We had the great opportunity to exchange a few ideas with Clara about Vegan Fashion. Clara, from The Vashion Blogg, aims to be trendy and respects animals all together. We love her look and her blog. Read below what she has to say!
Why vegan fashion? The animal industry is one of the main reasons for global climate change and pollution. The big scale industry makes it impossible to control the animal keeping, and often the animals are raised under terrible conditions in countries with bad or no animal rights laws.
Leather tanning is dirty and toxic, and is also most commonly conducted in countries with deficient laws. The people working in this industry do so under slave-like conditions, often makes under minimum wage and develop serious diseases because of the toxins they are exposed to.
There is also the ethical question regarding wearing someone’s skin or fur. The common belief that animal materials are just a bi-product from the food industry is wrong – there is more profit in animal skin than in the flesh. And don´t get me started on the horrible, never ending process of plucking living geese and rabbits. Animals are living, sentient beings with the right to their own life. They are not products! We have so many great alternatives in fashion today, and there is no excuse not to become an animal friendly fashion consumer – now. But how to begin? Don´t worry, here are my best tips on how to start your vegan fashion journey.
#1 – Materials
Avoid buying animal materials. You can still shop from the same brands and stores as you are used to, but avoid anything that is made from animals and choose other options instead. Here are some examples of none-vegan materials: leather, down, angora, silk, wool. Replace them with vegan materials like: organic cotton, tencel, bamboo and modal.
#2 – Small business
Shop small-scale. Smaller brands are, compared to the giants, often more ethically and environmentally aware. They are likely to have fewer suppliers and closer relationship to these, which makes it easier to control and affect the manufacturing process and the materials. Small brands also tend to be more transparent about their ways of working. There are bad examples from the big fashion brands where so called fake leather have proven to be cat- and dog skin. As consumers we have to ask ourselves: Do I trust this company? Are they in full control of their products, and are they transparent about it? If in doubt – don´t buy it.
#3 – Vegan brands
Choose animal friendly fashion brands. This is the best and most safe way to become a vegan fashion consumer. There are so many great brands on the market offering fashionable products of high quality that are made with animal friendly materials and processes. I claim that as many as 8 out of 10 also has developed a great environmental and ethical way of working as well. The most common is that these brands are officially animal friendly/vegan, and there are different types of markings to prove this. Look for certificates like “PETA approved” and “Leaping bunny”. On my blog you´ll find a never ending list of amazing brands, with new ones lining up every week. Visit the vashion blogg to learn more.
With love,
Clara
We hope you liked Clara’s article as much as we did! If you would like to learn more about other vegan fashionista lifestyles, check The Vegan’s Closet Interview!
