In recent years, the fashion industry has been put under scrutiny in terms of improving its sustainability and ethical motives. Thus, vegan fashion has been one of the ways of improvement and has concurrently been on the rise, saving animals from the exploitation they face every day. In the industry itself, animals are most commonly used for their skins, fur, and feathers. In addition, leather is also commonly used, taken from cows, crocodiles, and snakes to name a few.
PETA, people for the ethical treatment of animals, is a nonprofit organization known widely for its stance against fur in the fashion industry. In 2021, the organization focused on the animal textile industry, which included materials ranging from cashmere to silk. Their PSA video displayed fashion factory workers abusing animals in order to meet the fast-paced and crucial supply and demand that was asked of them. In their newest PSA and slogan “Be a Sweater They Said”, the organization created an association between Cynthia Nixon’s project “Be a Lady They Said” in terms of the hypocrisy and double standards women experience every day. From this, PETA aimed to illustrate the despicable treatment of animals as antifeminist. Just like the male-dominated society we live in that women have to endure, animals are exposed to manipulation, bullying, and abuse in the same way.
Brands such as Patagonia, Urban Outfitters, and Anthropologie have all faced criticism for claiming to sell animal-free textiles while continuing to have associations with wool suppliers that use goats, sheep, alpacas, and more. Yet as time goes on, there are many studies that display the rise of vegan fashion. Specifically, in 2019 Vogue Magazine stated: “that stock of vegan fashion products increased by 258% across the UK and US”. Moreover, vegan shoes have taken a rise. Brands such as Gucci, Nike, Reebok, and Adidas have all made waves in utilizing vegan products rather than animal products.
As time goes on, street fashion and high-end fashion have successfully attempted to incorporate vegan products and stop the use of animal abuse to produce their garments. Materials like plant-based leather and plastic-based leather have beat animal leathers in consideration with society’s public opinion. If this continues to last, the fashion industry will be able to excel in its transformation towards creating a more sustainable and ethical way of life.
Hey Nadia! I found this article super interesting. It’s interesting to see how big fashion publishers (like Vogue) have really begun to listen to the political ambitions of its readers. In the advent of online commercial retailers and web-based designers, it has become more and more important to broaden the scope of attention big fashion listens to. I feel like we’ve also begun to see this with sustainable, eco friendly fashion and big publishers trying to give smaller designers, eco-friendly designers and vegan designers more of a platform as demanded by the audience.
This blog really opened my eyes on fashion. We should have more awareness on vegan fashion because many animals are getting killed for there fur. This causes animal extinction which is being more and more common among animals. So I really enjoyed reading this blog.
Nadia,
I appreciate the optimistic tone in your post! Leaning towards environmental efficiency and animal preservation is such an important topic we all hear about too much but never see much change in. With street and high end fashion being such incredibly massive industries who also carry an impact when producing leathers and other animal products, it is important to highlight what exactly these industries are doing and what changes they are making in society. Vegan product is something that a lot of brands were initially hesitant to engage in due to margins and profit, however brands have found ways to keep their prices up with exclusivity, maintaining brand names, cuts, etc.
Loved this!
Vegan fashion is such an interesting discussion especially with the increasing awareness of the environmental impact of animal products. I also think greenwashing is a major issue with vegan fashion brands and "ethical" fashion brands since consumers are looking to purchase increasingly ethical brands. Also, with the rise of awareness about environmental impact of the textile industry, second-hand fashion has been a great way for people to consciously consume.
I think there could be an interesting connection here to consumer psychology, almost. I know that a lot of work has been done to analyze how the public reacts to products, and how the way a product makes one feel about oneself affects the success of that product on the market. Perhaps ads denouncing non-vegan brands or products turn the market away from them, but I would say I've also seen a positive version of this phenomenon, with companies really leaning into their vegan branding (similar to brands leaning into their environmental work). The advertising/marketing angle might be an interesting avenue to look into as well.