After turning down a hamburger and explaining their vegetarianism, many vegetarians are asked, "So do you wear leather?" This is a valid question. Many vegetarians often ask themselves, "How can I continue to wear leather if I am refusing to eat animals?" There are several solutions to this problem. Many vegetarians decide to give up leather, just like they gave up meat.

Linking leather to the meat industry is easy to do, considering the fact that cowhide is the most common hide used to make leather products. The Leather Industries of America trade association says that very few animals in the United States are raised specifically so that their hides can be used in leather products.

But cows are only one of the animals whose hides are used for coats, shoes, wallets, belts, etc. Other leather products are made of sheep, pig, horse and deer. Some "exotic" products even use alligator, snake or seal skin.

Many vegetarians who choose to forgo leather wonder what they should do with all of the leather that they currently own. There is no single answer to this question. Some decide to slowly phase out leather products, either donating them to charity or giving them to friends who wear leather (throwing away leather is not a good bet, since most leather is not biodegradable due to the tanning process). Other vegetarians will continue to wear their leather products but refuse to buy new ones.

A reasonable concern is whether synthetic leather products made of petroleum are better for the environment than chemically-tanned leather products. Both products do a degree of damage to the environment. Some people who opt for synthetic products argue that by avoiding leather, people are at least helping to alleviate some animal cruelty.

Some vegetarians give up synthetic leather-like products altogether either because of the ecological damage or because they do not wish to give the impression that leather is ethically permissible. Leather alternatives for these people may include cotton, hemp, or reused rubber. On the other hand, some vegetarians argue that by wearing synthetic leather products, they are showing people that there is a way to achieve the look they like without resorting to the mistreatment of animals.

Many companies who sell leather clothes products also sell synthetic clothes products due to their lower production costs. Although these companies do not have ethical motives for selling non-leather goods, customers who buy their non-leather products are arguably making a statement that they demand non-leather products over leather ones.

Those people concerned about the materials used to make certain clothes products should contact the companies who make them and ask, although unfortunately in some cases company representatives are uninformed about the contents of their companies' clothes products.

There are also companies whose primary motive for selling non-leather products is their concern for the earth and animals' wellbeing. Such companies include VeganEssentials and MooShoes. These companies, among others, have their own vegan mail order catalogs. In the case of VeganEssentials and MooShoes, customers need not worry about whether their products contain leather, since all of the products are vegan.