Vegan fashion is the megatrend, but also a challenge - especially in the leather-affine accessories industry - discover our top picks for vegan handbags
Copyright by Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney (Falabella Mini Tote Bag)
Stella McCartney is known as a pioneer for sustainable as well as vegan high fashion. As a vegan, the renunciation of animal products is not a change for her in terms of material sourcing and production, but a matter of course. Thus, she was the first designer to launch a 100% vegan collection. In doing so, she combines luxurious aesthetics with innovative technology, as the forward-looking designer recognized early on that modern techniques can produce material alternatives that make animal products completely superfluous.
Copyright by Alexandra K
Alexandra K.
Since 2014, the high-end label has specialized in vegan and eco-friendly accessories. Handmade in Poland, it pays attention to environmental impact in every production process, using innovative leather alternatives. While the label is particularly known for its vegan apple leather made from apple scraps, it also produces from pineapple and corn leather, as well as other plant-based fabrics. The brand is PETA-approved and has won several awards, and counts stars like Meghan Markle among its fans.
Copyright by Angela Roy
Angela Roy
Personal style should never conflict with personal values. For this reason, Angela Roi creates timeless and high-end accessories from ethical materials. According to the motto of doing good for every living being, all products are made from animal-free materials and hand-made by workers whose fair working conditions and wages are guaranteed.
Copyright by Alkeme Atelier
Alkeme studio
The label draws inspiration from nature. For this reason, the value creation of the bags also takes place on a natural basis and uses only available, plant-based resources. Since the protection of the environment is also the focus of Alkeme Atelier, its pollution is also combated in production: waste such as plastic bottles are recycled by the sustainable label and processed into the inner lining of the bags. To do this, it works with factories certified by both the Global Recycled and the ISO 9001 standard, which assures quality and safety in work processes.
Copyright by Matt & Nat
Matt & Nat
All handbags and products from the young brand are 100% vegan. The head office of the Canadian brand is a cruelty-free zone, where values such as humanity, creativity and positivity are lived under the motto "live beautifully". The bags are made from various recycled materials such as nylon, cardboard, rubber, cork or even bicycle inner tubes. The inner lining is also made from recycled plastic bottles. Brand ambassadors include Nathalie Portman and Charlize Theron.
Key Facts: Vegan handbags
More and more high-end labels are launching vegan collections. These are at the intersection of design and innovation, as new ways and materials are being developed in the production of animal-friendly creations. This makes it possible to avoid the use of substances as well as practices that are harmful to animals as well as the environment.
This progress is particularly interesting with regard to accessories: belts, shoes and handbags are often leather goods and thus probably the best known and also most popular animal product. So the pioneering development of leather and other fabric alternatives in the fashion industry is all the more important now. A particular focus is currently on a trendy topic: vegan handbags.
Source & Copyright by Stella McCartney
This must be taken into account when buying vegan handbags
Vegan handbags have to meet certain criteria. It is not enough to simply rely on the fact that handbags that are not made of leather are also vegan. Buttons, hangers, clasps and coatings can contain animal traces and are therefore also produced in the context of animal suffering.
The following criteria outline what is important when buying a vegan bag:
- No animal ingredients (wool, silk, leather, down, fur, etc.)
- No animal testing and cruelty
- The most important vegan seal for fashion: PETA Approved Vegan
- Caution: mother-of-pearl and horn buttons or beeswax coatings are not vegan either
In general, buying a vegan handbag often means not only protecting animals, but also protecting the entire planet. Designers who are committed to the animal welfare mission in most cases take a holistic approach to sustainability and ethics. The production of vegan objects is often characterized by environmentally friendly and climate-efficient practices. Two examples of this are imitation leather made from leftover fruit. Here is an overview of all leather alternatives.
Vegan handbags are made from these innovative imitation leathers
- Piñatex/pineapple leather: Made from leaves - a waste product - of the fruit. Resource conservation and water savings are therefore more efficient than with traditional leather or cotton production.
- apple leather: Made from leftover apples from the food industry
- Fruitleather Rotterdam: Since up to 3.500 kilograms of fruit and vegetable scraps are thrown away every day at Rotterdam's well-known weekly market, students developed a way to extract a valuable raw material from the supposed waste. To do this, the fruit is boiled down, rotted, and then dried to be simply processed further into objects with a leather look.
- Synthetic fabrics: Artificial fabrics are not always taboo. Recycled polyester or plastic can protect the environment and is durable as well as resistant.
- mushroom leather: Feels like felt with a very low weight
- corn leather: Made from leftover industrial corn, this material is particularly stable and biodegradable
We show which brands combine design, innovation and a sense of responsibility in their vegan bags.
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