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Vegan Fashion: Here’s Everything You Need To Know

Vegan fashion: what a fascinating yet confusing ocean we’re about to dive in! There’s so much background noise out there about what vegan fashion is, how to spot vegan brands, why choose and go vegan… and we could go on for hours! And yes, most of the time, it’s just smoke and mirrors.

And since you don’t need to get any more confusing info, we’ve created the ultimate guide for you to become an excellent (and conscious) vegan fashion addict.

Clothes are our chosen skin. We can use them to speak of our principles, demand positive change and make sure that what makes us feel good about ourselves is also an instrument to bring good to others

– Orsola de Castro

Let’s get started.

What does vegan fashion mean?

The trend of veganism is taking over also the fashion market – from clothes to shoes to accessories. But do you actually know what that means? Do you know how to recognize a vegan piece of clothing?

In a nutshell, any fashion product that doesn’t contain any material of animal origin can be labeled as vegan. Non-vegan materials are: fur, leather, feathers, wool, silk, exotic animal skin and hair, and more. Usually, you can play it safe with all clothes made from plant-based and synthetic fabrics.

Recently, any fashion brand has started to claim their care and love for animals (along with love for our planet…). Is that all true, or could they be hiding something? Well, it’s not a secret that many brands are anything but transparent on what they do and use misleading and inaccurate statements about their practices just to grab consumers’ attention.

How to sort this out? Search if the brand has certifications and standards about the origin and nature of the materials used. PETA-Approved and The Vegan Trademark are the two main certifications to refer to for your vegan fashion shopping.

Do you need help understanding ethical fashion certifications? We have a guide for that: The Most Important Sustainable & Ethical Fashion Certifications You Should Know

What can’t vegans wear?

Now that we know what vegan fashion is let’s see what materials vegans should avoid. And some statistics will help even non-vegans to see how cruel wearing clothes made from animals’ bodies is.

  • Leather – used to make bags, shoes, and other accessories like belts: over 1,4 billion cows, sheep, goats, snakes, crocodiles, and other animals are slaughtered every year in the leather industry. We’re genuinely speechless. Furthermore, the leather industry is hugely polluting. To be turned into finished leather, animal skin requires a variety of hazardous substances that end up in landfills and waterways: mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, oils, dyes, and cyanide-based finishes.
  • Wool and hairs – used to make outerwear, basics, carpets, and accessories tike ties: in shearing sheds, lambs’ ears are hole-punched, their tails are chopped off, and the males are castrated without any painkillers within a few weeks of birth. Hundreds of lambs and sheep die from starvation, disease, lack of shelter, and neglect every year. The major problem of this industry is precisely the shearing: too often, the shearers are paid by volume, not by the hour. Do you see it? This modus operandi does nothing but encourage fast work without regard for the animal’s welfare: strips of skin, teats, tails, and ears are often cut or ripped off during shearing. Usually, when you think about “wool”, you think of sheep’s wool. Actually, there are many types of wool depending on animal and breed, all of which are non-vegan, such as cashmere, angora, mohair, alpaca, and merino. Read Are Goats Killed to Make Cashmere? The Dirty Secrets of Wool if you want to learn more!
  • Downs and feathers – used as padding for outerwear and duvets: down and feathers come from gooses and ducks. The difference is that downs are the softest feathers closest to birds’ skin and primarily in the chest region. Also, compared to regular feathers, downs are highly valued as they don’t have quills. How are downs and feathers removed from animals? They’re violently ripped from the bodies of ducks and geese while they’re still alive. This horrendous practice is called plucking. It may begin when the animals are just 10 weeks old and is repeated in six-week intervals until the birds are slaughtered for meat.
  • Fur – used for coats and bags: one hundred million animals suffer from the fur trade each year. Animals on fur farms spend their entire lives confined to cramped and dirty wire cages. Also, fur farmers use the cheapest and cruelest killing methods available: suffocation, electrocution, gas, and poison. And minks, chinchillas, foxes, and all the other animals most used for fur are also often skinned alive. There are also animals trapped in the wild. They can suffer for days from blood loss, shock, dehydration, frostbite, gangrene, and attacks by predators.
  • Silk – used for luxurious staples and accessories: silk is obtained from the larvae cocoons, and roughly 3,000 silkworms are killed to make a single pound of silk. That means that trillions of them are killed in the silk industry every year. The most disturbing thing is that the worms are violently boiled or gassed alive as they rest in their cocoons, awaiting a magnificent metamorphosis. We’ve written about silk in more detail here: Do Silkworms Feel Pain? The Reason Why Vegans Don’t Wear Silk

And this list is far from complete: bones, horns, shells, horns, hooves, beaks, and pearls are other examples of animal derivatives that the fashion industry keeps using.

