Vegan fashion: clothes without harm to animals and people

Trends
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01.11.2019

November, 1 is the International Vegan Day. In recent years, vegetarian and vegan diets have become very popular. Even those who aren’t interested in these areas know about their features and limitations. However, recently, there was such a phenomenon as vegan fashion. We’re going to tell you about what it is and what veganism has to do with the fashion industry.

What is vegan fashion?

The very direction of veganism was born from the idea of ethical treatment of animals. This is the rejection of all forms of exploitation and cruelty to animals, as well as the prohibition of activities that harm the environment. Vegans don’t use cosmetics that have been tested on animals, don’t wear fur and skin. And vegan fashion is a logical extension of that concept. It aims to change the existing fashion industry in a better, more ethical way.

The main inspirer of the movement is considered to be a Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Rienda, she also acts as the creative director of Vegan Fashion Week, which will be discussed later. At first, Emmanuelle was fond of a vegetarian diet, later switched to veganism and participated in environmental actions and protests in order to protect animals. However, she felt that all her efforts weren’t enough, and began to look for a way to combine her two hobbies-love of animals and fashion. And vegan fashion was a great solution.

What are the prohibitions?

Like environmental activists, vegan fashion advocates oppose the use of natural fur and skin of slaughtered animals. But vegans are not limited solely to these requirements. The use of wool also gets under the ban. In the process of shearing sheep animals, of course, aren’t killed, but wool clippers cause wounds to the animals’ skin. Vegan fashion imposes taboo on the use of silk, too: in the process of collecting this material, the caterpillars of the silkworm die. The use of bird fluff and even wearing pearls were also banned.

However, the concept of vegan fashion touches not only on the ethical treatment of animals – it is much broader. Representatives of this direction oppose the use of slave labor. It’s believed that many mass-market brands use low-paid labor in the production of their clothes. Their factories are located in poor countries, often in unsuitable buildings. In the process of producing clothes, many people die in the workplace, as it happened in Bangladesh in 2013.

Thus, representatives of vegan fashion call on world brands not only to ethical treatment of animals, but also to care about the observance of ethical standards in general.

From what material clothes should be produced?

After such a long list of prohibitions, it may seem that there are no clothes in the world that would be produced without harm to the environment. But in fact, there are quite a lot of materials that don’t fall under the ban of the concept of vegan fashion. This is an ethical silk, in the process of extraction of which the caterpillars of the silkworm don’t die. Eco-friendly cotton, because for processing they don’t use pesticides. Fabric made of beech wood fibers called modal, tencel, cork and bamboo materials, as well as linen, are OK, too.

What clothes to buy, so as not to harm nature?

Vegans recommend to buy clothing only from brands that have a responsible approach to its production, from companies with a transparent, open business. Such brands don’t use low-paid labor and try not to pollute the environment. 

Interestingly, representatives of vegan fashion aren’t against people buying clothes in second-hand stores, including leather, fur and wool: the thing has already been produced, the damage has already been done, but wearing such a thing can be considered a form of recycling.

There’re designers who work on the principle of upcycling, that is, using recycled waste to create art objects, accessories and even clothing, and their products can also be safely worn.

And, of course, vegans advise to wear clothing brands that were presented at Vegan Fashion Week.

What are Vegan Fashion Weeks?

The direction of vegan fashion has become so popular that a special fashion week-Vegan Fashion Week- has already held in Los Angeles. The second Vegan Fashion Week was held from 10 to 15 October. Talented designers from around the world presented clothes that were produced with all the stringent requirements of vegan fashion at it. There were Vegan Tiger, Sanikai, Mayd In Chyna, Patrick McDowell and many others among the brands. However, the organizers also invited mass-market brands. Since the problem is common, it’s possible to find a solution only through joint efforts, compromise and attracticng public attention. And it seems that Vegan Fashion Week is doing a great job with this mission.

We can already see some improvements: the largest brands in the fashion industry refuse to use fur and leather. And who knows, perhaps in a few years we’ll all be wearing only the right clothes, in the production of which neither people, nor animals and nature have suffered.

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