"Vegan fashion and beauty products do not necessarily guarantee that the product is ethically produced in safe working conditions."

By Jac Macoto

20/11/2022

I have thoughts in my heart about vegan fashion. Also, November is an awareness month for world vegan day, and the world of vegan fashion usually produces more questions than answers. So I decided to write this topic as a handy guide to help with important information about vegan fabric materials. Are you looking for a stylish vegan outfit, handbag, shoes, or Jewelry? 

Nowadays, there are so many vegan and eco-friendly options available.

Are vegan fashion and beauty products 100% ethical and eco-friendly?

We can mainly categorize it into two types. The first are plant-based materials and synthetic materials. Also, a 3rd category that we can call new material initiatives forms something new and may not be widespread in the market.

In other words, the best plant-based material options.

01- Plant-Based Materials.

Organic cotton

Organic cotton is one of the most traditional, old, environmentally friendly, and ethical vegan fabrics. Its most common fibers used in the textile industry are low harmful to the environment and people's health and protect animals' life and our ecosystems.

Linen

Linen is one of the oldest clothing materials, much more than cotton, thousand years since it's a symbol of luxury and preciousness. It is a material made from the fibers of the red flax plant. It has been cultivated and manufactured traditionally in Japan and Europe for thousands of years. 

Linen is famous for vegan fashion because its softness, durability, moisture wicking, antimicrobial, low weight, breathable, and comfortable Japanese and European lines are considered the best to choose as vegan fabrics. Europe produces the majority of flax fibers all over the globe.

Lyocell

Lyocell is another ethically famous vegan material made from cellulose fibers, a lightweight, long-lasting, and very soft fabric.,.  It remains odor free, moisture-wicking, and keeps you very cool in summer. Other semi-synthetic cellulosic fibers include modal, viscose-rayon, and acetate. 

These textiles use cellulose-based resources such as wood and plant fibers to make eco-friendly and cruelty-free fabrics; made into fibers, manufacturers may change blend lyocell with other materials. Therefore, depending on the fabric used, it may no longer be environmentally. 

Hemp

Hemp is the best choice; excellent vegan material and an alternative substitute for cotton. one of the oldest textile fibers that make clothing. Natural, ethical, sustainable, and eco-friendly.

It's an excellent material for creating comfortable textiles and beautiful fashion with fantastic qualities.

Bamboo

Bamboo is another vegan fabric option, eco-friendly, ethical, also sustainable. However, bamboo fabric is rarely used directly, not commercially feasible because of its required heavy mechanical processing; available materials in the market are bamboo viscose or lyocell.

Pineapple Leather 

Pineapple leather recently developed another natural fiber of cellulose extracted from pineapple leaves left over from the farming pineapple fruit harvest, which is a biodegradable, ethical vegan product.

Jute

One of the cheapest alternative vegan fibers, Natural jute fibers are widespread in India, China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Its widespread usage of clothing, packaging, handbags, luggage, and cordage wallets. Wallets. Curtains, Chair Coverings, rugs, carpets, coverlets, and many more.

Ramie

Ramie originates from China, India, and Indonesia. One of the other oldest fiber crops, extracted from the Ramie Plant, was used thousands of years ago for fabric production and weaving clothing. It is also one substitute for cotton but is expensive due to the cultivation and production costs. Overall, an excellent vegan option, its an ethical, natural, eco-friendly, cruelty-free, strong, durable, lightweight, and breathable.

Abaca

Abaca is eco-friendly, ethical, vegan, durable, long-lasting, and breathable, made from Abaca plants. The abaca plant is native to the Philippines and is similar to banana trees. And the largest abaca producer, a commercial crop in Ecuador and Costa Rico. They have used abaca fibers in bags, luggage, decorative item, cordage, and other packaging materials. In the southern Island of Mindanao in the Philippines, villages have been carefully hand woven on traditional wooden looms for many years.

All of them are environment specific. However, it always depends on how much chemical processing and dying they went through in the manufacturing process.

02- Synthetic Materials

Polyester is one of the most popular fabrics in the clothing industry. It can be recycled and requires less water than cotton to make in comparison.

Acrylic

Polyurethane (PU)

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Nylons, Polyamides

Elastane is known as Spandex or Lycra (normally mixed with natural fibers such as denim or cotton). Its specialty is stretch, flexibility, and great comfort in one material.

The items listed above are popular substitute items for animal-based: leather and wool. PVC and PU contain toxic chemicals and are non-biodegradable. In addition, most synthetic fabrics release microplastics into our waterways through washing machines and poison our marine life.

New innovative materials

New innovative materials are algae-based materials, mushroom-based leathers, fruit-based leathers, and regenerated synthetic fabrics. Most of these items are not economically available and are not produced on a large scale. Currently not considered a natural alternative solution, but alternatives are coming soon.

Vegan fashion and beauty products do not necessarily guarantee that the product is ethically produced in safe working conditions for garment workers.