When’s the last time you were in a store and saw Faux Leather Pants? Perhaps you even have some in your closet right now! Or how about vegan leather sneakers? Those are a big one right now… From the outside looking in, consumers are jumping at the opportunity to purchase items of that nature because it’s so much better for the planet! Or is it…?
In a world bombarded with companies trying to hop on the sustainability “trend”, we are starting to see more and more products with these kinds of labels. Naturally, our minds have been trained to believe that these products are just better, and don’t get me wrong, the basis of the idea is! The basic definition of the word vegan is “clothing and accessories made from cruelty-free sources” (Apparel Resources, 2022). So, basically anything that strays away from animal cruelty, testing, and products as an overall whole.
Common items seen today with these labels consist of: leather, fur, feathers, wool, silk, exotic animal skin and hair, and the list only continues.
When approaching this topic from a sustainability mindset, there are some red flags that personally, I have to raise. If the garment isn’t made of actual fur or leather, then what is it made of…?
Plastic
Plastic, plastic, plastic. We can’t seem to escape it can we? If you currently own anything that’s faux or vegan leather, I challenge you to go look at the fiber tag. Or perhaps the next time you’re out shopping, just humor me. I guarantee that 95% of the products you are going to stumble across will read “100% polyester”, and if it’s not 100%, I bet it will still be a large majority of the composition.
Polyester is like the chameleon of the fashion industry- altering itself into several different forms. Heck, that’s why people love it so much! Not only is it one of the most inexpensive fibers to use, but it’s also super versatile.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, if there’s one thing I want you to remember from this blog post, it’s this- polyester = plastic. Do with that information what you will, but for me, it’s a no. Diving down the rabbit hole of polyester and plastic is a conversation for another time, but for now we will keep it plain and simple. Polyester is a synthetic fiber, meaning it’s man made and manufactured in a factory through the combining of chemicals. It takes centuries to break down in a landfill, and in the midst of that happening, releases really harmful toxins into the atmosphere. Finally, when washing clothing containing polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibers, a shedding process occurs, where microplastics are released into our water systems.
If you really think about it, in the end, those microplastics are contaminating animals’ fresh water sources and habitats, so are we really protecting animals through the vegan claims…?
Alternatives?
Now, I’m sure right about now, you’re scratching your head and feeling a bit perplexed… So, if we don’t want real leather, but now shouldn’t really be using these vegan/faux products, what do we do?
Here’s the thing, it’s not all bad. Innovation and technology is moving faster than ever to discover more eco-friendly alternatives. In fact, there have been recent developments within the plant-based leather industry. For example, shoe company, Allbirds, recently developed their first plant-based leather shoe. It’s 100% plastic free, while also 100% vegan. To read more about their process you can check that out here.
Another great alternative is using companies whose products are made from recycled materials. My personal favorite would have to be Loci. Sound familiar? If not, I loved their shoes so much I dedicated an entire post to them which you can check out here. Although their shoes technically are made from plastic- which is what allows them that “vegan” label- they’re created from recycled ocean plastic. By their repurposing initiative, they allow their label to maintain a positive connotation through the use of the word “vegan”.
Final Thoughts
In all reality, your local Marshalls or Old Navy’s version of vegan products, most likely aren’t all that great for the planet… So, as to whether real leather or vegan is better, it’s really not that simple of a question. Overall, I think it comes down to more of a personal decision.
If you were to ask me, I tend to sway more towards authentic leather. If I were to pick through my closet and pull out all of my leather products, it would amount to something like 4 jackets or so- all of which have been thrifted over the last three years. Can I tell you something about them? They are truly my favorite jackets in my entire closet. Although produced over 3 decades ago, every single one of my authentic leather pieces looks almost new and are truly the strongest, most quality pieces I own.
I also believe that there’s so much out there still being discovered. This whole idea of plant-based leather is fascinating to me and I’m 110% on board– if it weren’t for its scarcity and astronomically high production price tag, I’d say we have the perfect solution!
In the end, not all vegan products are bad, but they definitely aren’t all good. Although I feel today’s post lacks a conclusion, as I’m kind of leaving it with a “it’s up to you” ideology, I hope you’re leaving this as a little more conscious and knowledgeable of a consumer.
References: Vegan Fashion: Here’s Everything You Need To Know – The Pretty Planeteer, Vegan fashion: How the cruelty-free clothing is taking over the industry | Apparel Resources
