a place far, far away, I came upon a group of youngsters playing "pass." Not an unusual game for youngsters, but these were using a puppy as the ball. Needless to say, the pup was a shattered, twitching wreak when I halted the "game." My outrage was compounded only by the levity and laughter of the adults standing by. They thought me rather eccentric to be concerned about a dog.......

 

[hatsRme]

Finally an appropriate forum to discuss the irony of this little "arrangement" here in our town. I can't be the only one who finds this at least somewhat suspect...

 

[tonyb]

That's great, hatsRme.

Reminds me of that model of diversification and synergy -- you know, the combination nursing home/mortuary/used clothing store.

 

[Feraud]

I pity the distraught pet owners who mistakenly walked into Murray's for service..

 

[Sprinkles]

Wow, that is pretty eerie to say the least!

 

[Hoyt Clagwell]

That's great, hatsRme.

Reminds me of that model of diversification and synergy -- you know, the combination nursing home/mortuary/used clothing store.

You forgot dentures and jewelry.:eeek:

 

[hatsRme]

That's great, hatsRme.

Reminds me of that model of diversification and synergy -- you know, the combination nursing home/mortuary/used clothing store.

THAT'S great, Tony. New and used prosthetics, too, I suppose?!

 

[DamianM]

Its all really our fault in overpopulating the world.
So we have a higher demand for products that contain animal byproduct ( be it fur or glue) that create disgusting and deplorable living conditions for the animals.
The company's then have to find the cheapest (not humane) form of production of the product.

We really have let the system become what it is by not controlling our own population and thinking of smarter ways of creating systems to benefit us and everything around us.
Sure we could by vegan or non animal product but those alternatives are expensive.
Plus I don't like polyester.

 

[tonyb]

THAT'S great, Tony. New and used prosthetics, too, I suppose?!

Well, I saw a picture of such a place in an advertising business trade journal some 15 or 16 (or so) years ago. I'm fairly confident it was created on someone's then-state-of-the-art Mac with the latest photo-editing software.

But a quick search shows that the place you posted the picture of does indeed exist, at 1147 N. Main St., Randolph, Mass. I've since forwarded the photo to several friends. I trust they'll find it as amusing as I do.

 

[tonyb]

I pity the distraught pet owners who mistakenly walked into Murray's for service..

As do I.

I enjoy a macabre joke as much as the next guy, but having recently made a rushed late-night visit to the emergency vet with one of my furry little pals, I have a sense of just how distressing it can be to see one's family pet in extremis.

It brings me no shame or embarrassment to acknowledge that I have been more distressed, especially as a youngster, by the death of a pet than the passing of a human acquaintance or two (or three or four). Hell, the dog meant more to me than some cranky old person who gave little indication that he or she much cared for my company at all.

 

[hatophile]

Dogs have a way of working their way into your heart.

 

[tonyb]

That they do.

Makes me wonder sometimes if we domesticated them, or the other way around.

 

[Feraud]

As do I.

I enjoy a macabre joke as much as the next guy, but having recently made a rushed late-night visit to the emergency vet with one of my furry little pals, I have a sense of just how distressing it can be to see one's family pet in extremis.

It brings me no shame or embarrassment to acknowledge that I have been more distressed, especially as a youngster, by the death of a pet than the passing of a human acquaintance or two (or three or four). Hell, the dog meant more to me than some cranky old person who gave little indication that he or she much cared for my company at all.

Sorry to read that Tony. Hope all went well.
Last year I too had to make an unexpected midnight emergency room visit with my pup! The poor guy had to spend an overnight visit. It was distressing to the entire family. I was stressed and unproductive at work the next day waiting for the doctor's call.

 

[hatsRme]

Well, I saw a picture of such a place in an advertising business trade journal some 15 or 16 (or so) years ago. I'm fairly confident it was created on someone's then-state-of-the-art Mac with the latest photo-editing software.

But a quick search shows that the place you posted the picture of does indeed exist, at 1147 N. Main St., Randolph, Mass. I've since forwarded the photo to several friends. I trust they'll find it as amusing as I do.

It took me nearly a year to snap this photo, taken in September 2012. Every time I drove by the sign my head would just shake. I, too, have forwarded the pic to all my slightly disturbed colleagues. This thread certainly provided another perfect forum.

My subconscious concern over the legitimacy of the place (the vet, that is) prevents me from taking my dog there, even during an emergency last summer. If it were me, I would move the practice.

 

[tonyb]

Sorry to read that Tony. Hope all went well.
Last year I too had to make an unexpected midnight emergency room visit with my pup! The poor guy had to spend an overnight visit. It was distressing to the entire family. I was stressed and unproductive at work the next day waiting for the doctor's call.

