Joanne Blain, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, May 09, 2006

If you're a fashion-conscious vegan, here's the dilemma: Do you have to sacrifice esthetics for ethics?

Vegans neither eat nor wear any animal products, including fashion staples like leather, wool and silk. That can put a real crimp in the search for a trendy handbag, a great sweater or a fashionable pair of shoes.

But that's changing. Taking a cue from top designers like Stella McCartney, who refuses to use animal products in her clothing line, some fashion designers and retailers are finding that style and social consciousness can happily coexist.

Montreal-based Matt and Nat makes a line of faux-leather handbags that are a hit with both vegans and meat-eaters alike.

"I think that's what has made the success of the company -- people who are not vegetarian or vegan are still attracted to the bags," says company spokesperson Dina Khamara.

"We view ourselves more of a fashion company with one of our attributes being that we're vegan-friendly, because that's part of our philosophy."

Kerry Block of the Vancouver gift-store chain Obsessions says the line is a top seller, and not just among vegans. "Most people don't realize they're not leather unless they know about Matt and Nat," she says.

The nine-year-old company recently added a line of leather-free shoes to its collection, but it isn't yet carried by any of the half-dozen or so Lower Mainland retailers that stock Matt and Nat bags. Shoes are available through the company's website, www.mattandnat.com.

Vancouver-based designer and retailer John Fluevog, well known for his funky leather shoes, has also added two new styles that feature vegan-friendly hemp uppers and natural gum soles.

The move was both a response to customer requests and a desire on the part of the company to be environmentally responsible, says the company's marketing and communications director, Stephen Bailey.

"We get lots of e-mails asking for non-leather shoes or hemp shoes," he says. "The big thing for us was to try to create animal-friendly shoes that didn't compromise style or quality."

More animal-product-free styles are in the works, says Bailey, if the current models -- available in Fluevog's Vancouver and Toronto stores and on the website www.fluevog.com -- sell well.

Craig Hussey and Stephanie Meitz went whole hog when they decided to open their Granville Street store Organized Kaos -- everything in the store is vegan-friendly.

"My partner and I both believe strongly in veganism, so we decided that if we were going to open a shop, there's no way we could sell anything that wasn't vegan," says Hussey.

He admits that it's been a bit of a challenge to find vegan-friendly clothing and accessories that fit the store's punk rock theme, which is traditionally leather-heavy. Hussey and Meitz have overcome that hurdle by buying most of their stock from local designers, who have been willing to use animal-free materials at their request.

"With our clientele, the punk-rock scene, veganism is a very strong thing," Hussey says. "So the people who are making the clothes are conscious of that."
Shoes are a particular problem because a platform style called Creepers, which Hussey describes as "your traditional punk-rock, rock 'n' roll kind of shoe," usually have suede or leather uppers. So he and Meitz were happy to find a U.S. company called Demonia that makes them in a synthetic material.

Some vegans turn to websites like Vegan Essentials (www.veganessentials.com) to find animal-free products. Ryan Wilson, co-owner of the Milwaukee-based site, says footwear is their top-selling clothing item.

Most customers want high-quality footwear and clothing that look as close as possible to real leather, but Wilson says it hasn't always been easy to track down.

"Finding companies who make non-leather products and take fashion seriously is still a challenge," he says. But, he adds, "it's definitely getting better."

Dina Khamara of Matt and Nat says it has become easier to create fashionable faux-leather clothing and accessories because the quality of the material has improved significantly.

"Now some of it is even hard for us to tell [from real leather]," she says. "We have to double-check to make sure."

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