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Well, as you are aware, the recommendations of various fur companies are that the furs should be properly stored and cleaned on a regular basis. This is not something most people would want to do, or would remember to do. I leave Columbia jackets sitting in the back seat of my car year after year exposed to the summer and winter with no problems. Almost all of my few dozen jackets, mainly gifts, are around 10-20 years old and pretty much new condition without any special treatment. As far as the material getting torn, it's pretty simple to then turn them into blankets or cushions, etc... like any other fabric materials, they can be turned into fillers for anything. That's a pretty simple way to recycle them. They seem perfectly useful for moving blankets, pet cushions, etc...
Fur will last through not being cleaned all the time. I mostly only clean my fur hats when they get dirty. Yes the synthetics can be re-used for some things, but sooner or later they will end up in a landfill, and will likely never decompose.
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Almost all other plastic products are not as usable after they are broken (plastic water bottles, that the US uses over 20 billion a year, electronics/computer cases are disposed of in a few years after being obsolete (in fact, part of the EU RoHS regulations banning dangerous materials like mercury, chromium, etc... are largely due to the vast disposal of electronic products, new electronics products are required to have the "do not dispose in trash" symbol), etc...). Only the synthetic fabrics by and large are very useful decades later.
We use way too much plastic, that's certainly true.
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Again, I noted that the recommended gear for mountaineering is the high tech synthetics with wool/down layers, not furs. Those are obviously the more extreme conditions that clothing can be exposed to. They understand about getting wet and staying dry. I know they used to use all furs in the past, but obviously they've found the new materials are very usable, and I like being able to easily fit a full, thin, lightweight parka into a backpack.
I don't think anything is better in those conditions than some of the traditional Alaskan Native clothing. Fur is lightweight...
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As far as 50 percent of emission being from nylon. You need to realize that nylon is used for many things besides fabrics. There are so many other products made from nylon. To imply that the synthetic textile industry is responsible for all of that seems quite inaccurate given the other products made from nylon.
Let me point out the stats again, where the majority of the US production of nitrous oxide is from agricultural processes. US EPA - Nitrous Oxide: Sources and Emissions
Of course it's quite possible to create reclamation processes to "catch" waste gases, which at the moment may not be feasible due to cost or lack of regulatory requirement.
It illustrates the point though that synthetics production is bad for the environment. Nylon is one of those synthetics. I know some ends up in synthetic rope and other products, but that doesn't change the fact these synthetics are not "green" by any stretch of the imagination. It's interesting that such a large portion of the nitrous oxide in the UK comes from nylon production whereas a good portion of it in the U.S. comes from agriculture. Interesting, odd, difference.
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According to the links you indicated, it takes 1/3 a gallon of oil to make a synthetic coat. That's a very small amount of oil given that each day a person drives to and from work, they will likely use more than that and generate more pollution than what is involved in that coat. That's why the coat provides a good return for the resources used, given its long usable life.
Multiplied by millions and millions and millions, and all the other clothing items that use oil, that becomes a significant amount. Just because more is used in cars doesn't alter the affects this has.
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Fur manufacture also requires resources, as pointed out in the links you listed, so it's not like they use no resources (i.e. gas is needed to move the people and materials around from source to factory, etc...). There doesn't appear to be anything showing the actual numbers concerning resources used comparing different products, aside from the idea that "more" is used for synthetics. That's all I see being written in various article, that "more pollution" and "more resourses" are needed, but no indication that it really is notably more.
More is used in the synthetics production simply because of the fact that the petroleum itself must be extracted, and most of it comes from overseas, then must be refined, and all of this before you even have a piece of synthetic fabric. And of course, with the fur, only the fuel used for transportation (for example, mailing the furs from where I live to one of the fur companies or auctions, then to the factory then to the consumer) is used, whereas in addition to the greater amount of fuel used simply to get the large quanities of oil needed from overseas sources, you've got the additional oil and energy used in the actual product.
