For me, veganism first came into my kitchen, body and only afterwards it took over my wardrobe. Maybe not the most common way but the most ego centered for sure (sounds familiar?). At first thinking about myself and only then about who suffers because of my unreasonable decisions. In any case, thank God I'm here and thanks to the Lord you are still reading.

Please, continue.

Me unboxing sustainable pieces by ZARA Join Life
I have reached the point where I don't buy any new clothing, shoes, accessories, anything made from animals or made by animal suffering. Although, I'm still wearing off some pieces from my wardrobe that are not vegan. Again, as I already mentioned the same reason in my blogpost 115 million reasons why, I don't believe it would make the world a better place if I threw away my leather boots to buy new ones only this time in vegan leather. I will do it eventually, just at this point I don't see how it goes hand in hand with my less waste lifestyle and how exactly it is helping animals or the one and only planet Earth. The only exception is fur. I got rid of every single piece of fur that I had from a long time ago. It made me feel sick and  full of shit. Just wanted to clear this out.

Is cruelty free fashion lower quality and more expensive?

When I started to accept and buy only vegan friendly fashion pieces, I understood how easy it is! I don't have to limit myself in any way and no one has to sacrifice because of fast fashion trends or me trying to compensate something my mama didn't gave me. Stores are loaded with vegan leather whatever and new generation clothing fabrics and materials. Even faux fur nowadays looks like real fur! It's insane! And I'm not talking about luxurious brands only.

H&M in latest Winter collection had few faux fur coats, looking so alike real fur that I had to check the price tag, is it really faux?! Sorry guys, but one thing Pamela Anderson taught us well by saying fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people. I have been one of them for years but now I am ashamed of it. And you should be too, by knowing how much pain and suffering it causes to animals. It has never been a better time to dress vegan, I swear!

All I'm trying to say is.. stay awake and think ahead. I understand that people are thinking only about their own asses but the time has come and we should start to think more about the world itself. It just makes sense, no? At least for me it does. We don't have to choose fashion over nature and animals anymore, we can have it all!

So, I hope you are still reading! Now when I have filtered out all of you who care and who don't, I can finally start my wandering about even more conscious or ethical fashion.

What does it mean?

Fashion is one of the most damaging industries on the planet. So, I caught questioning myself what more can I do, if it has been that easy for me so far? What's the next step after taking dead animals off of my shopping list? That's how I got to conscious fashion. Let me explain.
Conscious fashion is one big term that covers different ways of how fashion can be better than ever before. Here are the most commonly used terms and meanings, so you don't get lost in translation while shopping.

Vegan
Nothing were taken away from animal to produce this product (fur, skin or even wool). Yes, let me shock you, even silk and wool is not vegan because these materials are obtained from the live being.

Organic
The materials used are grown or made without using any harsh chemicals (including color dye). Very important label to look for when buying clothing for baby.

Recycled
Reused materials where crashed into fabrics, threads or other materials and later used to make a new product. Less waste, less problems to the planet Earth. This one gets more popular by industrial development.

Upcycled
Don't get confused. This means, used materials are reused without crashing them. Have seen bikini strings partly made of fishing nets? That's what I'm talking about.

Eco-friendly
Reduced pollution to the minimum by producing fashion products in this manner. Friendly for everyone, specially the planet. 

Fair trade
Fashion piece made by workers with fair living wage and acceptable working conditions. As most of the fast fashion brands produce their products in underdeveloped countries, this one is very important.

Sustainable
In my opinion, definition of sustainability is still somewhere in the middle of all. Mainly, it's a combination of eco-friendly and fair trade. So it has a better ecological impact and it supports social justice no matter where clothing or product is made. Sometimes it is measured in percentage of the product. The bigger percentage, the better.

Biodegradable
After being trashed, the material easily decompose into natural elements. Commonly known as natural materials like cotton, linen, wool and hemp fabrics.

And let's not forget about the well known option to buy already preloved clothing. The second-hand shops are not that scary and smelly anymore, check out some of them! Catch some amazing used, vintage pieces in the most unexpected places. 

What can YOU do?

Hopefully, now you have a clearer vision of how you can help the planet, animals and yourself (karma really is a bitch only if you are). I have set one rule for myself when I go shopping (very rare) or shopping online (too often). Anything I buy to fulfill my wardrobe, have to match with minimum two of these terms.
Remember, often products are not 100% recycled, upcycled or whatever because of quality it could offer. Only by industrial development we will be able to reach the point where fashion will be 100% conscious. Fast fashion brands are now trying to stand up for ethically made products, so all you have to do is search for the label and see what exactly and how much are they doing for the planet by making this product. 

I really hope you found or will find by the time at least a single thing useful from this blogpost. I know that you care, so let's start this movement together and let's start it now! Again and again.. all it takes is to be conscious. This is our only home.

Sustainable jeans and a shirt from ZARA Join Life
BTW

HERE you can see the top 15 eco-friendly footwear brands by PETA, some of them are also 100% vegan. In this article you will recognise popular brands like Reebok and discover new and unknown brands that have an amazing footwear. My absolute favourite footwear brand from this list is ROMBAUT. They have been known for innovative use of materials such as stone, tree bark, natural rubber, cotton cellulose, and coconut fiber. God, I can't wait for the day I'll be looking for a brand new sneakers for me AND my boyfriend. Amazing unisex designs- match as you wish! 


You can have it all. Love more. Love Earth.
*draata