Vegan fashion shopping guide: Which materials are vegan?
Ethical and sustainable fashion has been a growing trend for the year 2020, as manufacturers and brands heed the call of consumers to produce clothes, shoes, bags, and other accessories that are both eco-friendly and cruelty-free.
How to make sure a product is truly vegan / Source: Pexels
So, if you're a fashionista looking to buy legit vegan items, below are some tips from People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on how to make sure that what you're adding to your cart is truly vegan.
The first tip is to look at the symbols on the tag. Vegan products usually have a diamond or crosshatch-like symbol on its tag.
According to PETA, these symbols mean that the item was produced using cruelty-free materials such as canvas, corduroy, cork fabric, cotton, cotton flannel, down alternatives, faux suede/microsuede, “manmade” materials, synthetic materials, polyester, satin, and thermoball.
On the other hand, what you don't want to see on the tag is an animal-hide rug symbol, because this means the product was created using materials sourced from animals, such as alpaca fiber, angora, calfskin, cashmere, down, fur, fur trim, leather, mohair, nubuck, pashmina, shearling, sheepskin, silk, suede and wool.
Symbols to check for on the tag of the shoes / Source: PETA
PETA also warns that some mainstream brands use glue containing animal-derived ingredients, so if you can, find out what kind of glue was used for the item you want to buy.
The second crucial step to guaranteeing that the clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories that you're purchasing are truly vegan is to familiarize yourself with vegan or cruelty-free materials. Here's a list from PETA:
Acrylic
Bamboo
Canvas
Chambray
Chenille
Chino
Corduroy
Cotton
Cotton flannel
Denim
Down alternative (or synthetic down)
Elastic
Faux fur
Flannelette
Hemp
Imitation leather
Leatherette
Linen
Khaki
Microfiber
Modal
Moleskin
Muslin
Nylon
Polyester
Polyester fleece
Polyurethane
Rayon
Rubber/vulcanized rubber
Sateen
Spandex
Tencel
Ultrasuede
Vegan leather
Velcro
Velour
Velveteen
Viscose
There are particular materials that can be tricky as they can be either vegan or animal-sourced. So, you have double-check once you encounter these materials:
Chiffon (can be made from polyester, rayon, or animal-derived silk)
Felt (can be made from acrylic, rayon, or animal-derived wool )
Flannel (can be made from cotton, synthetic fiber, or animal-derived wool)
Fleece (can be synthetic or animal-derived)
Jersey (can be made from cotton or animal-derived wool)
Satin (can be made from rayon or animal-derived silk)
Taffeta (can be synthetic or made from animal-derived silk)
Velvet (can be synthetic or animal-derived)
As an extra tip, PETA emphasized that you should not be too hard on yourself if ever you accidentally buy or use a product that's not entirely vegan, as being vegan is “not about personal purity.”
PETA says doing your best in supporting eco-friendly and vegan products is enough and is a great first step to banishing animal abuse or killing for fashion.
Keep in mind that if consumers continue to demand more vegan items, brands will definitely produce more of them.
So, if you're planning to go all-vegan with your wardrobe-or are already doing it--keep up the good work on being compassionate style icons, mga Kapuso!
For more lifestyle content, head out to GMA's Lifestyle page.
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