Vegan Clothing
Out with the old and in with the new! Every once in awhile when we look at our closets we feel the need to spruce it up a bit. As an animal-minded shopper, it is easy to question whether or not the clothes you are buying are genuinely cruelty free and made of vegan material. And, there is always speculation as to whether or not the companies themselves are ethically minded. However, there are plenty of stores that provide and sell animal friendly clothing that you can trust! Let’s take a closer look at ways to seamlessly find nice and affordable vegan clothing products.
Where to begin
If you have access to local malls and shopping centers, you are likely to find stores that offer animal-friendly clothes. Researching beforehand is always a good idea because you can gather the principles and values of each company. Questions that are helpful to ask are “Is this organization for profit or non profit?” and “What is my money going towards?” And, if you want to know a quick tip that will save some time and energy, you can download the app called “Cruelty Free.” It has a list of animal friendly design lines and companies.
What to pay
Looking at labels is the best place to start. What does the tag say that the jacket, tie, or bag is made of? If it is feathers, bone, leather, suede, wool, or silk you will automatically know that is not vegan. There are lots of other options to choose from and they are typically cheaper! Let’s look at a list of fibers and materials that are wonderful alternatives to some of the most popular animal derived clothing:
Animal feathers
-polyester fill, synthetic down, down-alternative, and hypo-allergenic synthetic down.
Leather
-faux fur, polyester, acrylic, or mod-acrylic
Silk
-polyester, nylon, rayon, tussah, ceiba tree and silk-cotton tree filaments, milkweed seed-pod fibers, and tencel (or wood pulp).
Wool
-polyester fleece, cotton flannel, acrylic, orlon, synthetic wool, synthetic fleece
Vegan companies
There are specialty clothing stores that offer animal friendly clothing. If you are looking to purchase at vegan only stores, there are lots of great options out there. Places like Alternative Outfitters, Bead and Reel, or Vegan Chic that offer all vegan products and are easily accessible online. But, if you’re in a pinch and want to head to your local mall, there are name brand stores that will carry some animal vegan clothing items. Check out Forever 21, H&M, Stella McCartney, Dr. Marten’s, Matt & Nat, or Free People. Though, you will have to look a little bit more closely at the clothes they have to offer as not all of their clothing is vegan.
Shopping vegan creates a lasting impact
Knowing is half the battle! With these resources, you can shop cruelty free effortlessly. Not only will you have a peace of mind about buying animal friendly clothing but your purchase can help save animals from euthanization or support organizations who are trying to reduce the demand of the fur industry. You can find out more about those organizations and how they are impacting the animal world here!
Happy buying!
