Whether you’re already vegan full time or part-time (like me!), considering transitioning towards a plant-based diet and lifestyle or simply curious about it because you’ve heard about “veganuary”, there’s something for you in this mini-guide to vegan style and fashion.
As you know, I buy most of my clothes second-hand, especially wool and leather pieces, which is what I would always recommend doing. However, if you’re fed up with wearing animal fur and skins, there are great alternatives (and promising ones) already available.
If you’re curious about plant-based lifestyle in general and want to get access to actionable tips and suggestions, I recommend signing up to the Slow Fashion Weekly newsletter. Every week, I share opinions (mine and from other voices) and original recommendations around this topic.
What is vegan style and fashion?
Clothes that are not fully or partially made of animal-derived materials such as:
- Wools (cashmere, angora, merinos, mohair, vicuna, alpaca, llama)
- Leather, suede & anything that ends with skin (sheepskin, lambskin, snakeskin, calfskin, etc.)
- Furs (mink, muskrat, fox, sable, beaver, karakul, raccoon, mole, marten, weasel, rabbit, coney, rex, lapin, seal, astrakhan, chinchilla, ermine).
- Pearls, feathers, horns, teeth, bones (notably found in jewellery and embellishments)
- Dawn (frequently used as a thickener in puffer parkas)
- Silk (produced by boiling silkworms)
Always read labels very carefully. Sometimes you can find only 5% of animal products in a piece, which makes it automatically non-vegan.
Why is the use of animals in fashion problematic?
This is a vast issue I couldn’t possibly go into details. This is what I came up with to sum it up but a lot more could be said:
- The sheer volume of clothing produced every year worldwide results in the overexploitation of species whose skins and furs are particularly sought after in the apparel industry. Mass production of coats, jumpers, and fleece for example puts pressure on wool and fur producers that widely disregard animal welfare and our environment to meet this massive demand.
- Animal farming is the leading cause of numerous environmental disasters and a driver of the Climate Crisis. Contrary to what some brands may say, animal-based goods in fashion are not a ‘by-product’ of the meat industry. Skins are always a ‘co-product’, sold and made into leather goods for profit, not for waste reduction. They hold as much value, if not more, than meat.
- Wool, leather, and fur are responsible for their individual degradation and pollution, which have been largely documented in recent years by organisations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). For more details and harrowing examples of the impact of each industry, you can browse these highly detailed factsheets.
My 3 favourite books about veganism and plant-based lifestyle:
- How not to die : Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease
- Vegan Style: Your plant-based guide to fashion + beauty + home + travel
- Eating Animals
Is vegan fashion 100% ethical?
‘Vegan fashion’ doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the product has been ethically made in safe working conditions for garment workers. Brands still have a pick and choose attitude towards veganism with some brands banning fur whilst keeping leather and skins in their collections.
How to transition into vegan style and fashion?
Several tonnes of brand new clothes end up in landfill every year and charity shops are overwhelmed with donations. Discarding your non-vegan clothes in an attempt to be more sustainable is one of the least sustainable things you can do.
Instead, wear and honour the clothes you spent time and money acquiring until now. Style your leather skirts or woolly jumpers in different ways, and care for them so they last. I wrote a comprehensive guide to care for your woolly jumpers in case you’re wondering how. Fill the gaps in your wardrobe by investing in second-hand clothes and purchasing vegan alternatives.
Which clothing materials are vegan?
There are broadly 3 types of alternatives you can look for. There are plant-based materials, synthetic materials and a third category that I call ‘new innovative materials’, which is growing but not commercially widespread yet.
Plant or tree-based materials = the best options right now
- Linen, which is extracted from the woody stems of the flax plant. Sustainability depends on how much it has been dyed or bleached. Other similar options: hemp and ramie.
- Cotton and denim are unsustainable fabrics requiring colossal amounts of water. Choose them ‘organic’ if you want to reduce your impact.
- Tree-based fabrics (cellulose) like bamboo, rayon, cupro, and viscose. Their sustainability depends on how and where they have been sourced and processed.
