Stepping away from meat and embracing the vegan lifestyle became the biggest food trend in 2018, and it seems as though more and more people are continuing this trend into 2019. With the likes of “Veganuary” and influencers making the change, it seems easier than ever to ditch animal products and go as natural as possible. However, what most people forget is that if you want to live a truly vegan lifestyle, you also have to think about your clothes. But is vegan fashion actually good for the environment?
What To Avoid
The vegan fashion market aims to stop animals from being unfairly and cruelly treated during the production of clothing and beauty products. In some cases, animals pass away at the hands of those looking to produce certain materials, and maintaining a vegan lifestyle is knowing what to avoid. To be as cruelty-free as possible, you should ditch leather, wool, suede, cashmere, silk and more. Yet, this doesn’t mean you have to ditch them completely. Many companies and brands are now jumping on the vegan bandwagon and offering up vegan alternatives to these materials. However, their impact on the environment is being called into question.
Water, Water, Everywhere
Although many people just assume that veganism is environmentally friendly, that isn’t always the case. While these companies do use natural products, they don’t always choose the most sustainable methods of production. To make one single cotton T-shirt, the average production line will use a whopping 2,700 liters of water. If you’re not quite sure what that equates to, that amount of water is more than enough for one human over the course of two whole years. These production lines also still cause water pollution and affect our rivers, oceans, and animal habitats.
Not All Bad
Of course, vegan fashion isn’t all bad. By using alternative materials, those who wear vegan clothing are directly impacting the lives of animals across the world. They are not being subjected to cruelty, and they are not passing away in the hands of those in charge. That has to stand for something.
Vegan fashion is a growing business, so we have to hope that as more and more people come on board, new and improved processes will make their way into the industry. While vegan clothing is good for animals, it’s not so great for the environment just yet.