Vegan is the new black.

August 21, 2017

August 21, 2017 by Dieterich Weigel – 93 Comments

Being vegan is what everybody is talking about. Omitting animal products from one's diet is certainly no longer about keeping up with the latest trend or new hype. It is a recognized diet and a way of life. More and more people are consciously opting for a vegan lifestyle. After the food industry has responded to increasing demands, fashion labels are following suit, adhering more and more to vegan principles. The range of vegan fashion is indeed growing day by day. But what does that actually mean - vegan fashion? Using the example of vegan jeans, I will address the principles behind the vegan lifestyle.

Let's start with the material: The cotton. Cotton is an ancient cultivated plant, whose main cultivation areas today are in China, India and the United States. It is of course a plant and thus by nature, free of animal products. As the cultivation of the cotton is very pesticide and water-intensive, sustainable labels produce their clothing with organic cotton, as this not only saves the resources mentioned, but is also by far more environmentally friendly than its conventional relatives. In addition to this being the largest component, there are numerous small details that are required to make pair of jeans what thy are. These details include buttons, which are usually made of mother of pearl from the shells of clams or horn, such as that of buffaloes. All too often these are unfortunately taken directly from live animals. Vegan jeans have buttons and rivets from non organic materials and are made instead of metal or plastic.

The Back Patch

Another important component is the back patch of a pair of jeans. This patch, which usually carries the brand name or logo is made of leather for the biggest part of jeans labels on the market today. Unfortunately, catastrophic conditions for animals and humans continue to prevail, when it comes to producing leather articles.In some cases, particularly in developing countries, animals are sacrificed without anesthetic and the tanners preparing the leather are exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes every day. An alternative for vegans are back patches made of artificial leather or cardboard. Often the chemicals that are used during the finishing processes of making a pair of jeans tend to be ignored. There is still a widely used standard in place to test these chemicals on hundreds of small animals prior to their registration.

Since information about the substances used are often difficult to access, it helps here is to pay attention to certifications, such as the PETA certification, which confirms that the product neither contains animal products nor has it been tested on animals.goodsociety is PETA approved. For us, sustainability doesn't stop at our products being organic, but is constantly applied to all aspects of our products.

To be honest, producing vegan jeans and getting them PETA approved isn't that easy and there's no cutting corners.

We are convinced, however, that the effort to seek out alternatives was worthwhile. Our recycled metal buttons and our high-quality Alcantara leather back patch protect the earth's animals, while still being true to the real "denim feeling".