I nearly choked on my Weetabix this morning when I saw the Guardian was running a splash on The Ethical Case Against Wool. “This I’ve got to see,” I thought, and lo and behold G2 had an article from a vegan activist saying that as some sheep are treated roughly by shearers “on amphetamines” we should boycott wool.

Which begs the question “What are we going to wear, then?” I mean, if wool’s out, fur and leather don’t make the ethical grade, cotton is usually produced using huge doses of pesticides and large amounts of water, polymers are made from fossil fuels and don’t biodegrade… what does that leave? Sisal? Ooo, itchy!

Sarcasm aside, we’re going to have to realise that our presence on Earth will always have an impact and not always a good one for our fellow creatures. That doesn’t set us apart from other animals – if you are a sand eel then that cute puffin looks like a mass-murdering bastard. And while I would never condone unnecessary cruelty to sheep or any animal, we’re disappearing up weird dead-ends if we set out ethical bar so high that a natural material such as wool doesn’t make the grade.

And, while I’m quite happy for this activist to boycott wool if that makes her happy, a big splash of lunacy on the front of a national newspaper like this doesn’t help the case for moving to broadly more ethical supply chains.