It’s officially the month of Christmas – yes that’s right, I celebrate for the entire month! I’m getting all nostalgic and have been thinking about this past year and all that I’ve done. This blog has really developed over 2019, and I’m now writing more blog posts than before and finding my writing ‘groove’. Every month I’ve tried to feature a different brand to talk about; a company that has stood out for me, either for being a vegan brand or for championing sustainability.

To end the year, I thought I’d give you a round up of all my brand reviews from 2019 – so you can see them all in one place! I’ll walk you through each brand that I’ve featured this year and why they stood out to me, hopefully it can serve as a nice little go-to blog post for when you’re looking for a new brand to fall in love with. I’ll state how expensive they are, and what I’d score them out of 10 for vegan-friendly fabrics (10/10 being a 100% vegan brand) I’ve also included what products I’ve bought from these brands and a link if they’re still being sold (such a stab in the heart to see most of them now cheaper then when I bought them!!) So, without any further ado, I give you – Grandermarnier’s Brands of 2019!!

Charlie Feist

Vegan rating: 10/10

Price: ££

My purchase: Kiko backpack

Charlie Feist, set up in 2015, is a completely vegan brand and was named after a dog that was bred in the UK in the 1800’s to provide companionship to travellers. They have created a stylish range of backpacks that are intended to be your companion on your travels (if you don’t have a dog I guess…) To create their modern, minimalist designs, they use recycled plastic bottles instead of new polyester, and only vegan leather. I use my Kiko bag religiously and would highly recommend this company for anyone on the hunt for a functional vegan backpack. 

People Tree

Vegan rating: 8/10

Price: £

My purchase: Sasha trousers

Founded by Safia Minney in 1991, People Tree actively supports farmers, producers and artisans through 14 producer groups across 6 countries. With a focus on using sustainable materials such as Tencel, organic cotton and linen, People Tree offer a range of casual, easy-to-wear clothing that are certified Fair Trade. Apart from wool they use only vegan materials.

LaBante London

Vegan rating: 10/10

Price: ££

My purchase: Aricia laptop bag

Vanita Badlani Bagri founded LaBante London in 2009, after she combined her passion for designing accessories and animal welfare. They sell a wide range of different bag styles, from laptop bags to clutches, and other accessories like sunglasses and jewellery. The outer shells of their bags are all vegan leather, made from Luxe Polyeuthrane, microfibre and recycled vegetable fibres. No animal dyes or glues are used either and they are a PETA approved brand.

Collection & Co

Vegan rating: 10/10

Price: ££

My purchases: Elat boots, Kerasi slides, Argia bag, Pelion boots (gifted), Aries bag

Felesha, the founder and owner of C&C, launched the company with the aim of designing beautiful shoes that didn’t come at the expense of an animals life or suffering. Their store is in Bristol and ever since I discovered them it’s become my favourite place to shop, their website is so lush too. This is my personal favourite brand as the aesthetics are right up my street and I love that their footwear always goes with my existing outfits! Click here to read my interview with Felesha. 

Watson & Wolfe

Vegan rating: 10/10

Price: ££

My purchases: travel document, vegan belt (both gifted)

Watson & Wolfe make vegan luxury accessories for men, including wallets, belts, bags, and travel accessories. Their products range from £30-120, which makes them really accessible in the luxury product market. All their pieces are made with vegan leather, which is a polymer made in part with plant Bio-Polyols, elements derived from non-food grade plant material such as rapeseed and corn. Currently, their vegan leather is made with at least 50% bio plant material, although they hope one day this can be 100%. Click here to read my interview with founder, Helen Farr-Leander. 

Womsh

Vegan rating: 5/10

Price: ££

My purchase: Vegan wave white rose sneakers

Launched in 2011, Womsh (Word Of Mouth Shoes) is an Italian sustainable shoe company, specialising in trainers/sneakers. All their shoes are designed, produced and packaged in Italy, and they opt for environmentally friendly materials. While the brand is not vegan, they have recently revealed an entire vegan line with several different styles, so there’s something for everyone here. I hope that people will support Womsh in their venture into vegan footwear, so they can see how profitable vegan fashion is, and hopefully, one day only stock vegan shoes!

Hirestreet

Vegan rating: 8/10

Price: £

My purchase: Seven Wonders yellow floral print wrap dress (rented for a wedding)

Not really a clothing brand, but Hirestreet was such a revelation to me this year I had to include it! I absolutely loved renting this dress from Hirestreet, and was so glad that I’d had the perfect dress for the wedding without the guilt of buying fast fashion or buying an outfit I’d only wear once. They’re nearly 100% vegan as I only found the odd piece with real silk, but they rent no outfits with real leather/fur/wool. I’ve just ordered a dress for my office Christmas party later this month – keep an eye out to see what I went for!

Ethcs

Vegan rating: 10/10

Price: £

My purchase: Cream sweatshirt

UK-based vegan streetwear brand Ethcs offers a range of athleisure wear for women and men, such as t-shirts, hoodies, sweats, as well as hats and bags. Mostly with a minimalist, monochrome design, there are t-shirts with their logo on and various slogans, some really good staples for your wardrobe. Ethcs only use organic cotton and they only work with factories that have ethical working conditions. 

Stella McCartney

Vegan rating: 6/10

Price: £££

My purchase: none yet…

Stella McCartney has always been a vegetarian fashion brand, ever since it’s launch in 2001, which means she’s never included fur, leather, exotic skins or feathers in her designs. They still use wool, cashmere and silk in their designs, but over the past few years the brand has also made several huge steps to becoming a completely vegan company, as well as dropping a lot of unsustainable materials from her designs. Stella recently used 5 Extinction Rebellion members instead of models for her Fall 2019 campaign, which sparked conversations about how environmentalism and fashion can work together.

I hope you guys have enjoyed reading about these different brands over the year, and I hope it’s been helpful to you to find out about cool vegan/sustainable brands that you can feel happy shopping with? I’m always trying to write blog posts that would be useful for vegans who are looking for fashion brands that can offer animal-free clothing, shoes, and accessories. 

Grandermarnier 2020 will bring you new brands, new interviews and new looks to give you vegan fashion inspiration! Come with me as I continue to delve into the fashion world and root around for vegan treasures…