The PETA Vegan Fashion Awards, founded in 2013, serves to celebrate and encourage cruelty-free fashion. The awards recognise the increasing numbers of shoppers searching for ethical brands, with big-name designers such as Calvin Klein, Vivienne Westwood and Ted Baker receiving recognition for their vegan products.
(Photo Credit: Simone Rusha – winner of “Most Stylish Evening Bag”)
PETA’s Yvonne Taylor told Eluxe: “These are exciting times as compassionate consumers change the face of fashion. Animal-free fashion is the future…Forward-thinking designers are experimenting with innovative, high-tech materials that are vegan.”
But whilst customers with a generous budget can afford to be more selective about where they shop, are ethical brands practical for us students?
This is a subject which I have been thinking about a lot recently. I find myself torn between wanting to buy products that are cruelty-free, yet not being able to get what I want easily or at a reasonable price. To be truthful, finding items such as makeup and cleaning products that are vegan is very difficult.
My guilt is heightened when I think about where I buy my clothes. I admit that I am a hypocrite – I think of myself as a conscious individual who cares about the environment, yet I still support unethical brands – Primark, Nike and Topshop to name a few. I love buying new clothes, experimenting with trends and changing up my look. But the problem with “fast fashion” is that some companies use unethical means to keep up with the demand for the latest designs.
Whilst part of me would be thrilled to prescribe to the doctrine of “quality over quantity”, I also think: why should I be inhibited by the industry’s inability to provide affordable sustainable clothing? Is this the selfish consumerist within me that’s gotten too used to having fashion at her fingertips? With the arrival of websites such as Missguided, online purchasing has never been so temptingly immediate.
(Photo Credit: Missguided.com)
I am no angel and I am in no position to preach. I am being honest and realistic in telling you that I find it extremely difficult to be on a student-budget and commit to boycotting all products that are not cruelty-free. However, with recommendations from a few savvy friends and with help from the Ethical Consumer product guide, I have decided to try my best to decrease the negative impact of my personal spending.
It is time for all brands, from the high-end to the high-street, to become cruelty free; it is unfair that ethical fashion is such a niche market.
See the full list of the PETA Vegan Fashion Awards 2015 winners here: http://www.peta.org.uk/living/peta-uk-vegan-fashion-awards-2015/