Vegan fashion for men
Happy Monday all you lovely people! Hope you had a great weekend and did lots of fun and productive things! Me? I worked on Saturday and slept in till 12pm on Sunday…yeah, that really happened. I did get to see my friend and do some productive tasks though, including writing this blog post! I’ve been focusing purely on women’s vegan fashion this whole time really and not given much thought about men’s fashion, sorry guys. I am aiming to rectify this with a round up of my favourite menswear brands that are vegan and sustainable.
Some of these brands are both men’s and womenswear, and some of them may feature products that include wool/cashmere (it’s quite hard to find ‘ethical’ companies that don’t use wool too – argh!) but none of these brands use leather, silk or any other animal-derived material. Please let me know if you spot any though, as the information I give you is correct as of the time I write this blog, and I don’t want to leave incorrect information up here!
So here is a round up of a few of my favourite menswear vegan brands to give you men-folk some inspiration for your next wardrobe investment…
1. The Brave Gentleman
This brand, launched in 2010, focuses on using purely vegan, hi-tech and sustainable materials in their clothes. You won’t find any cheaply produced or animal-derived fabric anywhere in their collection. The range includes shirts, pullovers, pants, jackets, coats, shoes and a few accessories, and the style is very New York chic. The pieces are expensive and range from $240-$600 (cheaper accessories available), but as I have been saying over my last few posts, and especially since the latest Fashion Revolution Week, you need to consider the amount of research, work and innovation that has gone into your products and realise that paying more for clothes that will last you a lifetime is the basis of ethical, sustainable fashion. The founder, Joshua Katcher, says “Ethical fashion inevitably ends up at a higher price point, and maybe that says more about our expectations of and relationship to mass consumerism”
2. Komodo
While this London-based brand does still use wool and cashmere, they only source it from non-Mulesed sheep/goats, and the rest of their fabrics are vegan-friendly. If you want to know why I don’t support the use of wool and cashmere now, read these facts about Mulesing. Komodo offers a stylish alternative to fast fashion and have a great selection of affordable menswear (and womenswear), with accessories starting from around £12. Their style is very modern and minimalist, with attention to natural-looking tones and patterns.
3. Thought / Braintree Clothing
I really like the pieces that are included in this brand’s PETA-certified ‘vegan edit’, I only wish they could roll it out over their entire collection. They use a range of materials such as organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, rayon, recycled polyester and Tencel. However, they do sell some products made with wool but, like Komodo, aim to only source it from certain suppliers to ensure a high quality level of animal welfare. Just to be clear, I am not condoning the use of wool, just trying to show you the vegan options out there and making you aware of what certain brand’s are doing alongside their vegan clothing.
4. PlantFaced Clothing
I big these guys up a lot, as you may well know, but I just think they’re so great for casual vegan menswear! Their modern, urban designs paired with the Gothic text slogans make for a perfect juxtaposition in design, and the simple, minimalist styles and colours mean there’s something here for most men. They do a great selection of t-shirts, long-sleeved tops and hoodies, as well as comfortable joggers. Everything is 100% vegan and they use plant-based ink in their dyeing process. Very affordable and very wearable!
5. Desideratum
I just had to include these fellas in the round up of vegan menswear brands, they are so cute! They only make ties but they use microfiber fabric instead of silk. To get around 1KG of silk you need to boil and kill over 6000 cocoons of silkworms, how can that ever be justified? The ties are gorgeous, come in a wide range of colours and prints, and are so so affordable, only €34 each!