The Chinese New Year holiday is just around the corner. As you enjoy time with family and friends, you may want to do some shopping for a fresh new look.     1     that’s the case, I have an important question for you: Are you an ethical shopper?

Many clothing items are made from animal products. Think about what you’re wearing right now or what’s in your closet. Do you have any leather gloves, shoes, jackets or handbags? Or perhaps you have a cozy suede (绒面革) coat     2    (decorate) with fur.     3     you consciously avoid animal products, something in your wardrobe is probably made from an animal.

Historically, clothing was made from animal furs or hides     4     necessity and availability. For example, the indigenous (本土的) people of Canada hunted wild animals for food and used the non-edible (不可食用的) parts to make tools, clothing and even shelter. In today’s reality, very few people can claim that they require animal furs or hides to keep them warm. Does this mean that we should not wear any clothing made from animals? To some extent, that is a personal decision.     5     I’m not suggesting that you should completely stop buying animal products, I do think that every one of us     6     become more ethical shoppers. We should know where our clothing was manufactured and     7     standards the companies follow.

Some countries have few laws that govern the treatment of animals. Animals may be raised on “fur farms” for     8     only purpose of being killed for their furs. They often spend their short lives in dirty living conditions and may even be cruelly killed in a painful manner.

On the other hand, some countries and companies are against animal cruelty. The website of one popular clothing brand claims to buy the lamb skin for their famous boots only from suppliers that use “humane animal treatment”. They also claim to only use the skin of sheep that are killed for food.     9    (base) on this, they argue that their clothing products do not directly cause any harm to animals.

This Chinese New Year, do a little research before you make any purchases. Your choice to only support companies that have high ethical standards could help change the clothing industry and make things better     10     animals everywhere.