Hi, just wondering if fuggs are vegan. As in, do they contain products made from animals?
As far as I can tell, “fuggs” is a portmanteau of “fake” and “uggs”, and so fuggs are “fake” uggs, meaning fake ugg boots. Uggs or ugg boots are a kind of boots traditionally made from sheepskin/shearling, and sometimes with suede leather (cow skin) on the outside.
But there’s a bit of confusion about what “fuggs” or “fake uggs” means. Unlike something such as “faux fur” or “faux/fake leather”, where it’s pretty clear that will be vegan and not made from animals like the traditional kind is, “ugg” has some weird brand authenticity thing going on.
I might get some facts wrong here, but from what I could gather, there are 2 companies, called “UGG” (American brand) and “UGG Since 1974” (Australian brand) which both lay some kind of claim to what can be considered an authentic ugg boot. Uggs were first made in Australia, but I think the American UGG brand often sues other companies, including those in Australia, for using the “ugg” name. However in some places ugg simply means the style of shoe rather than the brand.
So unfortunately due to this, I think there might be 2 different meanings of “fuggs” - one I believe indeed means vegan ugg boots which don’t use animal skins/products, while the other meaning is simply an ugg boot made in the traditional way from animals but just not by the “official” UGG brand.
In all this confusion, how can we truly answer the question of “Are fuggs vegan?” Is the answer somewhere between “They could be, sometimes.” or “No one knows, really.” ?
I agree that nost currsnt fake leather is not durable enough. Many of the newest vegan leathers are made from plants. They still aren’t very durable, but at least they’re not plastic.
I appreciate the sentiment but even if everyone will have their pets flayed after they die (and they should die young enough for the leather to be of high quality), this won’t satisfy the global demand for leather.
My best guess (predicting the future is hard) for a proper solution is for plant-based or precision-fermented (or something else that is sustainable and hasblow energy needs) leathers to become better. To get there, they need R&D which costs money. So maybe buying very specific types of non-durable clothing is net positive, if it gets us closer to a gopd lesther alternative.
Also, look up energy costs of production of plastic products vs plant-based. Plastic is not that bad for tge environment if it is properly disposed of and not tgrown straight into a river. I know plastic bags need many thousands of times less emergy and water to produve than cotton bags. Not sure how it is for leather but don’t just assume “plastic = bad”. It’s not that simple.
I’d argue at this point, where a landmass sized clump of plastic trash sits in the ocean, where I just yesterday read an article about a study that found microplastics in literally every single placenta tested, “plastic = bad” is a fairly reasonable position. Especially when there is a viable organic alternative.
I would also argue that the energy costs are only conditionally a factor, since ideally the power would be generated from clean sources such as renewables, or perhaps fusion.
Don’t misunderstand me though, your arguments make sense of course and I understand why things are as they are.
The plastic continent is (IIRC) for 98% compose of plastic that comes directly from a few big rivers in Asia, in countries that lack a functional waste disposal. As such, it is unrelated to plastic use in countries that do have a proper waste disposal.
Microplastics are a valid concern.
I also agree that the energy shortage is probably temporary, though it will get worse before it gets better. Land and water use will remain problems until we get past the tipping point for veganism. And animal-based leather will increase dramatically in price when dead cow consumption drops.
FYI I think you bring good arguments with a respectful tone and I’m not the one downvoting you.
I would generally agree plastic = bad in most cases, though it’s probably an unavoidable necessity for our modern world. It should be reduced where possible. However, plastic = bad doesn’t change the fact that animal farming is usually far worse for the environment.
There are 2 “organic” alternatives to synthetic leather (aside from not buying any of them) : plant-based leather or animal-based leather (which is not exactly completely organic or natural considering the plastic coating and chemicals used to preserve and produce it). 1 is better than synthetic leather and 1 is worse. I’ll let you work out which is which :) Spoiler: plant-based comes out on top
Also, leather uses plastic coating. A fact many people don’t know. It’s also dead flesh that’s been heavily preserved with chemicals in order to not decompose and to remain usable. It’s far from the natural product people would have us believe. Keep in mind the massive size of the industry and propaganda similar to the meat and dairy industries which it’s directly connected to.
LI totally forgot! Which is ironic because the street I live is named something that translates to “stinky water”. It used to be a bit outside the city and was where leather was made hundreds of years ago. The water was smelly due to all the dirty chemicals involved. Leather production has always been a gross ordeal with dead skins and smelly chemicals. But it feels clean to us now. How weird is that??