Things you thought were vegan but aren’t

Unfortunately, some fashion items can be misleading and make you think that they’re vegan while they’re anything but that! Do you want a few examples?

  • Jeans or other clothes with leather patches: Denim is vegan as long as it doesn’t have leather patches.
  • Vegan leather shoes and bags made with non-vegan glue: believe it or not, even some vegan items can be made using animal glue and, as such, they’re no longer vegan-friendly. Animal glue is indeed made by boiling animals’ connective tissue or bones, so even if you purchase leather-free shoes.
  • Jewelry and other embellishments like buttons made with mother of pearl: pearls are not vegan-friendly. They result from a disease in the oyster’s body induced by humans in oyster farms where 30% of oysters die during the pearl-making process. More on the harvesting pearls process here. More on the harvesting pearls process here.

As we love to remind you, the first step to identifying vegan-friendly items is reading the labels. 

Vegan materials we love

Vegan clothing will be way simpler now that you’ve learned what to avoid! And thankfully, there are plenty of vegan alternative options to choose from that mimic the properties of leather, silk, fur, and so on. And so, there is no need to be cruel to look cool, fancy, trendy, and even to stay warm! Here are the vegan materials we love and use the most:

  • Plant-based leather alternatives: whether it’s made from cactus and pineapples leaves, or from apple skins and cores, or from grape skins, seeds, and stalks, today many exclusive plant-based alternatives won’t make you miss animals skin. And these fibers have names! Let us introduce you to Desserto, Piñatex, Appel Skin, and Vegea. They’re also great examples of how by-products from other industries can be turned into luxurious, vegan leather alternatives.
  • Plant-based fibers such as lyocell, Tencel, organic cotton, linen, hemp, and bamboo: by far the most common and cheapest vegan alternatives to wool and silk out there!
  • Artificial silk created by Maylyn & Co.: they’ve created PETA-Approved vegan silk by mixing recycled plastic bottles with Lotus fibers grown free of any chemicals or toxic materials.
  • Orange Fiber: an exclusive fabric made from the orange by-product that comes after the squeezing. Thanks to its silkiness and softness, Orange Fiber is a cruelty-free alternative to real silk. 

And this is just a small portion of innovative vegan materials. We talk about them in more detail in 12 Innovative Vegan & Zero-Waste Fabrics We’ll All Be Wearing Soon

What about synthetic – such as polyester and nylon – fibers? They for sure are 100% vegan, but we wouldn’t recommend using them to replace animal derivatives unless they come from recycled materials. And this is due to several sustainability issues. Let’s see why.

Is vegan fashion sustainable?

Vegan fashion can be highly unsustainable and anything but eco-friendly. Let’s have a look at the two most widespread vegan yet unsustainable fibers: cotton and plastic derivatives. Their production and consumption generate emissions, use non-renewable resources and release tons of microplastics. As such, these fibers are far from being sustainable (although still vegan).

  • Cotton: it’s a high water- and pesticide-intensive plant. Believe it or not, it takes about 700 gallons of water to produce one cotton shirt and about 2,000 gallons of water to produce a pair of jeans. And the cotton industry is also responsible for using 16% of insecticides and 6,8% of herbicides globally, which contaminate waterways.

What’s a vegan yet sustainable alternative to cotton? Easy, organic cotton! It has the same quality as conventional cotton but doesn’t need any pesticides and requires up to 71% less water. And linen, hemp, and bamboo are other sustainable alternatives to regular cotton.

  • Let’s move on to plastic- and fossil fuel-based fibers, which make up about 60% of clothing: polyester, nylon, and acrylic. Unlike cotton, the production of these fibers doesn’t require agricultural resources, toxic pesticides, or fertilizers. However, plastic-based fibers affect the environment throughout their life cycle. For instance, washing synthetic clothing releases about 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.

The best way to avoid synthetic materials is to avoid fast fashion altogether! Because the most common fast fashion fabrics are NOT sustainable! Did you know that 84% of fast fashion clothing and accessories contain non-recycled polyester or other raw synthetic materials?

What’s the vegan yet sustainable alternative to plastic-based fibers? Easy, recycled fibers! Econyl is a striking example: it’s a fiber made from ocean waste, like old plastic bottles and fishing nets.

Should you buy vegan leather or not?