- Tencel by Austrian company Lenzing AG (also called Lyocell or Modal) is similar to viscose (i.e made of wood pulp extract). It’s a man made and one of the greenest fabrics in the market.
- Also: jute, raffia, acetate.
Some of these materials are more sustainable than others. For example, cotton is a very thirsty crop and responsible for desertification on a massive scale around the globe. Although all of them are technically biodegradable, it always depends if the conditions are suitable. Their sustainability cred also depends on how much chemical processing and dying they went through and how they’re being disposed of.
Synthetic materials derived from oil (petroleum-based polymers) = not biodegradable, I tend to avoid them.
- Acrylic
- Elastane (also called Spandex or Lycra) provides flexibility – stretch – and comfort to a material. It’s usually mixed with natural fibre like cotton and denim.
- Nylon, Polyamide
- Polyester is one of the most popular fabrics in the clothing industry. It can be recycled and requires less water than cotton to be produced.
- Polyuréthane (PU)
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
These are popular swaps to replace animal-based leather and wool. However, both PU and PVC contain toxic chemicals, phthalates, traces of bisphenol A, an endocrine disruptor, and aren’t biodegradable. Most synthetic fabrics also release micro-plastics into our waterways through washing machines thus poisoning marine life. When they end up in landfill they take 200 years to decompose.
New innovative materials = I’m excited / cautious about these.
- Fruit-based leathers such as Pinatex by Ananas Anam (made of pineapple leaf fibre), apple skin by Frumat (using pectin from biological industrial waste), orange fiber, and Vegea (made from grapes).
- Mushroom-based (mycelium) leather such as Mylo developed by Bolt Threads in partnership with Adidas, Kering, Lululemon, and Stella McCartney or Woocoa, a coconut and hemp fibre “wool” treated with enzymes from the oyster mushroom and not commercialised yet.
- Algae-based materials
- Recycled or regenerated synthetic fabrics such as Nylon (Econyl by Aquafil is the most popular one) or polyester (obtained from PET plastic bottles), which is commonly used to replace fur.
Most of these are not commercially available or aren’t produced in large quantities yet except for recycled and regenerated synthetic fabrics. H&M has introduced Pinatex in its 2019 collection, which seems to be a good sign for the future of this material. Even though they all sound particularly promising, none of them can be considered a real solution yet. New ones are popping up everyday so I’m confident we’ll have better alternatives very soon.
How to know if a fashion brand is vegan?
- You’ll usually find the vegan trademark on clothes approved by the Vegan Society. This is a paid service that brands purchase to get their products independently audited and certified. It’s the most popular label and it’s fairly accurate since it’s given on individual products rather than brands. Fast fashion, non-ethical and non-sustainable brands such as New Look have the vegan trademark so it’s worth doing some research.
- Another logo you can trust is the “PETA-Approved Vegan” one. You’ll find the full list of brands carrying this certification if you follow this link. There are more than 1000 lifestyle vegan brands, including ones selling furniture and home decor.
- Animal welfare is the third pillar the app Good on You uses to rate brands from most to least sustainable, alongside labour and environmental impact. If you comb through their directory you’ll find the best brands in terms of vegan practices and eco-consciousness. The app is free but focuses on brands rather than individual products so it’s worth double-checking every label.
Personal conclusion on vegan style and fashion
Vegan fashion is a matter of personal taste, values and opinions. I personally tend to dislike oil-based, synthetic fabrics because they are responsible for polluting oceans and killing marine life (hardly compassionate). I also avoid the plastic feel of PU leather that often looks cheap (not always though). Cotton, viscose and recycled fabrics also have their flaws.
This being said, it’s crucial to phase out animal exploitation and suffering from the fashion industry. The environmental destruction created by industrial wool, leather and fur farms will never be compatible with sustainable fashion. I look forward to discovering more innovative low impact fabrics, seeing the best ones reach a global market and showcasing them with you on the blog and Slow Fashion Weekly newsletter.
Your questions
If you have more questions about vegan fashion you can leave them in the comment section below. Don’t forget to share your favourite vegan brands and alternatives.
My selection of vegan fashion
