A Green Family & Other (Equine) Animals

A Green Family and Other (Equine) Animals

e talk a lot about our carbon footprint, but what about the “environmental pawprint” of companion animals? If we as humans are eating organic and moving towards a plant-based diet (for some, in the main; for others, entirely), then why should such considerations not apply also to those four-legged creatures we share our homes with?

These questions have been at the forefront of the approach of such companies as Beco, the first producer of dry dog food to ensure its “White Fish” option contained only MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified fish. Its bamboo pet bowls are also a popular purchase of many, while its compostable poo bags are imported from Britain by some 50 countries.

With a boom in pet purchases in the lockdown, according to PDSA (the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) approximately 51% of us now keep companion animals. “Eco scrutiny” is not so much a luxurious contemplation when one has the responsibility of a pet, but a necessity in living as sustainably as possible. And what pet food we buy is critical in chipping away at any negative impact having non-human animals in our lives might cause.

It is estimated that 25% of meat production’s environmental impact is caused by pet food manufacture. That said, dogs and cats are traditionally fed on offcuts from the human meat industry. Therefore, it we are striving to switch their diet to one similar to our own – free-range and organic and seemingly eco-friendly – are we not as a result creating more waste? To this end, companies such as Lily’s Kitchen use unwanted offal or organ meat in their recipes.

This raises the much-debated question of the safety or otherwise of having Fido follow in the footsteps of vegetarian and vegan humans. Biologically, cats are obligate carnivores and cannot survive without meat amino acids. By contrast, dogs are in fact omnivorous and can in theory exist without animal flesh. However, it is veterinarian-advised that meat consumption reduction is preferable to total removal in the canine diet.

On the topic of cats and the – um – tail end of what they eat, have you ever considered the environmental impact of puss’ litterbox? There is a wide range of litters to choose from these days, certainly (clumping and non-clumping; scented and unscented; even flushable, though a study by the University of California strongly indicating a correlation with the high infection rate of otters by Toxoplasma gondii does raise concerns about the long-term safety of this last option). However, a first and basic decision – despite the cost implications – should be to step away from clay in any case.

Before the 1940s, cats’ litterboxes were filled with sawdust and sand or dirt and ashes, after which one Mr Edward Lowe came up with the idea of using Fuller’s Earth to save having mucky paw prints everywhere. Unfortunately, Fuller’s Earth is strip mined and excavated, the topsoil and any flora on the land utterly removed, scarring the natural landscape, deforesting it and ruining wildlife habitats, not to mention depleting any natural minerals present. Comprising raw bentonite clay, in just one year the US sees some 2 million tonnes pulled up from just that area of the globe. The clay you lovingly lay down for your beloved feline is not simply a matter of planet to domestic abode, though, as in order to make it absorbent it is baked and baked again at temperatures that can reach 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and burn through incredible amounts of fuel in the process. After cooling, it is crushed to fine granules, packaged, and transported for sale in-store.

If that weren’t negatively impacting enough on the environment, clay litter cannot be composted and it not only ends up in landfills, but it isn’t biodegradable. Further, those who scoop faeces into a plastic bag before placing it in the rubbish bin, which in turn is in a refuse sack, only serve to ensure all this used, soiled clay cat litter never breaks down. And crystal cat litters are no better, being produced by the same methods as clay, but with sodium silicate sand instead.

So, how does one provide for the sake of the hygienic wellbeing of the family cat with a litter option that is biodegradable and sustainable, toxinfree and preferably all-natural and organic? Well, there are a small handful of such options now available, most of which are so naturally absorbent that less litter is used over time. This balances out the greater cost of ecofriendly cat litters. There are types made from coconuts, paper, wheat, corn, bamboo, wood, walnut shells, grass seeds… And so the list goes on. Certainly, there are less excuses to be made and this is something to definitely consider when you next come to clean out the tray. The animals we call our companions aren’t limited to those kept within the four walls of where we sleep, of course, and considerations over the environmental impact of food and toilet aren’t the limits of what we should be thinking in relation to those non-human animals which we adore. Nonetheless, when any vegan worth their (sea) salt will tell you that animals are not on this planet to be exploited or provide humans with pleasure, nor were they originally brought into existence to aid mankind’s survival, where does that position leave horse ownership – something utterly embedded in history and cherished by many vegans also?