Little Otis is fine. I found him trembling and walking in such a way that it appeared his hind legs were partially paralyzed. Scooped him up and off to the vet we went. By the time we got there, he appeared to have nearly fully recovered. The vet said she was happy to keep him there overnight for observation, but she thought that unnecessary. A review of my account balances confirmed that.

 

[Edward]

Its all really our fault in overpopulating the world.
So we have a higher demand for products that contain animal byproduct ( be it fur or glue) that create disgusting and deplorable living conditions for the animals.
The company's then have to find the cheapest (not humane) form of production of the product.

We really have let the system become what it is by not controlling our own population and thinking of smarter ways of creating systems to benefit us and everything around us.
Sure we could by vegan or non animal product but those alternatives are expensive.
Plus I don't like polyester.

Alas, yes... while humans insist on breeding at an unsustainable rate, we're increasingly likely to see this sort of disruption to the ecosystem. Not sure what can be done about that exactly; a global one-child (or, ideally, fewer) policy would be one way of dealing with it, but of course this would not be realistic in most of the world. Maybe nature will take it in hand if we don't.

As do I.

I enjoy a macabre joke as much as the next guy, but having recently made a rushed late-night visit to the emergency vet with one of my furry little pals, I have a sense of just how distressing it can be to see one's family pet in extremis.

It brings me no shame or embarrassment to acknowledge that I have been more distressed, especially as a youngster, by the death of a pet than the passing of a human acquaintance or two (or three or four). Hell, the dog meant more to me than some cranky old person who gave little indication that he or she much cared for my company at all.

Agreed entirely. I'm just back from ten days away on work business. There's maybe a single human I missed as much as the cats.

 

[casechopper]

I'm not sure I see how one can connect the lack of care taken in animal processing to overpopulation. If there were less people in the world somehow people would treat animals with more dignity? Looking to the past when the world population was lower were people in general more humane towards animals? I don't think this was the case...

The demand does not create deplorable conditions for the animals. The lack of ethics on the part of some involved and the lack of laws/enforcement of humane practices in animal processing are the real culprit. China and many third world countries do not have or at least do not enforce laws on humane animal treatment to the extent that other countries do. This is not seen as being as high a priority as other issues such as economic growth. In China I would venture to guess that population control is a higher priority issue than animal treatment control as well.

Overpopulation does seem to be a catchall used by some for the worlds problems. Maybe this is due to the fact that it's something that one cannot fix themselves and they can therefore lay the blame for the worlds ills at the feet of everyone else. It's very easy for us in the western world who consume the majority of the earths resources to look at the large populations in third world countries that consume exponentially less than ourselves on a per person basis and say "the worlds ills are their fault for having so many children!" but isn't this a bit hypocritical?

I've probably gone a bit overboard on this rant considering this is the hat forum. If this is inappropriate mod's please remove the post.

 

[DamianM]

I'm not sure I see how one can connect the lack of care taken in animal processing to overpopulation. If there were less people in the world somehow people would treat animals with more dignity? Looking to the past when the world population was lower were people in general more humane towards animals? I don't think this was the case...

The demand does not create deplorable conditions for the animals. The lack of ethics on the part of some involved and the lack of laws/enforcement of humane practices in animal processing are the real culprit. China and many third world countries do not have or at least do not enforce laws on humane animal treatment to the extent that other countries do. This is not seen as being as high a priority as other issues such as economic growth. In China I would venture to guess that population control is a higher priority issue than animal treatment control as well.

Overpopulation does seem to be a catchall used by some for the worlds problems. Maybe this is due to the fact that it's something that one cannot fix themselves and they can therefore lay the blame for the worlds ills at the feet of everyone else. It's very easy for us in the western world who consume the majority of the earths resources to look at the large populations in third world countries that consume exponentially less than ourselves on a per person basis and say "the worlds ills are their fault for having so many children!" but isn't this a bit hypocritical?

I've probably gone a bit overboard on this rant considering this is the hat forum. If this is inappropriate mod's please remove the post.

Its not a blame of it all but we have seen that when there is to much of one species in an ecosystem, the system is thrown out of balance.
It does make deplorable conditions because we need to stuff places with more and more cows to produce more and more milk to feed all the little children.

If the company's do start to be more humane about there livestock it becomes more expensive.
We do not have the means to do this and therefore everything else suffers, from animal cruelty to global warming.
we can't all have organic chicken named fred.

 

[-30-]

It seems as though we are entering Maurice Strong territory.
(LOL)


Regards,
-30-