<i>But seriously theres no need to wear the animal if your not living like the Inuits.</i><p>I mostly agree with you, but there a few exceptions (clubbing baby seals not being one of them). If one rides a motorcycle and cares about keeping body parts in their original condition, there just isn&#x27;t a good substitute for at least <i>some</i> leather use. I&#x27;m a vegetarian who is so in order to reduce the killing of animals, but there&#x27;s no substitute for boots that have at least a bit of leather in them. I mean <i>no</i> substitute. Sidi makes some leather-free ones, but they don&#x27;t work for me for other reasons. Gloves are one item that one might get away with synthetics. In the case of jacket and pants, I prefer my synthetics as their better in all weather.<p>And then there&#x27;s goose&#x2F;duck down. With that, it&#x27;s more a case of synthetic being an adequate substitute, but an inferior one. If you&#x27;re tight on space, down sleeping bags and jackets have superior insulation for their smooshed-down size. I&#x27;ve got a Patagonia down vest (cruelty-free! I&#x27;m off the hook, right?) that&#x27;s loads warmer than any of the synthetic vests I&#x27;ve spent a fair bit of money on, and it packs to just a little rolled up ball.<p>But clubbing baby harp seals in the head? Yeah, not much of an excuse for that.