Which High Fashion Brands Are Vegan

Sustainable Vegan Leather Guide

The ongoing debate of which vegan leather alternatives are the almost sustainable is, well, ongoing.

We all sympathise at this point that traditional leather, commonly fabricated from cowhide, isn't necessarily a debate around sustainability only about ideals (although leather is also very unsustainable). We all feel improve when our products and foods are cruelty-free. But, when deciding which vegan leather alternative to choose, nosotros take to consider the production process and lifespan of the production before making a buying decision that aligns with our values.

Over the last ten years, nosotros've seen a rise in the vegan leather trend where products accept been mostly made from polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). But, at the end of the day, nosotros need to remember these are still plastics.

At present, earlier we jump into learning nearly v amazing vegan leather alternatives, let me interruption downwards what the heck PU and PVC "vegan" leather products are made of and how they are made.

What is Polyurethane (PU) & Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)?

Polyurethane (PU) is a thermoplastic polymer by and large used in the making of shoes and article of furniture. For a while nosotros've been seeing PU equally the standard for vegan leather handbags and accessories because of its foam-like texture, and ability to look and experience like a natural leather.

PU is a plastic product that has been linked to health issues and irritation specifically to the skin and lungs (and unfortunately, PU is everywhere – usually found in your walls, your mattresses, and objects that you tin can't avoid in your own habitation). This is why nosotros're raising eyebrows effectually the continued use of PU, peculiarly for products where alternatives are bachelor, every bit we need to consider how ethical this material is non for just ourselves, but also our dear mama earth.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a fiddling bit more of a bad boy. Derived from chlorine, carbon, and ethylene (3 horrible chemicals that are not at all eco-friendly), PVC is actually one of the most toxic plastics we have within our homes (and can even be found in children's toys)! Yet, the plastic is extremely durable and used in a wide array of products and then it doesn't seem to be disappearing anytime before long.

When information technology comes to using PU and PVC in vegan leather products, we need to weigh the pros and cons.

The pros of PU and PVC:

PU and PVC vegan leather products come in tons of vibrant colour options since the polymers used hold color much ameliorate than other vegan leather alternatives.
PU and PVC are waterproof, therefore super piece of cake to clean!
PU and PVC use far less resources than what is needed to produce existent leather (for the material production, synthetic leather has 1/3 the touch of cow leather according to the 2017 Pulse Report)

Still, the cons of PU and PVC include:

Neither PU or PVC are biodegradable or eco-friendly. PU consists of petroleum products, and PVC is fabricated from ethylene gas from natural gas or petroleum (and every bit a result, these materials tin exist quite smelly).
Y'all need to accept special intendance of your PU and PVC accessories as they are prone to crack and tear easily (and tin can be impossible to mend!).
On the aesthetic forepart, PU and PVC tin can look quite constructed. If you're going to go with a PU or PVC vegan leather product, I would recommend sticking to neutral shades, vibrant colors will be more than prone to vesture and tear.

No shame or guilt if you already own a PU or PVC vegan leather product – the more than you know, the better buying decisions yous tin make.

The skillful news is you don't have to resort to only plastic to practice vegan fashion. That's why we're going to introduce you to our favorite 5 vegan leather alternatives that will align with your values of cruelty-free, sustainable, and ethical made style.

Cork and Cork Leather

I dear cork. I've endemic cork shoes, handbags, and coasters (duh Jazzmine, we all accept!).

Cork is a renewable, raw material that comes from Quercus Suber, cork oak trees (didn't know that, did ya?!). Information technology'southward found along the Mediterranean, with most production coming from Portugal, and northwest Africa.

The Quercus Suber is an incredible tree as well, as it can thrive in simply nigh any drought and doesn't put much pressure level on the native soil.

Cork is extracted from the center of the bawl of the Quercus Suber tree and continues to grow back and blossom for years to come, reducing any threat to deforestation.

The pros of cork leather:

Cork harvesting is one of the almost sustainable agricultural practices as you never e'er have to cut the tree downwards, and its bark continues to grow back promptly and ready for employ. Cork oak trees also provide homes to hundreds of rare species (and the demand for cork keeps cork forests growing!).
Cork is water resistant, extremely light, and super soft – you lot could literally make a pillow out of information technology (if you lot wanted to)!
Cork can be recycled and upcycled, making information technology one of the most sustainable and circular materials bachelor to the fashion industry.

The cons of cork leather:

Unfortunately, cork products are oft accompanied by a PU lining or backing when used for handbags and accessories. The sucky role is brands aren't e'er transparent most this, then you'll want to inquire the hard questions earlier you purchase.
There really aren't many cons to this super sustainable fabric, but if y'all're looking for an array of colors, you ain't going to find information technology with your cork products. If you're all about neutrals, cork is for you!

In pineapple leather (pinatex) sustainable?

Piñatex

This incredibly innovative and relatively new textile is made from pineapple leaves. Piñatex was trademarked past Carmen Hijosa nether her company Ananas Anam afterward seeing firsthand the horrifying environmental impacts of the leather industry on the Philippines. She was destined to find an alternative solution. The effect: an opportunity to provide twelvemonth-round employment to pineapple farmers, decrease agricultural waste, and offer the mode industry a sustainable textile.

Not-and then-fun fact: The Phillipines sees effectually 76 million tons of waste come from pineapple production . Piñatex is helping solve this food waste matter atrocity.

The procedure of creating Piñatex includes extracting fiber from pineapple leaves, sun-drying the fibres, and mixing the remaining fluffy material with a corn-based polylactic acid (PLA).

