Fashion & Materials

Leather, wool, silk and down are easy to spot once you know them. The tricky part is everything sold as the alternative. “Vegan leather” can mean PU, PVC, or something made from cactus or apples that still carries a plastic layer underneath. This section covers what each material is, whether it’s vegan, how long it lasts and how to keep it alive, from polyester shirts to the jacket you’re hoping will survive one more winter. Yes, one post even asks whether a car can be vegan.

I judge materials by what they’re made of and what the brand discloses, not by how good they look in the shop mirror. When a “vegan” material is mostly plastic, I’ll say so. You can decide for yourself whether that’s a win.

Start here: Vegan leather: pros and cons · How long vegan leather lasts · How to clean vegan leather · Is polyester vegan?

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