Allow me to preface this post with the fact that I am not a vegan and so far away from attaining that goal that I don't know if I ever will be. But this question popped up.
My daughter is a competitive figure skater. Figure skates designed for that level of skating are made from leather. I have not found any vegan alternatives that even approach the quality and necessary specifications for her sport. Buying used figure skates (to avoid creating or contributing to demand for new products) is not a feasible option because figure skates conform to the foot and ankle of the skater and once broken in for one skater are often useless (or at least quite painful) for another.
I'm pretty sure that this is not the only sport/hobby where this type of situations exists.
So what do you do? Do you give up a hobby or sport that you've invested years of training and hundreds or thousands of dollars of expense? Or do you bit the bullet on this one thing and try to do better in other areas of your life?


Much as I don't like the idea of buying leather, I think if I were in this situation I would buy the leather things if there was absolutely no suitable non-leather stuff available. The Vegan Society defines veganism as trying to avoid animal products 'where possible and practical', and if it's really not possible then I would think it's not worth giving up a sport/hobby over.


I would send a letters to ice skating manufacturers simply asking if they will be producing any non-leather skates in the future as well as a letter to vegan shoe shops asking for them as well. This simple act creates a 'demand' and if enough people send in letters asking for them then the companies will respond in kind. I would also seek out people who custom make ice skates to see if a bespoke pair could be made with non leather materials.
I'd also look for used ice skates that were suitable. Maybe someone has a pair in the right size and configuration that were used once or twice and now languish in the attic?
Once I'd exhausted these avenues I'd go ahead and buy the leather skates.


like with anything, in absence of alterantives, use what is available.
i have many non-vegan things that i do not prefer, but are the only viable alterntive. one of my firends is an avid animal rights activist (lawyer) and vegan, yet wears leather shoes because he is a large man and found that the other shoes make his feet hurt terribly. leather is the only thing that he can handle (in dress shoes--other shoes are non leather). so, he buys them.
he simply doesn't have an alternative.


Yep, I'd buy the figure skates and write a letter.


Thanks everyone. I wondered about what would be considered a prudent course of action. Neither I nor my daughter are vegan at this point (though who knows where we may end up) so this isn't an issue for us, personally. But I do often wonder about these things as I contemplate the impact of attempting to live as a vegan.
I greatly appreciate your thoughtful responses.


Remember, too, that eliminating cruelty from your life doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing proposal. Too often we think if we can't do a thing "perfectly" it's not worth doing. If that were truly the case, we wouldn't do anything at all!
Your daughter is a competitive figure skater. Would it have been at all useful for her to ask, at the beginning of her career, if she'd ever able to perform a certain complicated move? If she'd ever be able to score a perfect '10'? And would it make any sense for her to decide not to ever participate in the sport at all if she couldn't be guaranteed success and perfectionism from day one?
Of course not. She skates as well as she can every day and when she doesn't do well, it doesn't spell the end of the hobby. Contemplating veganism is awesome, but trying to evaluate every single aspect of the lifestyle and deciding if it's worth "going for the title" accomplishes nothing.
Instead, do what you're doing here: take each situation as it comes up, one at a time, and make the most humane choice. Giving up dairy would make a huge impact regardless of what kind of skates you use. Eschewing animal-tested beauty products makes an impact even if you still eat eggs. Don't think so much about qualifying for the vegan label, and concentrate instead on making humane choices that fit into your life right now.
Good luck!


Second hand...


If your daughter becomes a famous professional figure skater the skate companies will beat a path to her door to get her to sponsor their products. She can then insist non-leather be made for her. And in interviews she can espouse her views on vegetarianism and the rest which would be sending the right message to a new audience. :D