One question - what footwear do the people in power wear? Do you think they all wear plastic chappals? Do they use synthetic leather belts and wallets?
When I was young, someone told me that while cheap leather was made from dead animals, fine leather was made by skinning them alive. It horrified me as it would many people. I decided to stop wearing leather, but in the pre-synthetic leather era it was difficult. I consoled myself that the cheap leather shoes I wore to school were from dead animals. Now with choice of good quality synthetic leather, I have no problems.