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You chaps might recall in my first SOTD post I mentioned being squeamish about using badger brushes because of seeing undercover footage of how some farmed animals are treated in China. As I understand it, most hair for shaving brushes comes from that country, and some of the footage of how other mammals were kept and slaughtered over there was very unpleasant to watch.
Anyhow, something made me search the net for "ethical shaving brushes" as it's not the fact that animal hair is used (I eat meat and wear leather shoes after all, so, logically it would be hypocritical to take the moral high ground over a shaving brush) but how the badgers are farmed and "processed" that has kept me away from badger brushes. This search sent me to Penhaligon's site, where, in the FAQ section, they refer to their nickel brush by saying:
Now, aside form the thorny question of how much oversight and how much control they have over the purchasing of the hair (which I might email them about), my question to you gents is: Has anyone here got any experience of this brush? I ask as I can't find a single review of it anywhere on the net; yet it must sell for them to keep stocking it.
EDIT: It would appear from this http://www.badger.org.uk/_Attachments/Resources/284_S4.pdf from the Badger Trust that the animals are not farmed, but trapped, at least in China. :?: Does this therefore mean that the Penhaligon brush has non-Chinese hair? More confusion!
Anyhow, something made me search the net for "ethical shaving brushes" as it's not the fact that animal hair is used (I eat meat and wear leather shoes after all, so, logically it would be hypocritical to take the moral high ground over a shaving brush) but how the badgers are farmed and "processed" that has kept me away from badger brushes. This search sent me to Penhaligon's site, where, in the FAQ section, they refer to their nickel brush by saying:
Do you use badger hair in our shaving brushes? Yes we do as this is by far the most superior fibre for applying shaving lubricants. However, as a part of gaining our warrant status we have proven to the Royal Warrant Holders Association (who re-issued our warrant in 2006), that our shaving brush supplier only purchases from ethical badger farms in a part of the world where badgers are not endangered and are in fact primarily farmed for their meat.
Now, aside form the thorny question of how much oversight and how much control they have over the purchasing of the hair (which I might email them about), my question to you gents is: Has anyone here got any experience of this brush? I ask as I can't find a single review of it anywhere on the net; yet it must sell for them to keep stocking it.
EDIT: It would appear from this http://www.badger.org.uk/_Attachments/Resources/284_S4.pdf from the Badger Trust that the animals are not farmed, but trapped, at least in China. :?: Does this therefore mean that the Penhaligon brush has non-Chinese hair? More confusion!