What is vegan fashion? This practice avoids using materials that come from animal products. This includes leather, fur, beeswax, wool, cashmere, etc. If a material is sourced from an animal, you won’t find it in vegan clothing lines. With the temperature dropping, though, how’s the fashionable vegan to stay warm without leather boots or a down-stuffed parka? Check out our favorite winter vegan fashion staples below.
Stylish Vegan Parkas
A winter fashion staple, parkas are both stylish and keep the wearer toasty warm as temperatures plummet. Traditional parkas stuffed with down and lined with fur are not vegan. Luckily, there are more vegan options for parkas available than ever before!
The Addie Parka (pictured above) from Noize Original is lined with faux fur and stuffed with polyester. Other vegan fashion brands carrying cruelty-free parkas from long and luxurious to short and utilitarian include:
- Hoodlamb – specializing in hemp fabrics and fabrics blends.
- Save the Duck – savers of more than three million ducks since 2017, they specialize in vegan jackets with a heart.
- Vaute Couture – a sweatshop-free brand whose garments are hand sewn lovingly in New York.
- Wuxly Movement – an environmentally conscious company who partners with animal charities throughout North America.
Vegan Animal Print Fashions
Tigers and cheetahs and zebras, oh my! Animal prints are on-trend this winter! Wear prints from your favorite animals in a way that celebrates them humanely by choosing animal prints on vegan materials like velvet, rayon, and vegan leather.
WAYF made their Gwyneth velvet wrap midi dress (pictured above) from a luxurious vegan velvet to help keep you both warm and fashionable at parties all season long. For a sparkly twist on the animal print trend, explore animal prints and animal-inspired motifs in jewelry.
Cozy Winter Boots
You don’t need leather and fur to create cozy, stylish boots. Vegan shoe designers like BHAVA use materials like cork, cotton shearling, and eco-suede to create a cozy feel without compromising their values. Other stylish winter vegan fashion boot options include:
- PAWJ vegan boots – their boots are available in lots of colors and faux fur patterns!
- Will’s Vegan Shoes – a certified carbon neutral company whose products are 100% vegan.
- Beyond Skin – their shoes all feature recycled faux leather coated with plant-based polymers for durability.
Handknit Sweaters
The vegan fashion answer to traditional sweater fibers like wool, alpaca, and cashmere often includes acrylics. Made of plastics, acrylic fiber is easy to care for and, of course, is created from vegan materials. The big downside to acrylic fibers, though, is that small pieces of acrylic fiber work their way out of your sweaters in the wash and end up contaminating our oceans and other waterways. That’s not so cruelty-free!
What’s an ethical fashionista to do? Try organic cotton. Organic cotton is important specifically because conventional cotton growers use pesticides in the growth process that harm pollinators like bees and butterflies. The hand knit organic cotton sweaters from Indigenous are an excellent alternative! Not only are their sweaters beautiful, but Indigenous pays the artisans fair wages to ensure a fully sustainable process all around!
There are so many sustainable and eco-chic brands available for every trend! Be sure to give these winter vegan fashion must-haves a try. Happy shopping!