Spiritual “partners” for centuries, there is a special place in the human heart for our equine counterpart. The awardwinning documentary, Herd: a Spiritual Journey offers especial insight into this interspecies relationship. Following an 8-day “Equinisity” retreat with the animals, run by artist and author Liz Mitten Ryan, deep in the Canadian wilderness, the focus is the concept of us all being “one herd”. This harmony is key. By learning horse care, studying and coming to know their behaviour, and enacting positive reinforcement training, the relationship between horse and rider can be a beautiful thing. It is when mistreatment occurs that serious questions must be asked and action taken, when there is fear of punishment or physical, potentially fatal risk, and the end, final nightmare of the meat truck or glue factory…

As Viva! has reported, horses are incredibly intelligent creatures, able to gauge human emotions and moods, remembering the different facial expressions of a person and thereby determining their character. Indeed, their memory is comparable to that of an elephant. Further, they are also herd animals, existing in the wild in “matriarchal groups” numbering up to 10 and forming close friendships with certain individuals within the group. This is why a domestic horse becomes anxious when separated from its favoured field companion. Each continent except Antarctica is home to around 400 species of horse, with the only true “wild” species the Przewalski’s horse. Those ponies roaming Dartmoor and the New Forest, or the Mustangs of America are all better termed “feral”, descended as they are from once-domesticated horses. Domestication only began about 6,000 years ago, near the Ukraine, western Kazakhstan, and southwestern Russia. The purpose was to use the horses for milk and transport, and meat when their “usefulness” waned. Even today, approximately 4.7 million horses are eaten each year around the globe, Poland being the biggest horse meat exporter.

Surprisingly, horse meat is not illegal in the UK, consumed until the 1930s. Then there was the 2013 horse meat scandal, meat labelled as beef actually consisting of 100% horse meat in some cases. Taboo, yes, and potentially lethal, too, the equine pain relief drug Phenylbutazone (or “Bute”) posing a real health risk if present in the meat eaten. Contrary to common belief, there is no horse meat in dog food, but horse meat does find its way to zoos as food for the big cats.

Horses themselves, of course, are herbivorous. They will eat grass and – erm – herbs, as well as leaves and fruit like acorns. Each day, they need to consume about 2% of their bodyweight. Living to a good 30 years naturally, the oldest horse on record lived to 62.5 years (roughly equivalent to someone in their late 100s!).

But what about the ethics of tack? Of saddles and bridles, and bits and reins – how can one be vegan and employ these tools for riding, either in relation to what they are made from or as pertains to how they are employed? Essentially, if used in the right way, it is claimed that little suffering or discomfort is felt by the horse. Some horse owners (especially those who are vegan), though, opt out of putting metal shoes on their horses’ hooves or bits in their mouths. Nor do they employ whips to get their horses to do as instructed. Nonetheless, some newly vegan riders – interestingly, particularly in dressage – give up the pursuit all together when they look further into the ethical side of the sport, seeing the commodification of horses in riding schools as the equivalent of cattle “going to market”. An impassioned stance, indeed.

Yet, the majority of riders love their horses as much as a human companion and certainly aren’t so banally commodifying the creatures. In 2019, Horse & Hound magazine reported on the launch of former US dressage rider and Olympic bronze medallist Robert Dover’s vegan tack range, in Wellington, Florida. RobertSquared was launched in collaboration with Robert Ross, Dover’s fellow rider. Inspired by Tesla and the general shift to “luxury vegan leather” that has slowly been happening, the range includes all the above-mentioned tack, as well as halters, leads, riding boots, paddock boots, and accessories such as gloves. No cows harmed in the making there, and the non-stretch, eco-friendly material needs only soap and water to clean it. Another equestrian leading the way in greenminded wear is fashion designer Sophie Robbins, Everything Horse UK magazine reporting last year that her Rowberton line – sustainable, vegan, organic, and PETA-certified – offered eco-conscious fashion with fun and refreshing designs. Additionally, keen rider and yoga teacher Faith Page founded Eco Equestrian, a company that produces “fishnet riding tights”, turning “discarded nylon fishing nets and waste from the textile industry into topquality fabric”.

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When it comes to riding itself, though, there is an entirely different level of contemplation to undertake to that of having cats or dogs in our life: a human being is sitting atop the back of another animal and “controlling” it. Time Magazine a while ago wrote on the dangers of equestrian eventing, the “equine equivalent of the triathlon”. Combing dressage, cross-country, and jumping, eventing has been part of the Olympics since 1912 (in Stockholm). It is seen as one of the most dangerous sports, due in particular to the cross-country event, where a single, simple miscalculation could see either horse or rider or both perish. This is a union, an interspecies alliance, where nothing will happen without the effective silent, physical communication between horse and rider: without the volition and belief of the one in the other, neither will succeed.

