Living a vegan lifestyle goes beyond eating a plant-based diet—it involves protecting animals and the planet in all aspects of your life. Animal rights and sustainability in the fashion industry have been long-standing debates over the years. Fast fashion and inhumane material resourcing puts people, animals, and the planet at harm. Supporting vegan friendly designers and stores actively fights against unsustainable and unethical practices and encourages more businesses to make a change. Discover five vegan friendly designer brands you should support to stand your ground on animal, human, and environmental rights in the fashion industry.
1. Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney is one of the many women-owned brands you should know about if you want to stand in solidarity with change-making women. Stella McCartney is a high-fashion brand that consciously and actively implements sustainability practices in their business and designs. The brand creates items free of leather, feathers, fur, and skins. Other ways Stella McCartney guarantees sustainability and ethical conventions include:
- Fazing out the use of PVC in their designs
- Operating under ethical labor, fair trade, and responsible sourcing practices
- Tracking their environmental footprint with the Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) tool
- Banning PFCs and Azo dyes from production
- Following a strict product-restricted substance list
- Avoiding wool from farms that use mulesing procedures
2. Melie Bianco
Melie Bianco is the leading luxury brand for vegan and sustainable handbags. The brand’s philosophy establishes a commitment to purposeful production involving quality craftsmanship without the use of animal leather and harmful plastics like PVC. On top of designing cruelty-free and environmentally friendly bags, Melie Bianco runs a sweatshop-free production. If you love designer handbags, Melie Bianco offers you that luxury and glam free from cruelty.
3. Reformation
Reformation’s gorgeous dresses provide you with a wide variety of occasional wear fit for cocktail parties, weddings, and proms. However, Reformation offers more than just dresses to love. This well-known brand is also committed to climate action and environmental justice. From implementing an animal welfare policy to using responsible packaging, Reformation dedicates itself to following all sustainable and ethical practices. Reformation is a part of many progressive, ethical, and environmental movements and groups in the fashion industry and has received awards, including:
- Global Fashion Agenda’s Circular Fashion System Commitment
- Sustainable Apparel Coalition
- Textile Exchange
- Common Objective Leader award
- Sourcing Journal’s Sustaining Voices award
4. Matt & Nat
Matt & Nat is a Canadian designer brand centered around a philosophy of social responsibility, inclusiveness, integrity, and love. This designer brand strives to make themselves and others “live beautifully” by designing innovative, sustainable, and eco-friendly products. Matt & Nat doesn’t use leather and any other animal-based materials. They offer lots of vegan, environmental, and sustainable menswear, bags, shoes, and accessories.
5. Mud Jeans
Jeans are a popular wardrobe must-have, but the traditional production of denim involves harmful chemicals and lots of water usage. Mud Jeans is a designer brand trying to change the denim narrative and practices in the fashion industry. The brand uses recycled and organic cotton sourced from sustainable agricultural traders.
Other environmental and ethical actions Mud Jeans commits to include:
- Fair production
- Toxic-free chemicals
- Veganism (using printed labels over leather patches)
- CO2 neutrality
Make your wardrobe sustainable and ethical with these vegan friendly designer brands you should know about. These luxury brands are changing the fashion industry in many ways.
