Animal cruelty & shameless fashion brands

29 August 2022, Mumbai

"Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way." - PETA.

The concept of veganism has become popular worldwide, not just in the much-discussed food industry but also in the fashion world, suggesting the aware consumer's emergence. Even while vegan eating habits have been made fun of in the media, incorporating that idea into the design is more than simply a fad to win popularity among peers. 

The term "vegan fashion" refers to producing apparel and accessories without inflicting cruelty on animals during production, testing, or product creation. It is essential to highlight that this market, despite catering to a specific demographic, is welcomed with open arms in industrialized countries where market growth is out of this world.

The vegan market is receiving significant investment from nations including the US, UK, Germany, and France. By the end of January 2019, the UK saw a 5% increase in items labeled as "vegan," according to the London-based retail technology company Edited. With just an 11% increase yearly, the US may have lagged behind other economies in displaying such strong growth, but it already offers a much more comprehensive range of vegan goods. 

The French economy grew by 12%, but Paris, the world's fashion capital, has pledged to become the center of sustainable fashion by 2024, which will inevitably lead to a rise in the availability of vegan goods on the market. Denmark, which has experienced a 320 percent growth in items labeled as vegan, is another nation keeping an eye on this rapidly growing market.

The luxury market has not been the only one attempting to usher in the transition. One of the first high street businesses to register items with The Vegan Society's Vegan Trademark, New Look debuted a collection of 500 shoes, bags, and accessories. All components that could be present in textiles, threads, glues, dyes, and treatments are excluded from New Look's registered goods. They have also ensured that no animal experimentation was done during the production of the items and their components. According to reports, the corporation has also pledged to change details and lessen its dependency on substances produced from animals to register as many of its non-leather products as they can.

Marks & Spencer has been honored by PETA with the title of "Vegan-Friendly High Street Retailer" in recognition of its efforts to promote veganism. For clients who adhere to the vegan lifestyle, M&S has expanded its product selection to include vegan-friendly alternatives in food and clothes. Over 50 vegan recipes are available in the retailer's Plant Kitchen brand, while M&S debuted an accessible collection of 350 different types of vegan shoes in early March 2020.

These days, wearing items made from animals harms the wearer and the animals. To transform animal skin into completed leather, several more hazardous compounds, such as mineral salts, formaldehyde, derivatives of coal tar, and numerous oils, dyes, and finishes—some of which are cyanide-based—are used. Leather is one of the worst materials for the environment. As a healthier alternative, several companies, like Zara, Stella McCartney, and Bebe, have shifted to high-quality animal-free leather created from various materials, including non-animal microfibres, recycled nylon, polyurethane, and even plants, like mushrooms and fruit. 

Owing to more & more talks around vegan/alternate meat, sustained moral pressure & successive sensitization by animal rights groups, many fashion designers and brands have either stopped or started to shy away from using fur, arguably it is no exaggeration that still it is an all-too-common sight in the apparel/fashion sector. 

Fast-changing attitudes toward consumerism, especially among young people, resulting from increased concern over the environmental issue and the role fast fashion plays in society. As per surveys, 2/3 of 16 to 24-year-olds claimed that they were attempting to make more ethical fashion choices than before & the underlying aspiration is that ''Animal cruelty has to be opposed & resisted and shouldn't exist anymore/anywhere in our modern and civilized society''. 

Animal cruelty essay

The shifting mindset of the consumer creates a massive potential for merchants to tap into this vein quickly.

As per one news18 report on World Vegan Day on November 1, 2021,” World Vegan Day is the day to remember that animals want to live free from suffering, just like us, and do not want to be turned into burgers or shoes,” expresses Sachin Bangera, director of celebrity and public Relations, PETA India”.

As per Panaprium's report," Many well-known fashion brands and designers have stopped using real fur completely. Some of them are Versace, Furla, Armani, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Shrimps, and Vivienne Westwood".

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