Not Leather
Let talk about Vegan Leather. Vegan Leather is now widely used in fashion to describe any fabric that isn’t made of animal hide but has the visuals and handle of leather, its no doubt a more upmarket term than pleather or faux leather but it also has the added bonus of appearing to be more planet friendly than saying what it actually is, usually plastic. There is a name for this reframing of bad practise into good and its called greenwashing, painting a more sustainable “green” picture over practise that is actually harmful to the planet to try and align with an eco-friendly customer.
The Vegan Leather products I have looked at this week, and there were many the majority were PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PU (Polyurethane) both of which are plastic, PVC is known to take 500 years to biodegrade, while PU takes 20-30 years, this tells me that yes the fabric is durable against the elements but when made into garments they don’t “wear in” like real leather and can’t be fixed or mended in the same way does so therefor its wearability lifespan is shorter and no one needs a fabric to last them 5 lifetimes, if you are shopping Imitation leather of the two Polyurethane is most certainly the most planet friendly option.
The reason I am telling you this is not because I am Vegan but I am keen to know how Vegans feel about their lifestyle choice being used to hoodwink consumers into believing they are choosing a more ethical fabric, the term Vegan not only refers to no animal or animal by-products but also refers to the associated gas emissions which are harmful to our planet, and polymers or plastic as we know them, are equally, if not more problematic.
There is such a thing as Vegan leather that isn’t plastic, fruit leather, made from the skin of pineapples, mangos and grapes, The Queen of Vegan fashion Stella McCartney has a collection made using Veuve Clicquot Champagnes harvest by-product, very chic but prices start at £1300. Veganologie who use apple skin, bamboo and recycled fabrics to make their bags, founded by Angana Maheshwari and designed in the UAE. Their pebble shoulder bag made from bamboo fibre has all the markings of a luxury bag, metal hardware, embossed logo, optional strap length and a signature leaf curved detail for under £200.
None leather options have to be available, and hopefully more plastic free versions will become more accessible and affordable, they will never and should never be cheap, that’s what got us into this environmental mess in the first place, but we should be making our purchases things feeling informed on fabrics, vegan or not lets call things what they are.
