diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 4202732..f4c0287 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ libc = "0.2.70"
 libloading = "0.6.0"
 nix = "0.17"
 slog = "2"
-slog-stdlog = "4"
+slog-stdlog = { version = "4", optional = true }
 tempfile = "3.0"
 thiserror = "1"
 udev = { version = "0.4", optional = true }
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ gl_generator = { version = "0.14", optional = true }
 pkg-config = { version = "0.3.17", optional = true }
 
 [features]
-default = ["backend_winit", "backend_drm_legacy", "backend_drm_atomic", "backend_drm_gbm", "backend_drm_eglstream", "backend_drm_egl", "backend_libinput", "backend_udev", "backend_session_logind", "renderer_glium", "xwayland", "wayland_frontend"]
+default = ["backend_winit", "backend_drm_legacy", "backend_drm_atomic", "backend_drm_gbm", "backend_drm_eglstream", "backend_drm_egl", "backend_libinput", "backend_udev", "backend_session_logind", "renderer_glium", "xwayland", "wayland_frontend", "slog-stdlog"]
 backend_winit = ["winit", "wayland-server/dlopen", "backend_egl", "wayland-egl", "renderer_gl", "use_system_lib"]
 backend_drm = ["drm", "failure"]
 backend_drm_atomic = ["backend_drm"]
diff --git a/src/backend/drm/atomic/mod.rs b/src/backend/drm/atomic/mod.rs
index 1d2e1f9..507abd3 100644
--- a/src/backend/drm/atomic/mod.rs
+++ b/src/backend/drm/atomic/mod.rs
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ impl<A: AsRawFd + 'static> AtomicDrmDevice<A> {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm"));
         info!(log, "AtomicDrmDevice initializing");
 
         let dev_id = fstat(fd.as_raw_fd()).map_err(Error::UnableToGetDeviceId)?.st_rdev;
diff --git a/src/backend/drm/common/fallback.rs b/src/backend/drm/common/fallback.rs
index bfc55d1..bea7378 100644
--- a/src/backend/drm/common/fallback.rs
+++ b/src/backend/drm/common/fallback.rs
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ impl<A: AsRawFd + Clone + 'static> FallbackDevice<AtomicDrmDevice<A>, LegacyDrmD
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
         info!(log, "Trying to initialize AtomicDrmDevice");
 
         let force_legacy = env::var("SMITHAY_USE_LEGACY")
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ where
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
 
         let driver = crate::backend::udev::driver(dev.device_id()).expect("Failed to query device");
         info!(log, "Drm device driver: {:?}", driver);
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ where
         D2: NativeDisplay<B2, Arguments = EglDeviceArguments>,
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
         match dev {
             FallbackDevice::Preference(gbm) => match EglDevice::new(gbm, log) {
                 Ok(dev) => Ok(FallbackDevice::Preference(dev)),
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ where
         D2: NativeDisplay<B2, Arguments = EglDeviceArguments>,
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm_fallback"));
         match dev {
             FallbackDevice::Preference(gbm) => {
                 match EglDevice::new_with_defaults(gbm, default_attributes, default_requirements, log) {
diff --git a/src/backend/drm/egl/mod.rs b/src/backend/drm/egl/mod.rs
index b9397d8..dac507f 100644
--- a/src/backend/drm/egl/mod.rs
+++ b/src/backend/drm/egl/mod.rs
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ where
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_egl"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_egl"));
 
         dev.clear_handler();
 
diff --git a/src/backend/drm/eglstream/mod.rs b/src/backend/drm/eglstream/mod.rs
index 3d8db14..69f759b 100644
--- a/src/backend/drm/eglstream/mod.rs
+++ b/src/backend/drm/eglstream/mod.rs
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ impl<D: RawDevice + ControlDevice + 'static> EglStreamDevice<D> {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_eglstream"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_eglstream"));
 
         raw.clear_handler();
 
diff --git a/src/backend/drm/gbm/mod.rs b/src/backend/drm/gbm/mod.rs
index d2f561d..b09f139 100644
--- a/src/backend/drm/gbm/mod.rs
+++ b/src/backend/drm/gbm/mod.rs
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ impl<D: RawDevice + ControlDevice + 'static> GbmDevice<D> {
             );
         });
 
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_gbm"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_gbm"));
 
         dev.clear_handler();
 
diff --git a/src/backend/drm/legacy/mod.rs b/src/backend/drm/legacy/mod.rs
index cc07a66..5302601 100644
--- a/src/backend/drm/legacy/mod.rs
+++ b/src/backend/drm/legacy/mod.rs
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ impl<A: AsRawFd + 'static> LegacyDrmDevice<A> {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_drm"));
         info!(log, "LegacyDrmDevice initializing");
 
         let dev_id = fstat(dev.as_raw_fd())
diff --git a/src/backend/egl/context.rs b/src/backend/egl/context.rs
index 06cb889..9b16651 100644
--- a/src/backend/egl/context.rs
+++ b/src/backend/egl/context.rs
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ impl EGLContext {
         B: native::Backend,
         N: native::NativeDisplay<B>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(log.into()).new(o!("smithay_module" => "renderer_egl"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(log.into()).new(o!("smithay_module" => "renderer_egl"));
 