The two main know types of vegan or “faux” leather fabrics out there are PU and PVC:

  • On one side, PU faux leather fabric is made by applying or laminating a 100% polyurethane finish to a base material like polyester, cotton, nylon, or rayon. Then a roller applies an artificial grain pattern to the surface to imitate the look of genuine leather.
  • On the other side, PVC faux leather fabric is very similar to PU leather fabric. Instead of polyurethane, PVC is made by combining polyvinylchloride with stabilizers, plasticizers, and lubricants with a base material. Again, the base materials are typically polyester, cotton, nylon, or rayon.

Compared to real leather, faux leather doesn’t breed or slaughter animals. However, their production, consumption, and disposal cause environmental pollution… that eventually affects animals too! As mentioned, plastic and polyester that compose PU and PVC faux leathers are made using chemicals, and solvents (most of the time hazardous) aren’t biodegradable. Still, they break down into microplastics and pollute water wash after wash. Also, they can be difficult to recycle or upcycle.

At this point, you may be wondering if you should prefer animal-leather alternatives even if they’re fossil fuel-based or not. You know, it’s never black or white… it’s more a matter of perspective! In our view, as our world is going through difficult times, we should focus on the impact our actions have as a whole. And so, if some leather alternatives are not sustainable and won’t be sustainable over time, we should prefer and choose different options.

Ultimately, if you want a leather alternative that looks and feels just like animal skin, you don’t need PU and/or PVC. The best option you have is the plant-based fibers mentioned earlier. Trust us, you won’t miss genuine leather and/or plastic alternatives at all!

Vegan fashion brands you can’t miss out

Over time, we’ve created many lists about the best vegan brands that respect ethics, the environment… and your wallet! We’ve got lists divided by geographical areas, prices, and style, but today we want to share with you a few brands that have been able to capture our hearts. From bags and shoes to staples and lingerie, you’ll find everything you need for your vegan yet conscious wardrobe at:

Matt & Nat – minimalist vegan leather bags, shoes, accessories, and outerwear from Canada
Boody – minimalist bamboo activewear and loungewear from Australia
Pixie Mood – vegan, trendy, and functional bags and accessories from Canada
Will’s Vegan Store – vegan footwear from the UK
Angela Roi – luxurious handbags from New York
Maylyn & Co. – comfy and luxurious lingerie and sleepwear from Canada
Svala – luxury and handcrafted vegan handbags from the USA
Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather – elegant and everyday footwear from France
Rens – waterproof and trendy sneakers from Finland
Harvest & Mill – minimalist and pastel-colored staples from the USA
Etiko – minimalist basics with an urban-style soul from Australia
Mashu –contemporary vegan handbags from the UK
Fullalove – conscious sexy dresses, lingerie, loungewear, and swimwear from the UK
Zmai – vegan bags and accessories dragon-inspired – for power, strength, and good fortune – from Slovenia
Kula – paper-made bags and backpacks from the UK
The True Compassion – Etsy shop selling basics with encouraging and motivating quotes about veganism from Canada

Do you want more? No problem, we’ve got you covered! Check out our brand directory and find the vegan fashion brand that suits you the most!

Do you have to be vegan to buy vegan fashion items? The short answer is no. However, suppose you agree that promoting animal abuse and suffering for the sake of fashion and vanity is wrong. In that case, you should be on the same line in any other aspect of your daily life – from food to beauty accessories.

Are “vegan” and “cruelty-free” synonymous? They might be, but that’s not always the case. A product may not contain any animal substances but still be tested on animals. By definition, a non-cruelty-free product could hardly be defined as “vegan”. That’s why using “vegan” and “cruelty-free” synonymous can be risky. Luckily, this risk is quite low in the fashion industry, and the two terms can be used interchangeably. Still, to be 100% sure, it’s always a good idea to double-check.

Can you buy secondhand and vintage clothes made with animal products if you’re vegan? Choosing something that has already been produced, used, and possibly loved and saving it from landfill is always the best viable option. And this is always true, not only when it comes to leather, silk, etc. There’s not a single answer. It’s only up to you: how much does buying and wearing secondhand non-vegan clothes make you feel good about your principles?

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Photo credit: Sunsetoned from Pexels

Alberta Bernardi
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Alberta Bernardi is a Ph.D. in Management, Innovation, and Sustainable Development. She likes to call herself a “sustainability warrior” because she aims to spread knowledge on the environment, ethics, and plastic pollution day after day. Her love of nature and battle against plastic around the world are on Instagram @together_no_plastic