We’re seeing an exciting change in all industries as the conversation around sustainability heats up. In their attempts to attract conscious consumers, companies are going all out in their marketing campaigns to make different markets look more appealing and sustainable. One such market is the vegan leather market.
Leather has been a fashion staple for a long time, yet many came out with the belief that the use of leather was inhumane and involved animal cruelty that many people could not get behind. Since then, many fashion companies have tried to pursue and sell other alternatives like vegan leather.
What Is Vegan Leather?
It is precisely what it sounds like. Vegan leather involves using different materials like paper, leaves or even polymers to emulate the look of leather without cruelty. Vegan leather should have all-natural ingredients. Yet, we see that this is only the case in some instances.
The Vegan Leather Debate
People often look for alternative leathers, where vegan leather came to be. However, a valid critique of vegan leather in the fashion industry states that vegan leather often uses polymers and plastics, essentially replacing animal cruelty with a climate change crisis.
Sustainability has quickly adapted itself as a buzzword in the fashion industry, but there’s quite a bit about it that remains to be deciphered in a changing world. Many consumers have also pointed out that the energy consumption that vegan leather materials require is relatively significant compared to genuine leather. We must investigate it when deciding the lesser of the two evils.
The Issue With Sustainable Fashion
As the trend for sustainable fashion grows, there are more significant challenges within the industry in establishing the markers of sustainable fashion. Brands are using words like sustainable fashion to sell clothing much more expensive to their consumers, which upsets the change that sustainable fashion is trying to achieve.
Furthermore, there’s much research still to be done regarding vegan articles and sustainable fashion. What the regular leather vs. vegan leather debate leads us to is greater accountability for fashion brands in finding alternative materials that are truly sustainable instead of creating marketing tactics to win over customers. The debate also had many wondering if sustainable fashion is possible, as many elements currently classified as sustainable are overpriced and inaccessible.
Greenwashing In The Fashion Industry
Many brands try to capitalize off their consumers’ consciousness without providing sustainable clothing, essentially known as greenwashing. Greenwashing is a common tactic brands use as most consumers need to know what to look for in sustainably sourced clothing. Not many people know that a brand must have a transparent production process and website sourcing information to be considered sustainable. Things like diversity and inclusion and protection of worker rights are essential in ensuring that the garment is genuinely sustainable.
Vegan leather could have all these markers in place. However, it’s not truly sustainable if it’s contributing to climate change, and that’s a claim that many in the fashion industry are now opening their eyes to.
