Style You Can Love
Vegan Handbags
Vegan handbags can be made from quite a large array of different materials. Anything as long as it does not come from any animal can be used. They can be beautiful, elegant and as stylish as handbags made from leather but the big deal here is they are the kinder choice.
Below are just a few of the many different fabrics:
Organic Fabrics-maybe cotton or hemp
Vintage Fabrics like brocades or taffeta
Pleather
Faux Fur
PVC Plastic
Stainless Steel
Microfibers
Straw
Jute
Upholstery Fabric
Recycled material like aluminum pop tops, juice containers or tire inner tubes
As you can see vegan handbag materials are limited only by imagination. Synthetic materials are a popular choice to mimic leather or animal hide. When done well it is very convincing with the look and feel of real leather.
The drawback being that synthetic fibers used to mimic leather are often made from plastic or vinyl and not as environmentally friendly. Natural fibers and recycled materials are always an option but if you are looking for handbags that look like leather so far synthetics work best.
Handbags that are truly vegan usually label themselves as such so you can be assured that absolutely no animal products are used in the construction.
Some non leather handbags while not made from animal hides may contain some animal ingredients such as
wool, silk or even the glues used in construction.
It Just Looks Like Leather
For handbags that look like leather consider designers like Inder Bedi, whose Matt and Nat Handbags
line is based on a strict zero tolerance policy against animal products.
Matt and Nat's creates vegan handbags while being socially responsible in their manufacturing process which mostly occurs in China. They work with larger reliably ethical factories who have a good policy of treating employees fairly. Their designer vegan handbags have been seen in magazines from Oprah, In Style, Elle and Marie Clare.
Love the soft colors and the simple elegant style of handbags made by Palloncino Verde. Eco friendly faux leather and faux suede are used for the outside and microsuede fabric lines the interiors. At present only two colors are available the buttery looking one below and a soft lime green. Check out Palloncino Verde at Amazon.
Crystalyn Kae. uses upholstery grade fabric that is glazed to give the look of leather. She has a very nice selection of handbag styles that have been featured
in In Style and Lucky magazine. With designs this good why you won't miss the leather. (The handbag at the top of the page is made by Crystalyn Kae.)
The handbag below is made by Eri Farleigh from high quality leather like material. Her bags are easy to care for and can simply be handwashed or wiped clean. The handbags designs are intricate and artistic with beautiful details at very affordable prices.
Check out Eri Farleigh for yourself.
Handbags from fabrics and recycled material
Colorful handbags from discarded juice containers made by a co-op of women in the Philippines or beautiful, unique handbags made from recycled aluminum pop tops crocheted together by women in Brazil can be found at
Eco Handbags.
They have a an incredibly large selection of handbags from all kinds of materials like record albums, carpeting, newspaper and even chopsticks. Pictured right.
A few handbags use some leather so shop with care.
Parapette carries a very nice line of vegan handbags in fabric and polyurethane alternative leather. Creative designs with nice details. They are not only concerned with providing an affordable, stylish animal friendly handbag but also with the environmental impacts of their products.
Fun colors and shapes can be found in lightweight, waterproof, non leather handbags made by Jane Marvel. These stylish and affordable bags made from laminated canvas have been featured in O Magazine and Daily Candy.
Quite a big selection is available in a variety of styles and patterns from Jane Marvel.
Don't forget your local stores. Almost any store carries some handbags that sure look and feel like leather but are synthetic. If your main goal is a handbag made without leather this can be quite easy to find and the prices vary from inexpensive to "it costs how much?"
With so many choices in vegan handbags you won't even miss the leather.
