Animal Skin Issues

I was having focus group discussions today. Anya Hindmarch's handbag and the issue of using animal skin for handbags material.

Using fashion students as the respondents give expected results of how fashion works. Fashion doesn't care of what materials you use and the price of producing it, it is definitely because of the creativity of the designers themselves.

Surprisingly, although the respondents were not as expected, but some of their answers can be used as part of the research.

When the moderator asked a question about preference toward the using of animal skin, some of them argued about the moral behind it. Killing animal is not right, but what if you are a fashionista? A designer doesn't care of what kind of material he or she use, as long as it works with his or her idea and the trend.

To think about, I don't have a definite argument about it. If someone asks me, am i a pro or con for using animal skin as a material for a product? I probably gonna say: IT DEPENDS!

Why?

Simple though. I'm still a meat-eater. If I against it, it sounds like I eat my own word.

But to make a point here is on the population. I MUST agree that killing animals is not right for an extinct species.

Some respondents give solutions regarding to the issue. One said that the government should release a "killing" license for a company when they want to use the animal as its materials. Should not be more than ten, for example, every year. Just like cutting trees in the forest. You can cut the tree, but must be in control, and you should plant more to restore the forest.

Another respondent said that if you want to use animal for the material, you have to kill them in a more human way. (I cannot give more argument to this opinion. I guess people have the right to say a word for it).

Big questions for me at the end of the discussion are: Who buy the animal-leather-bag? How many population left in terms of the extinct animal? What about the production, do they have a large one in scale or small ones?

My thought, when you do something, there will always consequence for it. So do it wisely.

Think about a butterfly. There is a wise word about it. If you kill a butterfly today, the future will change.