While an increasing number of people are trying to eat less meat, a market research team has found in its latest fashion and sustainability report that the trend is now spreading from kitchen to closet. It found animal welfare came top of a list of issues that people considered before buying clothes, with 42% saying it was important to them. The researchers of the team predicted that the next year would see a boom in animal-free shoe collections, since they heard shoppers of all ages say they would buy footwear designated as "vegan", meaning the goods were produced without using any animal or animal part.
As well as being on trend, and with a much better ring to it than synthetic leather, the vegan label does convey an important extra distinction. If you label something as vegan, then the whole product needs to be animal free. That means checking things like the glue that holds the shoe together, for example, and the chemicals used for finishing them. At the top end, some of the world-renowned fashion designers have avoided leather and fur for some time. In fact, some of the companies are now exploring a leather substitute and a silk replacement made from mushrooms.
The Animal Free Product Society says they've seen a boom in products registered with the vegan trademark. In 2018, there were 119. So far this year, it says an unprecedented 1,956 have been registered. New products are being added daily. There are fur coats that are vegan, plastic vegan belts and shoes made from tree bark or natural rubber labelled vegan. These new products aren't coming at an extra cost to consumers though. Vegan boots cost the same as the leather originals. New Look, one of the first reputable store chains to use the vegan trademark, prices ballet shoes at £7.99 and a vegan laptop handbag at £29.99, comparable with its other products.
This signifies a change. In the past, ethical products, whether they were fair trade or organic, came at a premium. However, it is unclear whether these new products can be considered ethical. The debate over durability, crop-growing impacts, pollution and recyclability is a complicated one, not to mention the ethics around the working conditions for people making the products, whatever the component materials. Environmental campaigners advise that the best approach is to buy less, never mind what the item is made of.