Footwear brand rallies against ‘vegan’ pressure
20/02/2020
“The truth is that any synthetic product can be classified, and is often believed to be, a vegan-friendly product,” said Vivobarefoot’s head of sustainability, Emma Hamilton-Foster. “Most ‘vegan leather’ is ultimately a euphemism for - let’s say it like it is - plastic.
“There is no doubt that the single biggest destroyer of plant and animal life on our planet is the industry that extracts and processes the crude oil needed to make plastic materials; they wipe out entire species. Then we have the proliferation of the toxic materials needed to create these materials and their long-term, lethal effect on life on earth.”
The company says that when brands such as Balenciaga offer ‘vegan’ lines, it “can do more harm than good”.
“There is commercial gain to be had by calling something ‘vegan’. But when that label comes at such a high cost, don’t let yourself get lulled into a false sense of security,” added Ms Hamilton-Foster.
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