Most people are overcome with confusion when they realize veganism is a lifestyle, not just a diet. The choice to be compassionate to all sentient beings goes beyond veggie burgers and hummus, and drips into our clothing, personal care products and the choices we make every single day. It is not a burden, it does not limit us, and we most certainly don’t walk around in burlap sacks.  Ethical fashion has come a long way, baby.

What clothing materials are considered “Not-Vegan?”

Good question hypothetical blog reader!

• Fur
• Leather
• Wool
• Silk
• Down/Feathers

Why are these materials un-vegan?

Fur
Fur is the most obvious of all materials. Most fur comes from animals kept on fur farms. These animals are kept in tiny cages for all of their lives, and denied the ability to perform their most basic instinctual behavior such as grooming, exercise and proper nutrition. The fur industry is completely self regulated which results in overcrowding, abuse, malnutrition and faulty “extermination” procedures. These procedures include breaking necks and anally electrocuting rabbits, chinchillas, foxes, minks, raccoons, and many, many other types of animals. Some animals are caught in traps in the wild and left to suffer for days on end until they are finally retrieved and skinned alive.
Is faux-fur an option?
I suppose this is a matter of personal opinion. But keep in mind that at first glance, most people cannot tell the difference between faux fur and the real thing. Do you want to send the message that such a cruel accessory is fashionable or even acceptable? I wouldn’t. Also, there have been several instances where items sold as “faux” have turned out to be dog hair. How about we just avoid the whole nightmare and rule out fur all together…real or fake.

Leather
Leather is an industry tied in directly with factory farms. If you are not supporting factory farms because of environmental or ethical concerns, then you should not be buying leather. Cows in factory farms are crowded and tortured. Factory farms waste incredible amounts of resources such as water, corn and soy. They pollute the environment with herbicides, pesticides, toxic chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, and greenhouse gasses. The leather that humans wear is saturated with toxic chemicals that prevent the flesh from rotting away in their closets.
Non-leather Options
As you might already know, the vegan shoe industry is booming! High end designers like Stella McCartney, and Olsen Haus are creating beautiful (and very expensive) kicks.  Other, more affordable designers like NeuAura, Mink, and Beyond Skin have some gorgeous creations. There are also boutiques like mooshoes, vegan chic, and alternative outfitters that offer tons of vegan shoes and belts alike.

Wool
Wool is a tricky one. Although the sheep are not always killed for their wool, they are forced to live in a manner they would not typically live in. The main problem with wool originates in Australia, where the practice of mulesing is extremely common.

“Mulesing is a gruesome procedure in which farmers flip lambs onto their backs, restrain them between metal bars, and use gardening shears to cut huge chunks of flesh from their rumps without any painkillers whatsoever. Mulesing is a cheap, crude attempt to create smooth, scarred skin that is resistant to blowfly maggots which can eat sheep alive. However, the enormous, bloody wounds can attract the very flies the procedure is supposed to repel, and lambs sometimes get flystrike before they even heal from the traumatic ordeal.”
-savethesheep.com

While these practices are common in 80% of Australian wool production, it is almost always impossible to know where your wool item has originated from.
Sheep-butt Friendly
As always, polyester is a convenient option. Many organic bamboo materials also do well at mimicking the fuzzy wool texture. Eco friendly boutiques such as Modcloth, Greenloop, BTCElements, and Nimli have great selections of non-wool sweaters and pullovers. The only time when avoiding wool becomes especially tiresome is while looking for a winter coat. However, this year I have found that are many more options than usual. Check out a pretty extensive list of vegan-friendly winter coats here.

Silk
While people do tend to disregard the smallest living things by saying it is “over thinking” the vegan philosophy. Just think about this: Thousands of silk worms are boiled alive to produce even the tiniest amount of silk. In my mind that is wasteful, disgusting, and incredibly cruel. Especially when synthetic silks are just as nice as the real thing.
Just as Silky
Don’t be fooled by the “ahimsa” or “peace” silks that you may find. Although they are labeled as cruelty-free, they do still use worms in the process. (The silk is just a byproduct of the worm’s natural life-cycle.) However bamboo and polyester do mimic silks nicely and can be found at most of the eco boutiques listed above.

Down/Feathers
Most down is plucked from live geese. They re-grow their feathers after five weeks and then are run through the plucking machines again. (Imagine a machine ripping all of the hairs out of your head.) After all of this they are sent to the slaughterhouse.
Anti-fluff
Because many people have allergies to feathers, most companies offer a “hypoallergenic” option minus the down. Check out this cozy cruelty free option at Gaiam.

Feeling good about what you eat is just as important as feeling good about what you wear. Vegans have a plethora of fashionable choices right at their fingertips. It is just a matter of knowing what to look for, and understanding why you are making that choice.

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Mandi (Chic Vegan) hails from the great city of Philadelphia, home of the original vegan cheesesteak. She is a website developer, an aerialist, and she runs chicvegan.com – a site about living a fabulous, ethical lifestyle. You can reach her at mandi(at)chicvegan(dot)com.

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Sections: Vegan Resources
Topics: clothing, down, dress, Fashion, fur, ingredients, leather, resources, silk, style, veg, Vegan, wool