To me, the issue I have isn’t with sailcloth. It’s plastic. I’d rather buy a single pair of leather shoes and have them repaired than buy a pair made with (let’s face it) plastic that don’t last as long and don’t repair as well. Other than athletic shoes, I buy all my shoes secondhand. I just bought a pair of Birkenstocks used to send in and have the footbed and soles replaced. The leather upper is still in good condition, but the cork and vibrant are wrecked. It bothers me when sometimes people are so against just the idea of using animal products that they don’t consider the harm plastics do to wildlife. To me, the most ethical item will always be the one that already exists.