Cross-country testing stamina and courage, dressage an indicator of “elegance and obedience”, and jumping an extension of that test of fitness at the end of everything – eventing was a military man-only sport until 1924; and women couldn’t participate until 1964. Now, men and women battle each other for Gold, one of the few sports to pit one sex against the other. However, in the elevenyear-period between 1997 and 2008, some “37 riders died as a result of injuries” from “the cross-country phase of eventing at national or international level or at Pony Club”. By contrast, the number of horses that died in the period is not available, but one record shows “at least 19 eventing horses, many of them top-level performers, died in 2007 and 2008” alone.

While safety measures – including inflatable vests and frangible pins in jumps to prevent rotational falls, which shockingly “permanently disable riders 25% of the time” – have been put in place to protect humans, what safeguards are there for the horses, those “other athletes”? While frangible pins can lessen injury to horses “by proxy”, the risk of a broken neck or back yet remains for the animal and, given they are legally considered “property”, owners can opt to euthanise the injured horse instead of undergoing expensive veterinary care which can leave the animal disabled forevermore, with a diminished quality of life.

A strange scenario when it is clear that the riders care so very much about their equine partners. When an incredible number of hours are spent in the company of another sentient being each day, how can a deep bond not develop? Kept in “luxury stabling” and treated to carrots as we would spoil a child with sweets, horses are nevertheless thought unlikely to be a future-thinking species in the way that humans are. Is there, then, a moral responsibility for humans, entirely aware of the risks (but in denial that they themselves will ever faulter), to not put a horse they love in dangerous competitive situations? In response, it is worth reflecting that a veterinary inspection is carried out at the start of the 3-day event, and a further inspection undertaken before the final jumping stage. At these times, the vet can send the horse to a “holding box” if unhappy, where a second veterinarian will “pass” or “fail” the animal, so no unfit or unsound creature will be put in danger (nor their rider) on the course.

There is also the fact, as any rider will tell you, that a horse will not do anything it doesn’t want to do. They are powerful, emotionally intuitive animals (and stubborn as mules, to boot). As overthinking creatures, perhaps that is one more thing for us to think about. We, as animals, are resident on this planet with all other animals, none alone.

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Fashion for Young and Old:

Say Farewell to Wearing Corpses

he global fashion industry is accountable for 10% of carbon emissions globally. We might be aware of the plastic we excessively use in day-to-day life, for packaging for food and beauty and cleaning products; we might take a few minutes to watch Jeff Bridges’ short film Open Your Eyes for Plastic Pollution Coalition (yes, the very same that told Seaspiracy’s Ali Tabrizi to turn off the cameras) and nod our heads to his warning that recycling is more often than not simply downcycling, and if not that then it is piled sky-high, dumped into the oceans, or burned, releasing toxic fumes; but do the majority of us know what’s really in our clothes (and in our carpets and curtains and generally in our home furnishings), that – as Friends of the Earth noted – up to 64% of our vêtements contain plastics, materials such as polyester, nylon, acrylic and polyamide? And when we pop them in the washing machine for cleanliness, tiny microplastics wash out to sea.

Further according to Friends of the Earth, only 9% of plastic is recycled. Worringly, it has been found that 93% of Americans have BPA in their body. Of course, Earth Day’s theme in 2021 was “Restore Our Earth”, but what about our bodies? And if you can’t fork out for new “eco-gear”, then why not “restore” what you have, mending or even upcycling existing clothing? Rather than ditching one’s entire wardrobe and starting again more eco-aware (as we’ll come to in a moment), focus should instead be given to washing only a full-load of laundry (preferably in a Guppy Bag or with a Coraball to collect microfibres), in a front-loading washing machine (top-loading washing machines apparently release more microplastics), at a lower temperature, on a slower spin-speed, not tumble drying but air drying, and keeping the clothes one has for longer (after the first few washes, most fibres that will come loose have).

The mainstream fashion industry uses approximately 79 billion cubic metres of water during production processes: a massive quantity. By contrast “circular fashion”, recycling or upcycling what we already have (think “vintage”), avoids this environmental concern. If you must buy a new sweater for the unusually lingering chill this British summer, then, whatever you do, do not purchase a polyester fleece: they are the worst offenders when it comes to microplastic pollution. It might seem a lot to consider, but as with most things in life: practice makes perfect.

