-28 C and the Ethics of Keeping Warm
I had to walk a couple of kilometers in the freezing cold today and it got me thinking about some stuff. Like how to keep warm. It was -38 degrees Celsius (-44 with windchill) so staying warm is literally a matter of life and death…or at the very least a matter of possible frostbite! I noticed once again that everything I was wearing which was animal in nature (a fur hat, wool socks, even a thin wool scarf) was keeping me warm whereas the things I was wearing that weren’t made from animal fiber were definitely letting the cold in, even though I had on several layers.
And, it got me thinking about animal rights activists and how many of them feel using fur or wool is wrong.
Just to be clear I love animals and anyone who is abusive to animals should be punished to the fullest extent of the law (and probably the laws should be changed to make some of the punishments harsher).
But is it really unethical to use animal products to keep humans warm?
My late step-dad was a trapper and hunter. Even though I was a huge animal lover as a child, it never once occurred to me that anyone would consider it bad to hunt for food or trap animals to make warm clothes. Even as an adult I thought some animal rights groups were literally crazy or cult-like because some of the things they claimed were pretty outrageous. They seemed to worship animals and put the animal’s wellbeing above the wellbeing of humans and I think that goes a bit too far. I’ve even heard stories of people making kids cry by lying to them about the treatment of some animals. Of course, this doesn’t mean all animal practices are humane and perfect but I think we need a little objectivity. Again, I love animals and want them treated well.
However, since I live in a very cold climate and know there are people who live in even colder climates than I do, I of course think it is necessary to use animal furs, skins, fibers, etc for warmth but I was curious about what the internet had to say about ethics and about what is actually the warmest fibers (and furs).
This led me down quite the rabbit trail and I read several interesting articles from: vegans, clothing manufacturers, fur advocates, fashion designers and even from Wikipedia. There are many diverse opinions and facts to look at and what I found out was really interesting.
As far as which fabrics (not fabric blends) are best for retaining heat in cold weather, this is what I found:
- Icelandic wool
- 100% wool
- 100 % cotton
- 100% polyester
- 100% silk
It’s interesting to note that wool represents only about 1% of all textile fiber use worldwide, cotton is about 25%, silk is a mere 0.2% and polyester is over 50%. Polyester is essentially plastic and it’s been shown that polyester sheds “microplastics” when washed, putting plastic into the water and air and that’s pretty nasty in my opinion. This is one of the reasons I try to knit with natural materials.
I did read an interesting article written on the website theminimalistvegan.com entitled “Is Wool Vegan? Ethical Considerations of The Wool Industry”.
In it, author Michael Ofei lays out some information about the wool industry as a whole and discusses some pretty displeasing aspects of wool production.
On the other hand, I read an article on the website merinowoolgear.com entitled “Merino Wool Ethics: The Complete Guide”. In this article Merino Wool Gear discusses what is being done to ensure wool (merino wool specifically) is produced ethically and while it isn’t a perfect system many companies and organizations are making good progress in this area (in my opinion).
As far as which fur is the warmest, this is what I found:
- Beaver
- Artic Fox
- Deer
- Silver fox
- Sheered sheepskin
- Sable
- Rabbit
As I mentioned I was wearing a fur hat in those sub-zero temps and I truly believe there’s nothing like fur to keep you warm. Since my products currently don’t contain fur I won’t comment about it except to say if you’re interested in further information check out “The Ethics of Fur” on the website truthaboutfur.com.
In the end I guess all I’m saying is if you have any concerns about any of the products you buy it’s important to do a little bit of research. Try to look at people’s opinions who do not automatically agree with you. Be willing to have your mind changed if you are presented with new facts. By looking at differing facts and opinions you can make a better informed decision.
Also in my opinion, if you want to keep warm get yourself some fur and/or wool.
And, whatever your opinions are on these tricky topics, remember just
Stick to the Knitting 😊
