7 Vegan Fashion Brands You Should Know

When you go vegan, the first thing you change is your diet. Thankfully, it is easy now for vegans to find everything needed for a healthy diet. Furthermore, you can still have pizzas, burgers, mac and cheese, cheeses, and all your other favorite foods in vegan form.

When it comes to your wardrobe, going vegan can be more complicated (at least at first). The biggest challenge for me was to find a wool-free coat, winter boots, and a winter jacket. I wish I knew back then about these seven amazing vegan brands!

1. Matt & Nat

Matt & Nat (MAT(T)ERIAL and NATURE) is an all-vegan brand. Therefore there are no animal products used in production. The company originally came to life in Montreal in 1995. Matt & Nat design collections of bags, accessories and shoes made with vegan leather and eco-friendly materials like recycled nylon, rubber, and cork. The linings inside all Matt & Nat bags are made out of 100% recycled plastic bottles. Love it!

2. Save The Duck

Save the Duck is a smart and ethical company that makes animal-free jackets and coats.

“We have an enduring commitment,” says Save the Duck, “to improve the sustainability of our company by fully respecting animals, their environment and the people that live in it”.

3. Vaute Couture

VAUTE (“Haute” + V for Vegan) is a vegan fashion brand, “founded with a mission of taking animals out of the fashion equation, by creating something better, using innovative, high-tech, sustainable textiles, cut and sewn in NYC’s garment district with love.”

At Vaute you can find wool-free coats and sweaters, down-free winter jackets, both for men and women.

4. Sydney Brown

Sydney Brown was born out of a conviction that luxury could be produced in an environmentally-friendly way. The core tenets of the brand revolve around the concept of “reverence for life”:

Human. Each shoe is handcrafted at a state-of-the-art factory near Porto, Portugal, which is committed to sustainability as well as high performance and new technology constructions.
Animal. Every element of the shoe is free of animal products. The glues are developed in-house by adhesive chemists, without using animal fat. 100% vegan and PETA approved.
Environment. Each component of the shoe is carefully developed to fit with the brand’s ethos, utilizing recycled and sustainable materials. Every season the company strives to improve and develop these further.

5. Brave GentleMan

Brave GentleMan calls itself “disruptive menswear”. The clothing line specializes in high-end pieces made from organic, recycled, and 100 percent vegan materials from fair-trade sources.

“We don’t believe animals belong in the fashion production system, or any industrial system for that matter,” says Brave GentleMan. “We believe that people making our clothing and growing, developing or processing our materials deserve respect and dignity through safe conditions and a living wage. We believe that ecosystems should not be destroyed in order to make fashion.”

6. Vegetarian Shoes

Founded in 1990, Vegetarian Shoes was among the early pioneers of leather-free footwear. The brand offers an extensive range of products, including their signature air-seal boots. Manufactured in fair-trade factories in Europe, this brand uses high tech breathable synthetics to create long lasting, quality products.

7. Good Guys

In 2010, long time vegetarian Marion Hanania created the first French vegan shoe brand. GOOD GUYS shoes are designed in Paris and manufactured in Portugal, sweatshop free and in a nice working environment. Their use of materials such as microfiber, canvas and natural rubber result in a light, waterproof, durable and comfortable shoe. Vegan and PETA approved.