{"id":881244,"date":"2018-02-06T11:43:22","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T19:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/?post_type=living&p=881244"},"modified":"2025-01-30T12:06:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T20:06:19","slug":"shop-vegan-clothing-compassionate-shopping-guide","status":"publish","type":"living","link":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/lifestyle\/personal-care-fashion\/shop-vegan-clothing-compassionate-shopping-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"PETA\u2019s Vegan Clothing Shopping Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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More than ever, compassionate shoppers are opting to buy the high-quality, animal-free fashions that are currently flooding store shelves. With such easy access to kind fashion, there’s never been a better time to rid your closet of animal-derived materials. Here’s a quick and easy guide to help you identify the cruel materials in your closet so that you can purchase animal-free, vegan clothing and accessories the next time you shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leather and Exotic Skins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What Are They?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Leather is the skin of animals, such as cows, pigs, goats, kangaroos, ostriches<\/a>, cats, and dogs. Often, leather items aren’t labeled accurately, so you never really know where (or whom) they came from. Snakes, alligators, crocodiles, and other reptiles are considered “exotic” in the fashion industry\u2014they’re killed, and their skins are made into handbags<\/a>, shoes<\/a>, and other items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s Wrong With Them?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most leather comes from cows killed for beef and milk<\/a>, so it’s a coproduct of the meat and dairy industries. Leather is the worst material for the environment<\/a>, too, as it not only shares responsibility for all the environmental destruction caused by the meat industry but also pollutes the Earth with the toxins used in the tanning process. Whether it’s from cows, cats, or snakes, no animals need to die so that humans can wear their skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brands and Materials to Wear Instead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most major brands offer animal-free leather<\/a> these days, from affordable options from stores such as Top Shop and Zara to high-end designers such as Stella McCartney and bebe<\/a>. Look for “vegan leather<\/a>” on clothing, shoe, and accessory tags. High-quality animal-free leather<\/a> is made from many different materials, including non-animal microfibers, recycled nylon, polyurethane (PU), and even plants, including mushrooms and fruit<\/a>. And bio-fabricated leather grown in laboratories is coming to a shelf near you soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wool, Shearling, Cashmere, and Angora<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What Are They?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Wool<\/a> is the hair from a lamb or sheep, while shearling is the skin of a lamb with the fleece still attached. Angora<\/a> is the wool of a rabbit, and cashmere<\/a> is hair from the Cashmere goat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s Wrong With Them?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sheep grow just enough wool to protect themselves from temperature extremes, and they don’t need humans to shear them. Yet in the wool industry<\/a>, their ears are hole-punched and their tails are chopped off and males are castrated\u2014all without any pain relief. Wool also harms the environment<\/a> by damaging land, polluting water, and contributing to climate change. Lambs, goats, and rabbits are also abused and killed for shearling, cashmere, and angora wool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brands and Materials to Wear Instead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These days, vegan shearling<\/a> and cozy cruelty-free sweaters<\/a> can be found on many store shelves. Major brands\u2014such as H&M, Nasty Gal, and Zara\u2014offer wool-free coats and other animal-friendly clothing. High-fashion designers, including Joshua Katcher of Brave GentleMan<\/a> and Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart of VAUTE<\/a>, are teaming up with manufacturers to create innovative, high-quality cruelty-free materials. Look for vegan fabrics<\/a> made from twill, cotton, and recycled polyester (rPET)\u2014just a few of the efficient materials<\/a> that wick away water, dry faster, and are better for the environment than wool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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