I must admit I find it somewhat interesting that many people in the "green" movement constantly argue we need to reduce our use of or eliminate our use of oil, emphasizing all the negative effects of its use, and also the habitat destruction associated with our heavy/intensive agriculture, until it's suggested we use fur instead.
IMHO - If we are going to continue to kill animals for their meat (BTW - I hope so because I am a carnivore) we might as well use the wrappers. I am fond of leather jackets, sandals and gloves. I also have found that a sheepskin fur hat is too warm to be worn much of the winter.
I do intellectually understand trapping wild creatures for their fur and for population control but emotionally compare it with using land and sea mines in war. Both traps and mines wound and maim more than they kill. Emotionally, I find them immoral.
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IMHO - If we are going to continue to kill animals for their meat (BTW - I hope so because I am a carnivore) we might as well use the wrappers. I am fond of leather jackets, sandals and gloves. I also have found that a sheepskin fur hat is too warm to be worn much of the winter.
I do intellectually understand trapping wild creatures for their fur and for population control but emotionally compare it with using land and sea mines in war. Both traps and mines wound and maim more than they kill. Emotionally, I find them immoral.
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I don't think there's any comparison between traps set for animals and landmines. Landmines are indiscriminate and made to kill people for the sake of killing people in the power interests of governments, traps are selective and take animals for a useful purpose.
Yes, but that actually happens to be where synthetic fabric works well. Normally, plastic parts are no good when they break, and will not degrade, but fabric doesn't "break" so it will be usable 50 years from now, 100+ years from now, performing the same function as it did the first day it was made. These fabrics require little care, they can be thrown in the washing machine and dryer and don't require special storage care and cleaning. So over a long period of time they provide more function with less care. The fact that they cost less is indicative of the resources required to manufacture them. If it was costly to make (i.e. used a lot of resources) then they would cost a lot more. However, due to the economy of scale from high tech production methods, they cost less than fur items. Fur items are all one off and have to be hand processed and gathered. They may be more suitable for some extreme conditions, but the majority of the world doesn't need that.
There are many advantages to the synthetics. Hypoallergenic, lightweight, less bulk, easy care, waterproof/resistant types, fire resistant types. Most of the pictures of people going to Everest, etc... are using some kind of synthetic materials (water-resistance and low weight is very useful), although possibly in combination with natural insulating materials.
I agree, the manufacture of the synthetic fabrics is something to consider. Polar Fleece, for example, is made from recycled plastic bottles - so it is a green element even before it's made into a garment.
IMHO - If we are going to continue to kill animals for their meat (BTW - I hope so because I am a carnivore) we might as well use the wrappers. I am fond of leather jackets, sandals and gloves. I also have found that a sheepskin fur hat is too warm to be worn much of the winter.
I do intellectually understand trapping wild creatures for their fur and for population control but emotionally compare it with using land and sea mines in war. Both traps and mines wound and maim more than they kill. Emotionally, I find them immoral.
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On the same note, if we're going to drink water out of bottles, we might as well recycle those bottles into polar fleece and wear them .
I did not mean to imply that I dislike polar fleece. I think this is a wonder material and have several garments made of this recycled plastic. I think using critter wrappers for clothng and furniture is a grate idea.
PS - I still feel mines and traps are an abomination.
On the same note, if we're going to drink water out of bottles, we might as well recycle those bottles into polar fleece and wear them .
We should cut out the plastic bottles in the first place. I must disagree with you that polar fleece is green. It's definately better to reuse it and get one more use out of it than to dump it in a hole in the ground if we already have the plastic around to begin with, but it's not exactly "green," just greener than dumping the plastic bottles in the ground. It's still not biodegradable, and is still made from a non-renewable and polluting resource (oil).
I did not mean to imply that I dislike polar fleece. I think this is a wonder material and have several garments made of this recycled plastic. I think using critter wrappers for clothng and furniture is a grate idea.
PS - I still feel mines and traps are an abomination.
I guess we just won't agree on this then. I don't think there's any comparison between the two.
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