sooo...my kids are 3.5, and my husband and i were discussing sports, and when they get older we would encourage them to do whatever they want. butt...how do you get around leather baseball gloves, balls and whatever other sports paraphenalia is not vegan? what do you do?

I was just thinking of this today! http://chiana.trvnet.net/~hrtlndp/ (Heartland Products) has baseball mitts. Otherwise, for little leagues, the gear is provided for the kids by the rec department a lot of times. I've had to buy basketballs for my hubby before and there are ones that are completely synthetic, so I would think that other balls would be made in synthetics, too.

I'm going to search around a little bit and see what I can find. I'll make sure to post any findings! :)

I was just thinking of this today! http://chiana.trvnet.net/~hrtlndp/ (Heartland Products) has baseball mitts. Otherwise, for little leagues, the gear is provided for the kids by the rec department a lot of times. I've had to buy basketballs for my hubby before and there are ones that are completely synthetic, so I would think that other balls would be made in synthetics, too.

I'm going to search around a little bit and see what I can find. I'll make sure to post any findings! :)

hey thanks!! i am gonna check out link now. and thanks for anything else you find!

Okay, Rawlings does make synthetic leather baseballs-

http://www.dunhamssports.com/product/index.jsp?productId=59035&cp=711608.693723&parentPage=family

And here's a synthetic football-

http://www.dunhamssports.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1243452&cp=711652.693953&parentPage=family

For basketballs, look for streetballs. They're usually the ones that are synthetic.

this may seem odd, but in absence of a good alternative, use what exists (even if it isn't vegan).

so, i'll use one of my favorite sports as an example: baseball. (well, soft ball actually). I've played since i was tiny (about age 6 i guess) and i LOVE to play. I still use the mitt i bought almost 13 years ago--since they do last. but, if i had to replace it, i'd make sure that the quality was there. if the synthetic one was quality, then i would use it. If not, then i would buy leather without guilt.

it's important to be able to participate in activities that yu enjoy. to be too exclusive is detrimental to ones mental and emotional health. If it is important to participate in an activity where synthetic alternatives do not exist, then i think using the leather is acceptable--until quality synthetics do exist.