If you haven't seen Piñatex fabric or had the chance to feel its incredible textile, I'1000 sure just by picturing pineapples you tin can imagine how smooth and leather-like the textile becomes later on processing (making it a perfect vegan leather alternative!).

The pros of Piñatex leather:

The base textile of Piñatex is pineapple leaves, a by-production of pineapple harvesting. Utilizing Piñatex in vegan leather products helps minimize food waste, and maximize profits for farmers by promoting circularity in agronomical evolution.
Piñatex takes color really well, making it a super fun textile to play with.
Honestly, it's a pretty dope fabric and looks fabulous, from handbags to shoes to jackets.

The cons of Piñatex leather:

Unfortunately, to meliorate durability, Piñatex is coated with a PU resin.
Piñatex is prone to fading over time and can be damaged quite easily (mostly due to its lack of chemical protection), and so you'll want to take expert care of your Piñatex products.
It has a very distinct look and texture which some might not like.

Apple Leather

Apple pie, apple tarts, apple crisp, and now, apple leather. Apples continually requite us sweetness goodness, and at present it's bringing us a sustainable, vegan leather alternative.

The innovator behind apple tree leather is Alberto Vocan, a Milan-based engineer on a mission to reduce food waste and increase the sustainability of textile production.

So, how the heck do yous make apple tree leather?

Remember those terribly addictive, sugary fruit leather rolls you would swallow as a lunch time snack in elementary school? Basically similar that, instead apple tree leather for commercial utilise uses the apple peels and cores (yes, food waste!). After pureeing the apple waste, the mushy lurid is spread onto a sheet and dehydrated until all wet is removed. After dehydrating the apple puree, you are left with a fine, leathery sheet.

The pros of apple leather:

Versatile and tin can be made in a variety of colours, looks, and textures.
The base of operations fibre of apple leather is fabricated entirely of food waste.
Apple tree leather is extremely durable, as in that new apple leather wallet will never expect like you really used it (!).

The cons of apple leather:

You'll withal find PU and PVC used in the bounden of most apple leather products.

Cactus Leather

Just by looking at cacti you can instantly tell that this favorite (and piece of cake to intendance for) desert friend would make an incredible vegan leather culling.

Cactus leather is relatively new, brought to market place in 2019 by Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez. Currently they are the only producers of cactus leather, grown and candy at their plantation in Mexico under the name Desserto.

Like to our Piñatex and apple leather processes, cactus leather is candy by taking the mature leaves of the cacti plant, mashing them up, and giving them some skillful time to dry out under the beautiful Mexican sun. The Desserto team uses natural dyes to transform the color of their cactus leather textiles, making the finished product another eco-friendly and vegan alternative to leather.

What is cactus leather? Desserto vegan leather — Desserto cactus leather (photo from Desserto)

The pros of cactus leather:

No fertilizers or chemicals are needed in the agricultural production of cactus, nor in the finishing of the material, making it 1 of the simply certified organic vegan alternatives to leather.
Believe it or not, information technology's soft!
Surprisingly information technology's pretty easy to dye, therefore you don't have to love the color green to sport cactus leather mode.

The cons of cactus leather:

Cactus leather is currently only bachelor for larger way brands due to the minimum society requirements. Although not actually a con, information technology will take a few years before cactus leather becomes more accessible for conscious consumers.
Most of the reporting on Desserto calls information technology "partially biodegradable" but considering of the proprietary nature there doesn't seem to be further information about why this is.

Mushroom Leather

To me, there is cipher more than magical and intricate than the working of mycelium. The style fungus lives under our soil and continues to thrive and provide nutrients to just well-nigh every living orgasm is absolutely mindblowing.

Mycelium can be grown in just near anything, from saw dust to agronomical waste. Non only is it an essential chemical element of our ecosystems, it's becoming an essential component to address our demand for a sustainable textile and vegan leather culling.

MycoWorks was founded in 2013 by Philip Ross and Sophia Wang, the house that would bring Reishi to market, the world'due south showtime mycelium textile in collaboration with Matt Scullin who is the current CEO.

Mylo is another mycelium leather adult in 2018 past Commodities Threads in holland.

Mushroom leather is an organic textile fabricated from mushroom spores and fibers. It tin can be used as a vegan leather alternative, or grown over the shape of another object to create whatever item you'd like (such as a lampshade!).

The pros of mushroom leather:

Some mushroom leather options can exist biodegradable and compostable.
Mushroom leather is light-weight, flexible, and versatile for multiple fashion, accessory, and traditionally leather products.
Mushroom leather does not need to exist treated, therefore production does not harm our beautiful mama earth in whatsoever way.

The cons of mushroom leather:

Mycelium needs a lot of water to abound. Although in that location is currently no sourced information most the impacts with large scale production, I'm sure nosotros're soon to find out as the alternative becomes more mainstream across the manufacture.
At that place is no farther information about additives or finishes with mushroom leather. Mylo for example only states, it'south "certified bio-based". Others are also experimenting with mushroom leathers, however, with such a new textile we take much to learn.

So, what's your new become-to vegan leather alternative?

I know my favorite will always be cork, yet as a zero waster, my heart is and then warmed to know that innovators are taking on food waste-based fibres for fabric creation. Y'all can expect very similar processing, pros, and cons from just well-nigh any agricultural-driven vegan leather alternative, from mango leather to banana leather.

Share with us below what you currently own, how you're feeling about these alternatives, and of course, let us know if you have whatever questions. The fashion industry is in the midst of a very exciting time for exploration and innovation. As we proceed to weave together our love for style and our love for humans, animals, and the planet, nosotros will continue to transform the industry into a circular, sustainable space.

Check out our sustainable purse roundup or shoe make listing for some brands using these materials!