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Rental Clothing

Another great option, in terms of conserving resources (not to mention money) is renting.

What sort of clothing can you rent? For men, tuxedos are certainly the best-known rental option. But you can also rent a business suit for a job interview, say, and if you won’t actually need that suit when you start working, renting it makes a lot of sense.

The same goes for ladies’ clothing. How many times do you really plan to wear your wedding dress? Once, right? So why buy it, wear it once, then have it take up space in a closet or up in the attic for the rest of your life? Oh, and you can rent prom dresses and bridesmaids’ dresses, too. (Rachelle tells me your bridesmaids will be especially grateful if you choose this option!)

Vegan Shoes

Clothing isn’t the only thing we wear on our bodies. You’ve got to put something on your feet.

As you probably know, most vegans do not wear leather. They avoid leather belts, leather jackets, leather shoes—even leather upholstery on their furniture and in their cars.

My choice to wear vegan shoes (and belts and so on) isn’t just about animal cruelty issues. It’s also about the environment.

In Chapter 5, “In the Garden and Kitchen,” I discussed that it takes a lot more land, water, and energy to raise animals than to grow grains and produce. Choosing organic vegan shoes made from plant-based materials is environmentally friendly, too.

Don’t assume vegan shoes are much more expensive than other shoes. What did you pay for your last pair of name-brand athletic shoes? My vegan athletic shoes look just the same and they feel the same to me. Any minor difference in cost is a price I’m willing to pay.

A word of caution: You can find inexpensive nonleather shoes, but some of them are not all that well made. There are companies making really cheapo shoes out of plastic because it’s less expensive than leather. It’s hard for me to find those shoes in my size and in styles that I can tolerate, and when they’re badly made, I end up throwing them out after a few months. Plus they’re made from petroleum. Any way you look at it, those shoes are a bad investment.

So what are quality vegan shoes made from? In a lot of cases, they’re made from hemp, which can look like leather, canvas, even suede. You can also find shoes made from other plant materials, like rubber and jute and cotton. Some vegan shoes even have rubber soles made from recycled car tires. So you can make environmentally friendly choices when it comes to footwear, too.

Dry Cleaning Your Clothes

We covered the benefits of washing your clothes with environmentally friendly detergents in Chapter 1. But what about the stuff that has to be dry cleaned?

The chemical most commonly used in the dry-cleaning process is a solvent called perchloroethylene, or perc. It’s considered a toxic air contaminant, and studies have identified it as a carcinogen. It’s nasty stuff. Exposure to perc can cause dizziness, headaches, irritation of the eyes and nose and throat, even liver and kidney damage.

Experts will tell you that there’s not enough perc on clothing after it’s dry cleaned to pose any real danger to you—assuming that the clothing has been aired out properly. It’s mostly considered a problem for the people who work in the dry-cleaning industry. On the other hand, do you really want to risk having those chemicals against your skin? And do you really want to encourage the use of this toxic chemical?

I’ve never liked the smell of clothing that has been dry cleaned. I used to think, “So air it out and it’ll be fine.” But it’s not fine. Perc is a mighty bad toxin and you’ll have remnants of it against your skin for ten, maybe twenty hours. Years ago, a town near Boston was found to have a much higher rate of cancer, and it was attributed to the residents’ affluent lifestyle, including dry cleaning. They had the money to be exposed to more chemicals.

Fortunately, you can choose where you take your dry cleaning and to give your business to a nontoxic dry cleaner. Some of these cleaners use the practice of professional wet cleaning, which is far more environmentally friendly than using perc (and there are other nontoxic options now, too).

I am lucky enough to have one of these nontoxic cleaners within walking distance of my house, and you may, too. It’s easy to find out. I’m sure a quick Internet search for your area will turn up choices. For instance, the South Coast Air Quality Management District provides on its website a list of non-toxic dry cleaners in Southern California.

Traditional Skin Care and Hair Care

What you wear isn’t the only thing that matters. What you put on your skin and in your hair is important, too.

When you learn what goes into skin- and hair-care products, it’s really frightening. So many of the products on the market today—the vast majority of products out there—are full of parabens. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

I look for quality, natural, paraben-free products.

“Parabens are the most widely used preservatives in cosmetic products. Chemically, parabens are esters of phydroxybenzoic acid. The most common parabens used in cosmetic products are methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben. Typically, more than one paraben is used in a product, and they are often used in combination with other types of preservatives to provide preservation against a broad range of microorganisms.”

There’s some controversy over parabens. The FDA will tell you the levels used today are safe, but groups like Physicians for Social Responsibility disagree. Parabens mimic estrogen and they’ve been found—undiluted—in breast cancer tumors. That means these parabens are being absorbed through the skin, because when you eat them, they actually get diluted in your digestive system.

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