I gave up wearing leather at age 16, and I’m now 32. It was hard. Very hard. I hated giving up my docs at the time, but I felt better about myself for sticking to my values and ethics.

In the late 80s and early 90s, it was hard to find decent non-leather shoes and I wore a lot of chinese slippers :) Now, buying shoes online makes things so easy (though expensive).. also having access to Payless Shoes helps.

Good luck! Just keep the reason in mind. Every so often, visit http://www.cowsarecool.com/ just to reaffirm your reasons.