The vegan lifestyle isn’t just a diet, it’s a lifestyle. This includes where your food is sourced, down to even clothing materials. As a vegan, you start to discover that the lifestyle extends way beyond a simple dietary change.
You start becoming more conscious of other things you use and consume and environmental impacts of each, i.e. what skin products you use, as opposed to just food choices.
Luckily with vegan clothing there are a few dos and don’ts, which are fairly straight forward to remember.
Read on to discover vegan friendly clothing material, as well as the fabrics to look out for to recognise non-vegan clothing.
Vegan friendly clothing materials
There are a vast array of vegan-friendly clothing materials, most are right under your nose!
Acrylic
Acrylic is a man-made fabric as a wool replacement, from plastic as the name suggests. It’s durable and easy to manage, commonly used for blankets, clothing, furniture upholstery, luggage & teddies.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a breathable, stretchy clothing material, comparable to cotton. Ideal for underwear and summer clothing material due to its breathable nature. Made from bamboo trees!
Canvas
Typically from cotton (another vegan friendly fabric), canvas is typically a strong fabric type, typically used for tote bags as well as outdoor fabric in general. Its durability comes from the blend of cotton and synthetic fibers.
Chino
The main component in, you guessed it, chinos! Typically a twill fabric, made from cotton. It has been used in the making of army uniforms for the UK & US, but mainly chinos.
Denim
Denim is a vegan fabric, so it’s safe for vegans. Always ensure there are no leather or non-vegan friendly fabrics in the tags or pockets, easily found on the label.
Elastane
Elastane is a man-made stretchy material, typically added to natural fabrics to make it more stretchy. Made up of the long-chain polymer polyurethane, elastane is popular in the production of sportswear.
Faux leather
Faux leather, is basically fake leather, made from synthetic materials such as plastic, also treated with wax or dye for colour and leathery feel. Most cheap leather is faux leather, just make sure you check beforehand.
Faux suede
Another synthetic material from polyester microfibre, woven into faux suede. Typically suede is made from animal skin, and expensive, so always check the clothing label before buying!
Fleece
Although it feels like something from an animal, and sounds like animal fur, fleece is actually made up of polyester. Typically used in hoodies and sweatshirts, this material is also vegan-friendly.
Hemp
Not as popular a fabric as it could be; Hemp is a sustainable, multi use crop that can also be used for clothing. The stems of the hemp plant can be used for quality textiles.
Linen
Linen is a cruelty-free, naturally vegan clothing material made from the flax plant. It’s known as the world’s strongest natural fiber, lasting a lot longer than cotton!
Nylon
Nylon is a vegan-friendly, cost effective synthetic polymer that is stretchy and appropriate for swimwear, gym wear and some underwear products such as tights.
Organic cotton & regular cotton
Cotton is made from the cotton plant and is a soft, stable fibre that can be spun into a breathable textile. Typically used in underwear and t-shirts, as well as other summer wear.
Polyester
Polyester is a man-made, long lasting synthetic fibre which is durable and reliable. It’s a vegan friendly clothing material used in bedsheets, shirts and suits, as well as other items.
Spandex
Spandex is a lightweight fabric typically used in gym wear, such as shorts, leggings and sports bras. It’s made of a long-chain polymer, polyurethane, which gives it its stretchy ability.
Thinsulate
for those who like the thinsulate wooly hats, you’d be glad to know they’re accidentally vegan! Made up of a bunch of synthetic fibers, thinsulate as a brand is popular for gloves, jackets, boots and even sleeping bags.
Non-vegan clothing materials to avoid
These are the materials that are guaranteed to have animal-based products, or involve animal cruelty in the production of the material. One to avoid for vegans.
Cashmere
Cashmere is a popular product known by many, derived from Sheep’s wool. Although with another fancy name, still derived from the same non-vegan product.
Doeskin
Doeskin, commonly used in glasses wipes, is another derivative of wool. With its name coming from the similarities of this material with the feel of deer skin – Weird right?
Goose down
Goose down is just a fancy word for “goose feather”, which is commonly used to stuff pillows or make overpriced jackets. Goes without saying, it’s a non-vegan material.
Felt
Felt was a surprising one for me as I didn’t expect it to be made from wool/animal fur, but it is. It can on some occasions be made from vegan-friendly synthetic materials, although this is typically not the case.
Leather
As most people already know, leather is made from the skin of an animal. Therefore it isn’t appropriate for those who are vegan. Luckily there is a variety of groundbreaking vegan leathers, as well as the common faux leathers you see in modern day shops.
Silk
Silk is made from silkworms, who spin “webs” of silk and are killed in the process. Making them not vegan, although there are some vegan brands coming up with alternatives.
Suede
Suede is another non-vegan, leather-like product, made from the under belly of a sheep. A non-vegan material due to its extortion of animals.
Tweed
Tweed is only sometimes vegan, so has made the list of non-vegan materials considering it’s commonly made from wool.
Wool
As mentioned earlier with other materials, such as tweed and felt, wool is not a vegan material. It is sourced by the exploitation of sheep for their wool.
Do vegans wear normal clothes?
Yes, very much so, with the exception of norms such as wearing cow’s leather and suede, as well as a handful of other clothing materials.
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