         // If no version is given, try OpenGLES 3.0, if available,
         // fallback to 2.0 otherwise
diff --git a/src/backend/egl/display.rs b/src/backend/egl/display.rs
index d5c733a..0e960cd 100644
--- a/src/backend/egl/display.rs
+++ b/src/backend/egl/display.rs
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ impl<B: native::Backend, N: native::NativeDisplay<B>> EGLDisplay<B, N> {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger.into()).new(o!("smithay_module" => "renderer_egl"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger.into()).new(o!("smithay_module" => "renderer_egl"));
         let ptr = native.ptr()?;
         let egl_attribs = native.attributes();
 
diff --git a/src/backend/egl/surface.rs b/src/backend/egl/surface.rs
index 37bc7ff..163350f 100644
--- a/src/backend/egl/surface.rs
+++ b/src/backend/egl/surface.rs
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ impl<N: native::NativeSurface> EGLSurface<N> {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(log.into()).new(o!("smithay_module" => "renderer_egl"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(log.into()).new(o!("smithay_module" => "renderer_egl"));
 
         let surface_attributes = {
             let mut out: Vec<c_int> = Vec::with_capacity(3);
diff --git a/src/backend/libinput/mod.rs b/src/backend/libinput/mod.rs
index 3ec0566..3672993 100644
--- a/src/backend/libinput/mod.rs
+++ b/src/backend/libinput/mod.rs
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ impl LibinputInputBackend {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_libinput"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_libinput"));
         info!(log, "Initializing a libinput backend");
         LibinputInputBackend {
             context,
diff --git a/src/backend/session/auto.rs b/src/backend/session/auto.rs
index 0e4ca21..289e83b 100644
--- a/src/backend/session/auto.rs
+++ b/src/backend/session/auto.rs
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ impl AutoSession {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let logger = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger)
+        let logger = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger)
             .new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_session_auto", "session_type" => "auto"));
 
         info!(logger, "Trying to create logind session");
diff --git a/src/backend/session/dbus/logind.rs b/src/backend/session/dbus/logind.rs
index 7cf258c..44ff53d 100644
--- a/src/backend/session/dbus/logind.rs
+++ b/src/backend/session/dbus/logind.rs
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ impl LogindSession {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let logger = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger)
+        let logger = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger)
             .new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_session", "session_type" => "logind"));
 
         // Acquire session_id, seat and vt (if any) via libsystemd
diff --git a/src/backend/session/direct.rs b/src/backend/session/direct.rs
index a15b4f2..3eaae76 100644
--- a/src/backend/session/direct.rs
+++ b/src/backend/session/direct.rs
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ impl DirectSession {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let logger = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger)
+        let logger = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger)
             .new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_session", "session_type" => "direct/vt"));
 
         let fd = tty
diff --git a/src/backend/udev.rs b/src/backend/udev.rs
index 7615a86..ffae665 100644
--- a/src/backend/udev.rs
+++ b/src/backend/udev.rs
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ impl UdevBackend {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_udev"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_udev"));
 
         let devices = all_gpus(seat)?
             .into_iter()
diff --git a/src/backend/winit.rs b/src/backend/winit.rs
index 2d90a24..4204c56 100644
--- a/src/backend/winit.rs
+++ b/src/backend/winit.rs
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ pub fn init_from_builder_with_gl_attr<L>(
 where
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
 {
-    let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_winit"));
+    let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "backend_winit"));
     info!(log, "Initializing a winit backend");
 
     let events_loop = EventLoop::new();
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index ec15e1f..a9d1b5f 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 //! **Smithay: the Wayland compositor smithy**
 //!
 //! Most entry points in the modules can take an optional [`slog::Logger`](::slog::Logger) as argument
-//! that will be used as a drain for logging. If `None` is provided, they'll log to `slog-stdlog`.
+//! that will be used as a drain for logging. If `None` is provided, the behavior depends on
+//! whether the `slog-stdlog` is enabled. If yes, the module will log to the global logger of the
+//! `log` crate. If not, the logs will discarded. This cargo feature is part of the default set of
+//! features of Smithay.
 
