OUTSIDE THE BOX
Fashion for animal lovers
Vegan Fashion – your wearable halo
My choice to be a vegan is motivated by my own passion – and the main reasoning behind my decision to eat a purely plant-based diet is to cause less suffering to animals. At least, that’s what I thought. Until, one day, having been overcome by a sudden urge to critically assess the contents of my wardrobe, I realized that despite my vegan lifestyle, I was still walking around in my smart leather shoes, occasionally defuzzing my woollen designer pullover, stroking my silk scarf without a second thought and, every night, crawling under a duvet which derived its warmth-giving qualities exclusively from a whole bunch of cozy goose down. How had I managed to lull myself into thinking my conscience was clear?
I can see them all in front of me:
The cute, soft sheep, the silk-spinning silkworms, fluffy goslings and their outraged-looking mothers and fathers. They line up and become indistinguishable from all the fur-bearing animals that I used to sign petitions to save. Is there really such a difference between minx and geese?
It’s certainly a dilemma, especially as, in the past, I got weird looks just because of my eating habits. Now, though, having spring-cleaned my principles, I’m giving people even more opportunity to attack me, because I’ve decided to take the next step and “out” myself. – That is to say that I’m now a “dyed in the wool” fashion vegan, too.
sustainability, fair trading and smart use of resources
To begin with, I still had these awful images of sandal-wearing, tie-dye loving eco-warriors in my head – the ones with weird hairstyles who spend their time straightening up each other’s vegan halos, all while singing “kum ba yah” and nibbling on lettuce leaves.
But I couldn’t have been more wrong, because the vegan fashion industry has long since started overtaking everyone else – not just morally, but also in terms of fashion.
Whether cotton, bamboo, hemp, soy silk, linen, or acrylic – the fashion industry is really putting its back into it and, in view of the high demand, inundating the vegan universe with a wide range of products. You can get anything: from lingerie to hip streetwear, elegant business fashion, and many other plant-based alternatives. And not only do these alternatives give you peace of mind – they’ll do wonders for your karma, too.
In the past, you might have had to put up with stupid comments about your limited vegan diet or clothing style, but nowadays sustainability, fair trade and smart use of resources are seen as examples to which everyone should aspire. And I reckon they also make a pretty cool fashion statement.
In short – for anyone who is yet to acquire their very own pair of angels’ wings, it might be an idea to make a start by atoning at least for your more minor sins by donating a first pair of leather shoes. I’ve heard that shoe polish is pretty good for polishing halos, too.
