It’s World Vegan Day! Today vegans and non-vegans alike celebrate and promote a lifestyle without animal cruelty. What started as a one-day celebration 23 years ago has turned into a month long festivity of no-meat dinner parties, tasting sessions and spread-the-word rallies.
In honor of the occasion, let’s consider just how far along the fashion industry has come in terms of the availability of plant-based and synthetic clothing materials. From organic cotton to sustainable cork, the options are not only plentiful, but environmentally friendly, too.
To consider an item vegan, it must be made without any animal materials. The obvious offenders being skin (leather, suede), fur (shearling, wool, angora, mohair, cashmere) and feathers (down). Less obvious? Items made out of silk, fleece, horn, bone and even shell.
At one time, shopping for animal-free apparel was linked with shopping for man-made materials such as polyester, rayon, nylon, acrylic and polyurethane. Although these materials may have been created without any animal cruelty, they may also have exposed people to potentially harmful substances like petrochemicals, PVC and hormone-disturbing esters.
Another semi-synthetic, but vegan fabric to look out for is silk-like Micro Modal. Breathable like cotton, it’s made out of beechwood trees. The clothing brand Amour Vert offers a variety of dresses and shirts made out of the coveted fabric. We’re partial to the form-fitting yet forgiving Francoise long-sleeve T, which we gladly admit to own in every color combination.
To name a few other plant-based fiber options there’s Tencel, bamboo and hemp. Tencel, or Lyocell, is a regenerating cellulose fiber made from the tree pulp of Eucalyptus trees. Since Eucalyptus trees don’t require a lot of pesticides or irrigation to grow, Tencel is an eco-friendly option. The soft, strong fabric is produced using a “closed-loop system,” which means the majority of the chemicals used to break down the wood pulp are recovered, resulting in a small amount of waste. You can find the increasingly popular material mixed in with cotton and spandex for jeans, or by itself in shirts and dresses. Mainstream stores like Neiman Marcus, Anthropologie and Patagonia, along with many others, carry apparel made out of Tencel.
When it comes to accessories, vegan options for leather bags and shoes haven’t always been so numerous. With more innovation, vegan leather gets harder to tell apart from animal skin. Vegan-dedicated companies like Canopy Verde chic up vegan leather with colorful details, using eco-friendly materials and practices. From wallets and clutches to weekenders and backpacks, it’s hard to choose just one Canopy Verde product, but we’ll try. This bucket tote is roomy, stylish and perfect for every day. It’s made out of organic cotton, bamboo and vegan leather.
As for shoes, have you seen vegan booties, pumps and bridal footwear available at Bhava? We are even the proud owners of their Editor bootie in black.
Another green alternative to leather is cork. Often called a natural leather, cork is sustainably harvested from the cork oak tree. Very soft in feel, but sturdy like leather, cork builds up a soft patina texture. Impermeable to liquid, hypoallergenic and tear-resistant, cork is more durable than you would think. The brand Rok Cork uses cork to make unisex briefcases, tasseled messenger bags, and vegan crossbody clutches in saturated colors like teal, tawny port and sapphire blue.
To read more about how cork is harvested and its durability see our blog post about this zero-waste alternative.
World Vegan Month is a great opportunity for vegans and non-vegans to join together as consumers to support innovative companies that place value on environmental preservation and animal welfare.
