For many, the term 'vegan' is synonymous with 'plant-based'. This interpretation of the word comes, of course, from the diet, in which two strong trends are currently visible: vegetarian and vegan cuisine. While vegetarian cuisine excludes meat (both animal and fish), vegan cuisine excludes all animal products, including dairy and eggs.
However, vegan fashion is not as rigid and generally refers to fashion devoid of animal-derived products. This primarily refers to leathers and furs, which until recently were still present in fashion. What does this look like now?
Eco-Fashion, or what?
One of the current megatrends, or tendencies, is eco-fashion. What does this mean? It means that fashion is finally starting to take responsibility for the damage it has until now inflicted. And there's quite a bit of it, considering that the fashion industry is the second leading factor contributing to a global environmental crisis, after the fuel industry. Environmental pollution from chemicals used in the fashion industry is one thing, but another issue is the overwhelming amount of water needed for clothing production.
For example, the production of a cotton T-shirt requires almost three thousand liters of water. Cotton itself has also stopped being a desirable material, mainly due to the pesticides used to accelerate its growth. In response to these and many other vital issues, eco-fashion comes into play, looking at the environment from a completely different perspective.
Vegan Fashion is also Plant-based Fashion
Vegan fashion primarily cares about the welfare of animals, which until recently seemed defenseless against the demand for leather clothing and luxury furs. Today, however, such brands as Chanel, Gucci, Versace or Burberry are renouncing the use of fur and exotic animal skins in their collections, setting an example for other, smaller brands. Although among top brands currently, almost only Stella McCartney can boast a fully ecological approach to fashion. And although animal skins are still present in fashion house collections, giving up on exotic skins and fur is a big step forward for the entire fashion industry.
Slow fashion goes even further and introduces completely new materials, which can quickly replace not only leather but also such fabrics as silk, cashmere or mohair, whose global production also poses a significant threat to the environment and ecology. Eco-fashion thus focuses on innovative materials that are created from products like ocean plastic, bamboo, or other plants. In this case, vegan fashion strongly refers to plant-based cuisine, and materials made from pineapple or bamboo are gaining more and more recognition and interest among global market leaders.
Fast Fashion Looks at Slow Fashion
Brands that follow the slow fashion ideology are gaining importance and quickly gaining applause among young customers, who are growing up with the awareness of the need for change. You can check these brands, for example, on the official PETA website, which meticulously examines each company for its ecological responsibility, especially under the aspect of cruelty-free policies. What's more, the first vegan fashion day took place recently in Los Angeles, focusing solely on brands aiming to spread the idea of responsible fashion. There are also more and more brands, both local and global, contributing to a slow but necessary change.
Fast fashion brands, which until now had been the biggest threat to environmental changes, are also gaining awareness. It is said that fast fashion corporations are slowly disappearing from the market and being replaced by pro-ecological competition. This is not entirely true. Fast fashion corporations are simply changing their policy and becoming leaders and examples for other smaller brands based on the same production system. Since the ecological revolution has already reached their doorstep, all that remains is to count on it not being stopped anymore.
