Published
Aug 24, 2021
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Britons eager for more vegan fashion - report

Published
Aug 24, 2021

UK consumers are keen to buy more vegan-verified fashion when buying new clothes, a study from the Vegan Society has shown.


Stella McCartney



Called The Rise of Vegan Fashion, the report said “the majority” of Britons want to see “more vegan-verified clothes, bags, shoes and accessories on the high-street and online”.

The study includes a survey that shows a massive majority (95%) would like to see more vegan-verified fashion. That suggests a market for such products among non-vegans and non-vegetarians. 

Meanwhile, 48% said they want more vegan-verified items across all fashion categories. While 35% said they wanted to see more vegan options for items that usually use animal leather such as jackets and boots, 32% would like more vegan-friendly leather bags and backpacks. Some 32% of respondents said they’d like to see the use of pleather extended to general footwear such as boots, heels and sandals with 28% stating they’d be interested in trainers that use vegan leather.

As many as 61% of consumers believe the use of fur is cruel while 57% feel using leather from ‘exotic’ animals is too. But as many as 37% also think the use of cow leather is cruel, with 54% disagreeing with the use of calf leather.

Vegan fashion has seen fast growth in recent years. The global vegan woman’s fashion market was valued at $396.9 billion in 2019 with footwear accounting for 41.3% of this. Revenue is forecast to reach $1,095.6 billion in 2027.

Some of the issues preventing the faster development of vegan leather products have been the quality of the materials available with Stella McCartney saying this year that until recently, many vegan leather options weren’t right for clothing or fashion shoes.

But softer and more supple vegan leathers have been developed recently and that should help the 35% of survey respondents who want more vegan leather options. Interestingly, 74% of them said they would be willing to pay more for plant-based leather compared to animal leather. And 55% said they were interested in purchasing, or already owned, something made from plant-based leather. Many of those say they think vegan leather is ethical and sustainable, which is understandable, but many (31%) also say it’s ‘modern’.

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