 // `error_chain!` can recurse deeply
 #![recursion_limit = "1024"]
@@ -29,7 +32,8 @@ pub mod xwayland;
 
 pub mod reexports;
 
-fn slog_or_stdlog<L>(logger: L) -> ::slog::Logger
+#[cfg(feature = "slog-stdlog")]
+fn slog_or_fallback<L>(logger: L) -> ::slog::Logger
 where
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
 {
@@ -38,3 +42,13 @@ where
         .into()
         .unwrap_or_else(|| ::slog::Logger::root(::slog_stdlog::StdLog.fuse(), o!()))
 }
+
+#[cfg(not(feature = "slog-stdlog"))]
+fn slog_or_fallback<L>(logger: L) -> ::slog::Logger
+where
+    L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
+{
+    logger
+        .into()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| ::slog::Logger::root(::slog::Discard, o!()))
+}
diff --git a/src/wayland/compositor/mod.rs b/src/wayland/compositor/mod.rs
index 7c0b148..43aeca7 100644
--- a/src/wayland/compositor/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/compositor/mod.rs
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ where
     R: Default + RoleType + Role<SubsurfaceRole> + Send + 'static,
     Impl: FnMut(SurfaceEvent, WlSurface, CompositorToken<R>) + 'static,
 {
-    let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "compositor_handler"));
+    let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "compositor_handler"));
     let implem = Rc::new(RefCell::new(implem));
 
     let compositor = display.create_global(
diff --git a/src/wayland/data_device/mod.rs b/src/wayland/data_device/mod.rs
index ae8a01b..912311d 100644
--- a/src/wayland/data_device/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/data_device/mod.rs
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ where
     R: Role<DnDIconRole> + 'static,
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
 {
-    let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "data_device_mgr"));
+    let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "data_device_mgr"));
     let action_choice = Rc::new(RefCell::new(action_choice));
     let callback = Rc::new(RefCell::new(callback));
     display.create_global(
diff --git a/src/wayland/dmabuf/mod.rs b/src/wayland/dmabuf/mod.rs
index 7bdd35b..af8a681 100644
--- a/src/wayland/dmabuf/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/dmabuf/mod.rs
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ where
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     H: DmabufHandler + 'static,
 {
-    let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "dmabuf_handler"));
+    let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "dmabuf_handler"));
 
     let max_planes = formats.iter().map(|f| f.plane_count).max().unwrap_or(0);
     let formats = Rc::new(formats);
diff --git a/src/wayland/explicit_synchronization/mod.rs b/src/wayland/explicit_synchronization/mod.rs
index 150ba87..9b5d59b 100644
--- a/src/wayland/explicit_synchronization/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/explicit_synchronization/mod.rs
@@ -206,7 +206,8 @@ where
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     R: 'static,
 {
-    let _log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "wayland_explicit_synchronization"));
+    let _log =
+        crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "wayland_explicit_synchronization"));
 
     display.create_global::<ZwpLinuxExplicitSynchronizationV1, _>(
         2,
diff --git a/src/wayland/output/mod.rs b/src/wayland/output/mod.rs
index 601feed..73b199a 100644
--- a/src/wayland/output/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/output/mod.rs
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ impl Output {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "output_handler"));
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger).new(o!("smithay_module" => "output_handler"));
 
         info!(log, "Creating new wl_output"; "name" => &name);
 
diff --git a/src/wayland/seat/mod.rs b/src/wayland/seat/mod.rs
index 46d6d60..a36c964 100644
--- a/src/wayland/seat/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/seat/mod.rs
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ impl Seat {
         R: Role<CursorImageRole> + 'static,
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger);
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger);
         let arc = Rc::new(SeatRc {
             inner: RefCell::new(Inner {
                 pointer: None,
diff --git a/src/wayland/shell/legacy/mod.rs b/src/wayland/shell/legacy/mod.rs
index 4c381b0..1f58b9a 100644
--- a/src/wayland/shell/legacy/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/shell/legacy/mod.rs
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ where
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     Impl: FnMut(ShellRequest<R>) + 'static,
 {
-    let _log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger);
+    let _log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger);
 
     let implementation = Rc::new(RefCell::new(implementation));
 
diff --git a/src/wayland/shell/xdg/mod.rs b/src/wayland/shell/xdg/mod.rs
index 77c7935..e745d06 100644
--- a/src/wayland/shell/xdg/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/shell/xdg/mod.rs
@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ where
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     Impl: FnMut(XdgRequest<R>) + 'static,
 {
-    let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger);
+    let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger);
     let shell_state = Arc::new(Mutex::new(ShellState {
         known_toplevels: Vec::new(),
         known_popups: Vec::new(),
diff --git a/src/wayland/shm/mod.rs b/src/wayland/shm/mod.rs
index 8a3aea1..444deaa 100644
--- a/src/wayland/shm/mod.rs
+++ b/src/wayland/shm/mod.rs
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ pub fn init_shm_global<L>(
 where
     L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
 {
-    let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger);
+    let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger);
 
     // always add the mandatory formats
     formats.push(wl_shm::Format::Argb8888);
diff --git a/src/xwayland/xserver.rs b/src/xwayland/xserver.rs
index 575203c..4749004 100644
--- a/src/xwayland/xserver.rs
+++ b/src/xwayland/xserver.rs
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ impl<WM: XWindowManager + 'static> XWayland<WM> {
     where
         L: Into<Option<::slog::Logger>>,
     {
-        let log = crate::slog_or_stdlog(logger);
+        let log = crate::slog_or_fallback(logger);
         let inner = Rc::new(RefCell::new(Inner {
             wm,
             kill_source: {