Are you feeling guilty about your leather handbag? You don’t have to settle with that guilt. There are other ways to get all the benefits of leather with no animal skin. Classic leather is slowly becoming a thing of the past, and we can all do our part to speed it up.
How Vegan Handbags Prove You Don’t Need Classic Leather
If you wanted to find vegan-anything about twenty years ago, you wouldn’t have much luck. A few companies were gradually moving in that direction, but most were being dragged kicking and screaming. It’s a lot different now, with any vegan product just a Google search away. But are they better? Should you even bother with them? Absolutely. Here are 5 ways vegan handbags prove you don’t need classic leather.
1. No Animals Are Harmed In The Process
First and foremost, the most significant benefit of vegan and cruelty-free handbags is that no animals are harmed in the making. Classic leather is made from animal skin (we all know this). Hence, an animal has to die for you to get that classic Louis Vuitton leather handbag you’ve been eyeing.
2. They Are Just As Fashionable
These handbags are just as stylish (if not, more so, IMO) than classic leather bags. Vegan leather can be produced in many ways, so designers have more flexibility for their products, which means better fabrics and bags for you and me! Vegan handbags are available in literally thousands of trendy designs from dozens of designers.
3. More Companies Are Embracing Vegan Leather
Vegan handbags used to be challenging to find, but now more and more fashion brands incorporate vegan leather into their products and are ditching classic leather. Luxury brands like Hugo Boss and Chanel have noticed consumers’ vegan and cruelty-free preferences, and now offer designer handbags that align with their values.
Other designers such as The Vegan Warehouse have built their brand entirely around vegan products. Brands like this have a unique advantage because they can provide cruelty-free and vegan fashion to a customer base that wants to save both the animals and the environment.
4. They Can Be Cheaper!
You may be thinking, “Well, I bet it’s more expensive than real leather; I’ll just stick with what I’ve got, thanks.” Not so fast. Classic leather uses more resources – and therefore costs more money – to produce than you may realize. Food, shelter, farmland, fuel, chemicals, and labor are all needed to make even the smallest amount of leather. This costs a pretty penny, and that cost is passed on to you.
However, as vegan handbags are made from (you guessed it) vegan leather, they’re almost always cheaper. Vegan leather can be made from various fruit waste such as banana and pineapple fibers, grape skins, and apple peels. This fruit waste is already part of what is harvested, so no extra labor is needed to attain the material. As the name suggests, it was garbage. Now, it can be turned into a profit (and beautiful handbags for you and me)!
5. They’re Made Of Recycled And Recyclable Material
Vegan handbags (and other vegan leather products) can be made with anything ranging from banana leaf fibers to mushrooms to grain-based biopoly oil. Other materials vegan leather is made from, like hemp or bamboo, are recyclable and grow very fast. Vegan handbags often have recycled paper and plastic for the lining, zippers, and other product components.
Another great thing about vegan handbags: when your bag has reached its end, it can be recycled and find a new life, maybe even as a new purse!
If Vegan Leather Is Better, Why Are We Still Using Classic Leather?
For one, we still use classic leather because “that’s what we’ve always done.” It’s an unfortunate habit that we need to break. Many of us are under the impression that we need animal-skin leather. We don’t. We just need to get the word out about better alternatives. Is getting a vegan handbag the best way to do that? I don’t know, but I have to buy a purse anyway, and it’s certainly a great place to start when someone says, “Oh, I love your bag!”
Read More:
Top 8 vegan leather bags you should know about
Interview with vegan model Katie O’Rear
5 plant-based leather innovations
Latico Leathers wins 2020 Independent Handbag Design award