What about those of us whose concerns are a rather more – ahem – “pedestrian” affair when it comes to fashion? The cruelty endemic in the wool industry has been known for years, even a recent investigation by PETA on a farm in Australia finding that sheep are still punched with fists or even sheers, sometimes until drawing blood; sometimes grotesquely disfiguring the animals. But, more recently, Gavin Polone, producer of Gilmore Girls, teamed up with the Emmy-winning sports editor Derek Ambrosi to shed light on the use of kangaroo leather in sports footwear made by Nike. Another Australian industry, the reverse sequenced short film intended to educate consumers who might otherwise have been unaware that Skippy lost his life so they could score the winning goal at Saturday football. Politician Mark Pearson wholly supported the endeavour, adding that many don’t realise “kangaroo populations are declining” or that “Australia kills its own national emblem for profit”.

As a result, according to Hype Beast, Nike has been making inroads to vegan leather trainer production, their “Baroque Brown” shoe following an earlier “Space Hippie” line in 2020, including clothes of recycled materials, such as “plastic bottles and post-industrial scraps” – all part of their “Move to Zero” sustainability initiative. Conversely, where “faux leather” has often in the past been a contentious issue due to in the main being made from PVC (derived from fossil fuels and microplastic-producing), now Taiwanese company General Silicones has used natural silica in lieu of bovine skin, but been questioned over the use of coal, a non-renewable carbon, in the process of its manufacture (as well as the fact that silicon is nonbiodegradable and hard to recycle).

After a follow-up MP inquiry into the impact of “fast fashion” on the environment, it was found that the UK throws away over one million tonnes of clothing annually, with a third ending up in landfills and/or incinerated. But, while Greta Thunberg might have announced her intention to refrain from future clothes-buying (opting if necessary for second-hand or borrowing off of friends), the rest of us might occasionally like to indulge in the mental uplift that comes from a purchase of that new shirt or skirt. Yet, with clothing of old estimated to “take over 200 years to decompose”, according to Vegconomist (because of plastic fibres), it’s not surprising that there has been a surge in more sustainable options.

One such eco-minded company is Kent, based in Los Angeles. With “the world’s first verified compostable underwear”, founder Stacey Anderson should be proud of her “plant your pants” concept. Entirely organic, Kent underwear “composts in 90 days” and is good not only for the soil and the plants of today, but those that will grow on a cleaner planet in the future as well. Indeed, a multitude of companies are exploring the “vegan leather” sector: from mushrooms and cacti, to apples and other plant-sources, vegan leather is seemingly here to stay. So much so that Eurofins | Chem-MAP, the “leading provider of chemical management testing and auditing services” has developed a testing programme in line with the Vegan Society’s Vegan Trademark for clothing in general, after it was found that “animal derivatives” had been found in “dyes and glues” in products labelled vegan. Meanwhile, New York-based AlgiKnit aims to make yarn from seaweed. With Vegconomist reporting that “the global ethical fashion market is [set] to reach $8.25 billion [c.£5.84 billion]” by as soon as 2023, AlgiKnit’s plan to replace polluting fibres like polyester and nylon with algae-based fibres (which help to absorb and offset carbon) is timely indeed.

A Saudi Arabian label with only small edits at a time, all fabrics are sustainably sourced, including EcoVera viscose and recycled deadstock materials.

The Eco Labels to Watch

Yasmina Q

Etikette

Offering one jacket in three lengths (cropped, mid-length, and long) for wardrobe staples only, all fabrics are UK-sourced, 100% vegan, and use only low-impact dye. Mashu

London-based accessories, their structural and architectural handbags consist of recycled plastic and polyester, plus toxic-free natural materials (pineapple leather; hemp jute). Further, the handles are wooden offcuts from a Greek furniture brand. This is the epitome of circular economy.

Baile

Their jumpers are 80% organic cotton and 20% recycled polyester. Each piece has been eco-washed so as to reduce water waste. Packaging for postage itself is made from 100% recycled materials and the mailing bags are compostable. The clothing labels are made with 100% organic cotton. Ashoka

Made from apple leather (literally, driedup apple peel) that comes from apples grown in an orchard in Bolzno, Italy, all bags are lined with recycled plastic bottles. Hemp Tailor

This label specialises in downfree and wool-free outerwear for men and women using organic cotton, recycled plastic, and – you guessed it – hemp. There is now knitwear, too (made from hemp and recycled cotton).

Luztra

A London brand specialising in creating bags from leathers of pineapple, apple, and mango. That is to say, pineapple leaf leather (Pinatex), apple Frumat, and the Dutch innovation 90% mango.