I’ve really been enjoying your posts. Have you ever done one about how to transition away from old clothing (wool, silk, leather)? I’m not sure what to do with mine. I’m not much of a shopper, so most of my wardrobe has been collected over the years and contains animal materials. I’ve been planning to wear things out and then replace them with vegan products, but I’m feeling ambivalent about that lately. What do others do and how do they afford to replace all of these clothes/shoes?
~Erin in Calgary
Hi Erin,
Great question. Vegans avoid buying and wearing animal products including fur, leather, wool, silk and down, so what’s a girl (or guy) to do when she goes veg?
First, there isn’t one right answer but here are my thoughts. The first step anyone can take is to stop buying shoes, clothes and accessories made from animal products. The less demand for these products, the better. I remember when I first learned about the veg life back in the late ’80s, I said to myself, “I’m not going to wear ugly shoes.” Luckily, compassionate consumers have good choices these days.
A Vegan Love Bag
Here’s a little story. Just before I went vegan I bought The. Cutest. Designer. Bag. Ever. (Switch out the word, bag, with shoes, coat, sweater, belt — whatever it is that you don’t want to give up.) This suede bag had the word, Love, stitched on the flap. I had wanted this purse for a loooooong time and I loved it. Then I went vegan. Ironically my “love” purse began to weigh on my heart and I knew I couldn’t use it anymore.
There is nothing cute about wearing dead animals, but what’s done is done. If you want to continue to wear them until they wear out, do so. That’s the path to least consumption. I continued to wear leather shoes and wool sweaters for a awhile but tired of people asking me about them. Eventually I let the “love” bag go along with my other non-vegan clothes. It took some time but I slowly donated everything to the needy. Also, there’s no need to go into debt rebuilding your wardrobe. Take your time with the process.
The most important step to take is to stop buying shoes, clothes and accessories made from animals. What you do with your current wardrobe isn’t as important, just follow your heart.
Best wishes,
Christine
Vegan shopping resources:
- MooShoes
- Vaute Couture
- Herbivore Clothing
- Alternative Outfitters
- Vegan Essentials
- Susan Nichole
- Charmone
- Beyond Skin
- Zappos (vegan section)
- PlanetShoes (vegan section)
These are just a few resources for purchasing vegan goods. Use google to find more options.
What’s wrong with wearing:
I selected this post to be featured on my blog’s page at Vegan Blogs.
I’ve been vegan for a few years now, but I still have a wool coat, a leather pair of shoes and several cashmere sweaters. I don’t buy them anymore, but I’ve continued to wear them (though the leather jacket I owned when I first went vegetarian I immediately gave away, as I also did with a fake fur coat, just because I didn’t want to send obvious mixed messages).
I’m extremely short, have really small feet and obese; it’s not easy finding good replacements that fit well and look good. Vegan dress coat for someone my size? Forget it. Same with the sweaters- I can get cheap cotton ones from Old Navy that sort of fit, but nothing that looks very professional. The vegan fashion world needs to open itself up to people of all sizes.
Oh and if you wear a shoe size under a women’s 6? You can forget finding a good pair of vegan dress shoes. Cheap ones that fall apart in one season, no problem, but not the good ones. On the other hand, the pair of leather ballet flats I still wear and get repaired periodically? 13 years old and still look great. I know there are good vegan shoes out there, but they do not embrace all sizes.
Thanks for your input, Jodie. Really appreciate it! When you see things you like but not in your size, do you request them in your size? I understand that you won’t necessarily get the product you are asking about but demand may encourage companies to carry a wider range of sizes. Just a thought. Thanks for reading!
Christine
Well said Christine! I agree, I figure just change as you go forward. Don’t give up anything you can’t afford to replace or still need and then donate when you do but only buy vegan products going forward. I stopped buying any animal made clothing products (including shoes/belts) before I even became fully vegan. It was all part of the process for me, I stopped using cosmetics tested on animals years ago, then I stopped buying shoes, belts, purses anything made from animals (blankets, coats you name it) and then over the past three years I cut out meat completely and lived a mostly vegan life until this past November when I committed 100%. Though I still do have a couple of items in my possession that are made from animal (1 pair of shoes and 1 belt) I will donate them as soon as I’m able to replace them as I don’t feel good about wearing something that is against what I believe and what I stand for. It was so much easier than I thought to find cute vegan clothes and shoes. I just bought a pair of really cute Jambu shoes (vegan of course) on sale from Amazon that will arrive any day now. I’m excited! Here’s the link if anyone else is lookin for some cute vegan summer shoes: (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040JDMBG/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details)
Hi Shade, I have that shoe! Enjoy them. It’s fun finding cute vegan shoes. I’m so glad we don’t have to dress like hippies–which is what I thought I would have to do. :)
Great post. Even though I stopped contributing to the industry by buying leather, etc, I stopped wearing old stuff too b/c it got difficult explaining to people.
I agree. It was just easier to stop wearing animal materials. Thanks for reading!
I haven’t bought any new clothing in ages, at least five years? But I buy vintage clothings at auctions and garage sales. Much of it I wear, but what doesn’t fit I tend to sell on ebay or take to vintage shops when we go to a big city and they often buy some of the things. What I have the most problem in my own head is the furs that have been dead over 50 years…I don’t care to wear them, but I feel if I sell them to someone who wants a fur coat or wool coat with fur collar, that means one less animal will be killed now, because they’ll use the vintage one instead? Does that make sense to others? Sure in a perfect world everyone wouldn’t use the fur, but if they must, use an older fur and don’t make any more animals suffer. Recycle and repurpose, don’t throw it away!
Like I said, follow your heart. It sounds like you are doing just that, June. I understand where you are coming from. Thanks for reading!
A lot of animal shelters will accept fur coats as blankets for the animals they’re taking care of.
Wildlife sanctuaries also accept used fur coats, and PETA has a program too.