The Morality of shaving brushes.

Bish

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As its a Sunday i have been relaxing , drinking tea and surfing the net etc, and whilst reading the forums i have seen a few posts about synthetic shaving brushes and how " no animal should have to die for my morning shave ."
Now whilst i really do admire the stance of trying to do the right thing i feel that there are pros and cons for every shaving brush, and to say that "no animal " dies in synthetic shaving brush production is not essentially true. To set the scene, i use Badger shaving brushes and Boar and do own a couple of synthetics ( not for me, too soft ) i prefer tallow soaps, wool clothing , leather belts and shoes.

The synthetic brush fibres that a lot of the makers use are Taklon/polyester based which as far as i am aware is a derivative of petrol and other chemicals and the process by products are microplastics, and an idustrial process, also the handles in shaving brushes are resin/plastic.
So surely the best outcome is to use a natural hair , Badger/Boar/Horse with a wooden handle? as whilst yes an animal has to die, but the animal is fully used and biodegrades which is not the case for polyester as its death for animals from a thousand paper cuts through Industrial pollution, oil extraction, microplastics etc.
The illusion of an ethical choice.

Thoughts?
 
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@Bish It's a fair point.
However, no animal has to die for a horse hair brush - that would be, in fact, quite counterproductive.
Shame it doesn't seem to be doable with badgers and wild boar (well, not quite like with horses and pigs). I wonder whether anyone's made shaving brushes from kunekune and mangalica pigs, though. :unsure:
 
@Bish It's a fair point.
However, no animal has to die for a horse hair brush - that would be, in fact, quite counterproductive.
Shame it doesn't seem to be doable with badgers and wild boar (well, not quite like with horses and pigs). I wonder whether anyone's made shaving brushes from kunekune and mangalica pigs, though. :unsure:
Agreed about the horse, but I can’t have a preference to which furry animal I prioritise above the rest as I eat meat, Horse hair would most likely be a solution with wooden handle .
I guess it’s the “cruelty free “ statement that isn’t correct.
 
This is from an old thread I found when I had the same dilemma and after reading it I had no problem with Badger brushes,if it's dead and definitely not endangered then make full use of it's remains rather than waste it.
Here’s the post.

Mr.Philip Watterson, former Managing Director, Progress Shaving Brush (Vulfix) Ltd provided us with what we consider excellent information on this subject, and is our basic understanding within the industry. He said this information could be shared as necessary and we think it would be educational here...


"Badger hair is imported from China. British, American and Canadian Badger are of no interest to brush manufacturers and cannot be connected with today's limited trade. China being the main export of Badger hair does so with very strict control on the amount exported each year, clearly displaying their awareness of environmental conservation. The Badger population is carefully monitored avoiding any decrease in its numbers. (It should be remembered that the badger is a source of meat to the Chinese people and is available in the markets). Chinese Badger are collected from the wild and are not in contravention of the Washington Treaty of Endangered Species."

"This has been an industry for the people of China for hundreds of years and it should be remembered that an increase in the Badger population would quickly be regarded as vermin and a pest to agriculture. The high prices paid for Badger hair, its removal being a costly operation, means that any significant growth predicted in its demand has little foundation. Such an expensive product will never be part of the mainstream fashion boom. Britain, Europe and America all operate very strict import controls ensuring that any Badger hair brought into these countries is done so with all legislative agreements being strictly adhered to. The ecologists in both the exporting and importing communities of Badger hair have created a system preserving the Badger, an important source of livelihood for hundreds of years in the Far East and ensuring that a small market does exist, creating valuable work in an industry which dates back to the time when wet shaving was first recorded."

In addition, sometimes a customer has mentioned hearing that badger are sheared like sheep and ask if this is true? Mr. Watterson indicated that from his vantage point badger are not sheared like sheep.
 
I would have gone with the above account, until I saw Badgers clubbed to death in a Chinese Market and uploaded to YouTube.
I love rational debate, and yes, like Sabre rightly said there will be a wide spectrum of how animals are treated, whether its badgers or caged chickens for food, grain fed animals being kept in poor conditions or micro plastics showing up in human blood samples, we choose our horror it seems.
 
This is from an old thread I found when I had the same dilemma and after reading it I had no problem with Badger brushes,if it's dead and definitely not endangered then make full use of it's remains rather than waste it.
Here’s the post.

Mr.Philip Watterson, former Managing Director, Progress Shaving Brush (Vulfix) Ltd provided us with what we consider excellent information on this subject, and is our basic understanding within the industry. He said this information could be shared as necessary and we think it would be educational here...


"Badger hair is imported from China. British, American and Canadian Badger are of no interest to brush manufacturers and cannot be connected with today's limited trade. China being the main export of Badger hair does so with very strict control on the amount exported each year, clearly displaying their awareness of environmental conservation. The Badger population is carefully monitored avoiding any decrease in its numbers. (It should be remembered that the badger is a source of meat to the Chinese people and is available in the markets). Chinese Badger are collected from the wild and are not in contravention of the Washington Treaty of Endangered Species."

"This has been an industry for the people of China for hundreds of years and it should be remembered that an increase in the Badger population would quickly be regarded as vermin and a pest to agriculture. The high prices paid for Badger hair, its removal being a costly operation, means that any significant growth predicted in its demand has little foundation. Such an expensive product will never be part of the mainstream fashion boom. Britain, Europe and America all operate very strict import controls ensuring that any Badger hair brought into these countries is done so with all legislative agreements being strictly adhered to. The ecologists in both the exporting and importing communities of Badger hair have created a system preserving the Badger, an important source of livelihood for hundreds of years in the Far East and ensuring that a small market does exist, creating valuable work in an industry which dates back to the time when wet shaving was first recorded."

In addition, sometimes a customer has mentioned hearing that badger are sheared like sheep and ask if this is true? Mr. Watterson indicated that from his vantage point badger are not sheared like sheep.
NO one is "man enough" to hold a badger in their arms while another lovingly clips it fur off like is done with woolly sheep.

It would be a form of suicide that makes Chlorine Gas or Phosgene seem "pleasant"
 
There is no issue with using natural hair for a shaving brush.

People have been using natural pig hair for years to scrub dirt from their shoe.

Face it, it dont matter.Nothing beats a properly made badger brush.
 
Unbleached is the way to go, and don't artificially speed up the break-in process.
Ive had brushes with split tips in 3 months. One took a year to develop split tips, but i wasnt shaving with it often as i didnt like it much for face lathering.

But i never figured out how to artificially age them other by use.
 
THe real question is,

Here in the USA, the chicen egg industry normally throws out 5 semi loads of eggs per day.. for being to old..

ironically in the 1960s unwashed eggs sold back then, were good to leave on counter top for 6 months. Out of direct sunlight and heat.

Now, do that with modern processed egg, you cant got more then a few days.
 
Unbleached is the way to go, and don't artificially speed up the break-in process.
Just catching up on this thread. As a relatively new traditional shaver (just under 2 yrs) - I’ve tried all brushes except horse. Boar is my favourite and I love my Unbleached zenith boar (26mm). I think there are loads of nice boar brushes! I made a decision to only purchase used badger brushes - I’ve also seen the Peta YouTube video so prefer not to purchase new badger brushes but maybe I was triggered..
 
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