I'm still wearing my "pre-gan" woolen sweaters. As I knit vegan replacements, I will be phasing out the old ones. But yes, for right now, I am a vegan still wearing wool. (As fun as it would be, vegan or no, most people can't afford a whole new wardrobe all at once!) Also, I'm sure there are still items in my wardrobe that were made in sweatshops, or at least way-less-than-ideal factory conditions. This is why I want to make what I wear, but I'm a rather slow knitter and seamstress.Here's something else I try to keep in mind (
again with the "try"!): I was a meat eater for the first twenty years of my life. I still consumed animal secretions (yucky word, I know, but it is accurate) for ten years after that. Yes, I wish I'd had that "aha" moment back in childhood like some of my vegan friends did, or that my parents ate like hippies instead of just looking like them for a summer or two back in the early '70s. I wish I could have been ready that much sooner.But I wasn't ready, and that's okay. I don't feel irritation or resentment when I look back on who I used to be, so it wouldn't be fair to have those feelings toward somebody else who is still eating meat and dairy.
Of all the wise things Jamey said to me at
Sadhana Forest, maybe the wisest is this: "We're all doing the best we can at any given moment." Some would argue that's a cop out, and I see where they're coming from; but what Jamey meant is, just because someone is intellectually aware of the better choice doesn't mean they are equipped--emotionally, psychologically, or otherwise--to act in accordance, at least not at that point in time.I don't know that there are any "perfect" choices in this world, only
better choices. That goes for humans too. We will never be perfect people, but we can become better versions of ourselves through even the simplest choices we make.