Brush morality

[donnie_arko]

On another note the main (and legal source) of Badger bristle is Hog Badger (Arctonyx albogularis) rather than our badger (Meles meles). Although I seem to remember something about DNA testing showing both in brush bristles.

I had a look around and the available information is very confusing.

Edwin Jagger state their badger hair is the European Badger 'Meles Meles'

http://www.edwinjagger.com/shaving-products/brushes

 

[Rohleder]

isn't that Edwin Jagger page a bit off?

“Badger hair has been used for more than two centuries to make the finest shaving brushes. Rather than repelling it the hair absorbs water...”

Aren't they describing a boar? I thought badgers trapped water between the hairs, rather than absorbing it.

 

[Paul]

Meles Meles AKA Eurasian badger, China has the same Badgers we do as well as other species.

 

[Paul]

Also I am sure synthetic bristles & brush handles will be made from Bioplastics in the future. I do not plan to throw away any shaving items & I recycle all the plastic I can.

 

[Count of Undolpho]

Badger hair in shaving brushes comes from protected Eurasian badgers
"Sequences obtained from four shaving brushes were clearly hog badger sequences, whereas four sequences clustered with Eurasian badger sequences of both European and Asian origins."

 

[pimple8]

Breeding pigs is bad for the planet as well as plastic, or maybe even more.
Plastic is recyclable, but the system doesn't function well and people are not that responsible but most probably in the future, they will be as everything is headed in the ''greener'' direction.
That aside, I don't think about that stuff much. - Animals or the planet. If I did I would wear leather shoes, wouldn't drive a car, etc.... maybe I wouldn't even live in a house (its existence took some animal's habitat)
There are far greater issues with human influence towards the world than shaving brushes.

 

[chrisbell]

PVC is recyclable, cars are getting 'greener' every year, ethically sourced down (still from China) is now a selling point for companies, etc. Things change, Chinese producers will adopt better practices if they have to just as any other business will.
Us lot making threads like this gets picked up by sellers, who if they think interest is high enough ask their suppliers...

As a liberal, I'm not normally prone to saying "thank goodness for free markets", but, as you say, more informed consumers should, if market forces operate as expected, apply pressure to suppliers to improve their processes. From the practical standpoint of minimising cruelty, it doesn't matter whether the person in China does things ethically out of genuine empathy and a sense of duty of care for the animal or because they know it increases their profit margins; the effects are the same.

Personally speaking, I certainly struggled with the problem when I switched from the cheap, nasty synthetics which, at the time, were about the only guaranteed cruelty-free option, to badger. In the end I decided that a modest number of badger brushes wouldn't have much of a deleterious impact on welfare, and, as I only have three badger brushes, I think I've managed to minimise my impact. Had synthetics been as high quality then as they are now, I would almost certainly never bought a badger brush in the first place, and I would recommend them to new wetshavers who have concerns regarding how natural hair brushes are produced. Regarding the plastic waste question, although I concede that stray fibres are possibly the sort of small, floating debris that could cause problems in the marine environment, I have heard that by far the greater problem is in microscoptic plastic particles such as the scrubbing component of exfoliators and plastic bags, hence why encouraging people to use re-usable bags (including going back to natural materials) is an important and laudable move. I doubt that a resin brush handle is going to cause too many problems, and it's likely to stay in use for many years, thereby greatly reducing the rate at which such items end-up being deposited in the environment. IMO, traditional shaving is an example of a modern rediscovery of the concept of build quality and manufacturing products to last for many years.

 

[Sid James]

I suggest that all global leaders have numerous summits for several years about the environmental impact of traditional shaving equipment. Or they could just cut to the chase and tax the arse out of the end user like they do with one of my 3000 mile a year cars that is quite obviously the reason everyone has to wear sun block.

 

[Rohleder]

Slightly off topic but your mention of government involvement reminds me...

I was reading an old (10 years or so I think) article the other day where the council of a small town in Italy sought to enforce an EU directive that declared shaving brushes (no distinction between synthetic or animal) were unhygienic and therefore not to be used in barbershops. The barbers were to use gloved hands to apply the lather to clients faces Of course there was uproar and queues down the street out of each barbershop as punters thought it might be the last opportunity to experience a proper babrbershop shave. The article ended by saying there were upcoming regional elections so it may have been bad timing on the local authorities part as lots of gents take their shave very seriously in those parts...

 

[Sid James]

I've been in numerous German boozers where you keep your own stein in a locker. Should just do the same at the barbers and keep your own straight, brush and soap there. I think we should leave EU directives here because (that's) a whole new forum never mind thread.

 

[Rohleder]

I've been in numerous German boozers where you keep your own stein in a locker. Should just do the same at the barbers and keep your own straight, brush and soap there.

I've seen my barbers wield a shavette, wouldn't trust anywhere near me! I watched them shaving a bloke for his wedding whilst I waited my turn... Bad technique, would cause loads of irritation and they even managed to nick him with it. Find a better barbers you might say, this is the best one locally

I think we should leave EU directives here because (that's) a whole new forum never mind thread.

 

[Count of Undolpho]

Just to clarify:
You do not have to become an off grid, PETA fanatic to care about animal cruelty - it isn't a slippery slope.
Just because there are worse things doesn't mean you can't care about this thing.

Slightly off topic but your mention of government involvement reminds me...

I was reading an old (10 years or so I think) article the other day where the council of a small town in Italy sought to enforce an EU directive that declared shaving brushes (no distinction between synthetic or animal) were unhygienic and therefore not to be used in barbershops. The barbers were to use gloved hands to apply the lather to clients faces Of course there was uproar and queues down the street out of each barbershop as punters thought it might be the last opportunity to experience a proper babrbershop shave. The article ended by saying there were upcoming regional elections so it may have been bad timing on the local authorities part as lots of gents take their shave very seriously in those parts...

Strangely I can't find any record of that directive anywhere other than strident articles in the Telegraph and such. Even a search on the European Commission's website doesn't show anything up. Perhaps it was saved in the same section as the straight bananas story, I mean crazy Brussels Directive.

 

[Rohleder]

Just to clarify:
You do not have to become an off grid, PETA fanatic to care about animal cruelty - it isn't a slippery slope.
Just because there are worse things doesn't mean you can't care about this thing.

Amen to that.

Strangely I can't find any record of that directive anywhere other than strident articles in the Telegraph and such. Even a search on the European Commission's website doesn't show anything up. Perhaps it was saved in the same section as the straight bananas story, I mean crazy Brussels Directive.

I didn't fact check it, admittedly. Here's the article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...a-lather-at-EU-threat-to-shaving-brushes.html

 

[Bogeyman]

And as the Romans twaddled away their days contemplating silly inconsequential things the barbarians smiled, bred & merely waited.

 

[Count of Undolpho]

I didn't fact check it, admittedly. Here's the article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...a-lather-at-EU-threat-to-shaving-brushes.html

The Telegraph isn't a good choice for accurate EU stories, though they are usually better journalists than say the Mail. The EU commision in the UK has a blog specifically for debunking the disinformation (lies) published in the UK press.



As the Mesopotamians spent their days perfecting rice cakes, the Lithuanians giggled and ate toadstools!

Just to join in with Bogeyman.

 

[Rohleder]

Rightly or wrongly can't say I'd trust a pro EU website to tell the truth any more than the Daily Fail... Theres always three sides to every story: My side, you're side & the truth

They're all lügenpresse, wouldn't wipe my arse with any of them... But, let's not go there, it's against forum rules I think!