Leather is practically a staple in the clothing industry since time immemorial. Ancient civilizations such as that of the Romans have been using it for centuries. As time went on, technology has been used to treat and process leather so that our shoes, wallets, brief cases, and even furniture more durable and long-lasting.
Genuine leather is expensive because as mentioned earlier, it lasts a long time. It is obtained from the skin of snakes, crocodiles, and other reptiles. Animal rights advocates like PETA have been consistently rallying against the use of leather, among other materials, amid claims that manufacturers and consumers are endangering the existence of some animal species. They lodged claims that these animals are made to starve and suffer while being transported and that their tails are sometimes broken and their eyes sprayed with cayenne pepper.
There have also been reports, mostly raised by PETA, stating that other animals have to endure huge amounts of toxic substances or having their skin and eyes burned using chemical and other toxic substances.
Knowing this, you might start having second thoughts the next time you will go shopping for leather shoes, bags, or wallets. The good news is these advocates have been achieving some degree of success in their campaigns through raising international awareness. Big manufacturers such as Nike are now careful about their leather production practices as world bodies and organizations laid out stringent laws against animal abuse and harmful animal testing practices.
It is comforting to know that producers of leather-based products around the world have been made to re-evaluate their processes as well as that of their suppliers. Bills to adopt an anti-animal testing or anti-fur laws are also slowly making progress in various governments.
Advocates are also achieving success to some extent in promoting the use of synthetic leather in place of genuine ones. Officials are making sure that certain regulations are followed and that no laws are breached. More and more companies in all continents have no choice but to participate actively in the campaign for the responsible use of leather.
Award-giving bodies are now recognizing companies that practice good ethics and practices in leather production. For instance, handbag designer IGNES announced that it makes it a point to utilize all its leather products to the fullest to the tiniest of scraps. It has even started donating leftover leather to charity organizations responsible for providing leather braces for handicapped children. The company has been awarded the Most Socially Responsible Handbag recently.
As more companies are taking this example, you should not neglect your part as an ordinary consumer. You owe it to the environment to be socially responsible for every piece of leather that you use. The least you could do is take good care leather products that you own so you could pass them on to the next generations.
Leather is indeed a valuable commodity considering its origins. If you can help it, opt for synthetic leather instead of genuine. Modern technology has made it possible to produce good quality and even organic-based counterparts to genuine leather. Last but not least, be more socially aware by doing your own research and spread the knowledge to your children and your friends.
To the progressive shopper, the jewelry industry is associated with blood diamonds, dirty gold, and lead poisoned jewelry imported from China. In May, 2007, I started a blog that supports the movement to ethical sourced jewelry. I found a lot of support from people within this sector who have similar values but have not had a place to have a voice.
Naturally, the focus of jewelry trade magazines is mainly on issues of fashion and business. They cannot provide a lot of space to a small movement within the industry to promote radical change simply because the industry as a whole does not want radical change.
I suspect that there are many other business sectors where people are doing visionary work that is not being covered by mainstream press. Many of the current business approaches and structures are so confining that they limit the creative and spiritual potential. Blogging has been picked up in the tech industry and also, of course, in the political spheres, but what about manufacturing? What about other business sectors where great change is taking place under the surface?
Blogs can empower those working for radical positive transformation. They reward transparency and penalizes corruption. Blogs are the great democratic equalizer, the ultimate free press. They strip away spin like varnish remover on antiquated marketing techniques. Many jewelry companies are pushing their latest "green" or "eco" angle without talking about what they are doing in China, or how their mines might be causing toxic runoff in some developing country. You gain power (readership) by muckraking and breaking stories.
Reputations are made now on google. Rankings are everything. It is more and more risky to hide or lie. Just consider what has recently happened to the CEO of Whole Foods who was anonymously blogging about the stock prices of Wild Oats before he purchased the company. Secrets are becoming a thing of the past. Radical transparency has even, in some sectors, become the ultimate marketing tool.
To start, all you need is a high school kid to help you set up one of the free services. Some of the better platforms include blogger.com, wordpress.com, typepad.com, vox.com. Once you have written a few articles, issue a press release. Email people to read what you've written and build the readership yourself. Be a gatherer of stories. Everybody wants a place where they can put forth their views. If you are serving your community and you have some passion around the issues, you will find a readership.
Always be positive. In other words, create information on the blog that can be useful and proactive. It is easy to complain. But it is much more useful to provide solutions. Moveon.org is a good example of an activist blog. They always have an action associated with each of their posts. Many of my posts offer solutions to issues.
Also, it is important that your blog is niched. The jewelry blog is actually my second blog. My first blog had writing about corporate socially responsibility and mixed it with ethics about jewelry production. But they are two audiences. So I separated the blogs. In other words, keep your blogs focused.
Once you start, it is a commitment. You have to post at least once a week; preferably, more. As someone who already has more than a full time job running a company of ten people, posting a few times a week is a huge commitment, which is part of the reason I welcome the writings of other people. But blogging can serve a critical part of your search engine optimization strategy. The articles you write can be submitted to directories that can bring links and traffic back to your main revenue producing websites.
I have found that writing the blog has potentially huge spin off benefits for my company. I do not view my blog as self promotion, but when journalists are looking for authorities on particular subjects, they will check the internet.
Reading the news these days, it can be discouraging, but many great initiatives are taking place right now. Paul Hawkins talked those who are working for positive social justice and change as being the immune system of the planet. We can support each other and communicate among ourselves on the web, where we are all connected.
Both Christy Smith & Marc Choyt are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Christy Smith has sinced written about articles on various topics from Skin Care, Health and Wrinkles. Hotbuckles.com offers a wide arrangement of as well as. Christy Smith's top article generates over 165000 views. to your Favourites.
Marc Choyt has sinced written about articles on various topics from The Ocean Beach, Engagement Rings and Jewelry. Marc Choyt is President of Reflective Images, , a jewelry company that practices socially responsible business.Marc authors. Marc Choyt's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.