Things That Work: Leather

 It occurred to me the other day that I have had this belt since 2001.

I remember because I was travelling to Michigan weekly for work.

We lived in Albuquerque, NM but I worked in Walled Lake, MI, near Detroit.  We were changing the world, but while I was there the world changed... on September 11, 2001.

It is now 2022, so that makes this belt 21 years old.

I had bought this belt at a store like Marshall's or Mervyn's.  These stores were close to my hotel and I stopped there when I needed something.  In this case the cheaply-made, "fashion" belt I had, broke.... I wanted a simple, leather, belt and found a great price on a nice one.

I have worn this belt nearly every day since, because it is the only belt I own.

So let's take a moment to think about the Opportunity Cost of owning one leather belt for more than 20 years....

• the money NOT SPENT on cheaply-made, fake-leather, belts over 21 years
• the waste NOT SENT to the landfill because those cheaply-made belts did not have to be replaced when they failed
• the materials that go into those cheaply-made, fake-leather.... or as some people like to call "Vegan-Leather" belts (and other products)
• Fake Leather, pleather (plastic-leather), vegan-leather..... These materials are made from by-products of oil/gas production
• These materials are not biodegradable
• oil and gas production harms the air, soil, water, and view

Versus the cost of owning one leather belt for more than 20 years...

• When this belt does finally fail, it will biodegrade back into the soil.
• The grazing of herbivores improves the health of the soil, by increasing it's ability to hold water and store carbon.  Both of which increase bio-diversity.  Which in turn improves resilience, slows climate change, and reduces extreme weather events.

Please note that I'm not talking about "conventional" animal production.  CAFOs are often unhealthy environments for everyone, as are cubicles for humans with day jobs.

Now this is a lot for one piece of clothing.... You can argue that one piece of clothing won't make a big difference.  But what if we all have one, or two, or three pieces of clothing like this?

This belt is 21 years old and and is showing no signs of quitting any time soon.

Well-made Leather products absolutely work.