GOING VEGAN THE CHILL WAY
November is Vegan Month, our favorite time of year. For most people, the word vegan brings up a super berry acai bowl or a Buddah bowl packed with plant-based nutrients. But veganism goes way beyond food choices.
Over the years, it has evolved into a complete lifestyle. Vegan today means a person who’s making different life choices, from the clothes they wear to the spray they use to clean their windows.
Here at Freedom Moses, we take it one step further. Vegan for us stands for the mindful, chill person who lives in harmony with their body, mind and environment.
Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle is one of the best gifts a person can give themselves. It’s a way to express our love and care for the earth and the magical creatures that inhabit it through the food we eat and the clothes we wear.
Our slides are about helping people go vegan - the chill way. Here’s what that means.
FROM FRINGE DIET TO CONSCIOUS SHOPPERS
Once a fringe movement, veganism today is seeping into every aspect of modern consumerism.
In the foodservice industry, plant-based and clean-label consumer trends are skyrocketing. According to the World Animal Foundation, in 2023, 706,965 People Worldwide Signed Up for a Veganuary, which Increased to 1.8 Million in January 2024.
In the skin-care industry, vegan-friendly alternatives are gradually becoming the norm, with the number of cosmetics companies committed to cruelty-free testing being 5,600 and going strong, according to PETA.
More ethical, greener cleaning products are also a growing industry, with a global natural household cleaners market size valued at USD 3.7 billion
Especially since Covid-19, more and more people are beginning to care about what they eat, drink and wear. Consumers are growing more conscious of the source of their products and services, and there is a growing affinity for vegan-friendly brands that are developed without cruelty to animals and a move towards a cleaner and greener planet.
Looking broadly, the word vegan has come to symbolize a more conscious, animal-loving, environmentally-friendly consumer.
THE ANTITHESIS OF FAST FASHION
Fast fashion describes clothes that are produced quickly and inexpensively to fit the latest trends. To meet the insatiable consumer demand for cheap clothes, fast fashion brands have set aside their ethical principles, turning to cheap manufacturing methods.
The result, as you can guess, is overproduction, waste, deplorable working conditions and terrible environmental impact. Another result is the incomprehensible suffering of animals. Non-human animals are used in many ways across fast fashion supply chains. Most notably, for their skins, fur, feathers and even their color (think insects).
The vegan fashion industry is in a prime position to create a kinder world for animals and for our planet. Luckily, from the high-street to the high-end, retailers and brands are already showing signs of commitment while consumer demand is increasing.
FASHION ICONS STEP UP FOR ANIMALS
In the early 2000s, long before vegan and sustainability became hashtags, a young Stella McCartney was plowing her way through the fashion industry. Her animal-friendly, ethical style, known for its sharp tailoring, natural confidence and sexy femininity was groundbreaking in that it proved that fashion can be fierce without being cruel.
It would take a while before vegan fashion would catch on and consumers would start to see the end to animal-derived products, including fur, leather, exotic skins, silk, wool, feathers and more. But we’re getting there.
In 2019, Emmanuelle Rienda organized the world’s first Vegan Fashion Week in LA. This became the leading biannual ethical fashion week where all participants present vegan products only.
By the end of that same year, even Queen Elizabeth went fur free, with Angela Kelly promising Vogue that: “If Her Majesty is due to attend an engagement in particularly cold weather, from 2019 onwards fake fur will be used to make sure she stays warm.”
BEING CHILL ABOUT GOING VEGAN
Going vegan is an important step towards a mindful lifestyle. But in our wish to embrace a compassionate way of living, going full-on vegan overnight may be overwhelming. If we tried to eliminate all animal-based products from our lives all at once, we’d find ourselves buck-naked and craving a burger in no time.
Vegan fashion is not about making our lives harder by limiting our shopping choices. Rather, it is about buying clothes that help us be more present with our environment and our bodies. It is about being aware of our individual impact and acknowledging the ripples of each step we take.
The key here is to start small. No need to swear off meat altogether when there are flexitarian and pescatarian diets to accommodate a more gradual transition. Same goes for vegan fashion. It’s best to start with something small, like banning fur or buying vegan slides.
For us, this is the essence of the vegan lifestyle. Our slides make people feel good, comfortable, chill and at peace with nature. That kind of mental state is key to making kinder choices for the earth and for ourselves. Gradually introducing more ethical, vegan sustainable practices into our lives - that’s how you go vegan the chill way.
