VF Is Vegan Fashion Even Possible?

Paper & Couture

The Odd Pair An interview with

Vegan Boutique Owner

Falls Must-Haves

September 2011

Letter from the Editor

We are so thrilled to present to you one of the first all vegan fashion magazine. Never before

have people seen vegans be so fashionable. In this first edition of VF, you will find out what

does being vegan and fashion have to do with one another, we will enlighten you with our fall

must-haves, vegan fashion ads, an interview with the owner of an all vegan chocolate and

shoe boutique, as well as an article showcasing a recyclable and ethical fashion designer. We

look forward to provide you with more articles to entice your soul. Remember being vegan

does not mean sacrificing fashion.

VF

Many people believe you have to forgo fashion when you are a vegan but on the contrary you don’t have to sacrifice anything not even animals to look in style.

Usually when people think of vegans and style it is like oil and water they don’t mix but, in the last couple of years there has been an ever-increasing amount of vegan fashion designers such as Vaute Couture, OlenHaus, Matt&Nat and Stella McCartney. So what exactly does it mean to be a vegan and wear vegan fashion? A Vegan is someone who makes choices (food, clothing, and other purposes) that exclude all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals. This includes avoiding eating all animal flesh, fish, poultry, eggs, honey, and dairy as well as wearing or using (as much as is possible and practical) products tested on animals or made from leather, silk, down, wool, fur, beeswax, pearls or derived in part from animals[1]. Many vegans also care about the environment (cattle ranches release more greenhouse gasses than any other pollutant) and practicing ethical labor. Consequently, many of the clothing lines will be cruelty free, eco-friendly and fair trade certified (practicing fair labor laws). If you have taken the step of becoming vegan, you need to know the ins and outs of shopping for vegan clothes. Well how does one do so? First, you need to be informed about what is cruelty-free and what not such as fur and leather, as well as wool, silk and angora (rabbit fur). As a vegan, you have to make sure you know where things are coming from that means asking questions and reading labels. If you own things made out of animal products instead of throwing it out consider donating your clothes to a second hand store or other clothing aid organization. If you still need help with vegan fashion visit www.vegnews.com, www.onegreenplanet.org and www.ecouterre.com. Keep in mind you don’t have to sacrifice animals or fashion when you are vegan.

[1] http://totalimageconsultants.com/vegan-fashion.shtml

Is Vegan Fashion Even Possible?

Paper & Couture?

Ever wonder what happens to your InStyle or Vogue magazines after you throw them in the in the recycle bin? Well they might be the next couture dress design from Papier Couture. Who would ever think that your fashion magazines filled with pages of couture designers would actually make a couture dress. Lia Griffith is the designer making these one of a kind wearable art. Her first love has always been fashion at five years old was making paper sandals but she ended up going into the graphic design industry instead. This all quickly changed when one-day Xerox company asked her if she could create a dress made out of Xerox recycled paper, from then on, she started creating dresses out of recycled paper. The dresses all have intricate designs that flatter women’s physique. Griffith has even designed a wedding gown made out of paper butterfly cutouts. Much of her inspiration comes from nature; a simple walk can inspire her to create a couture dress. “Trash, after all, is only a failure of imagination”.

Sonia Luevanos: What inspired you start a vegan shoe and chocolate store? Sadaf Hussain: I have always wanted to open up a chocolate store when I retired from medicine, but while volunteering for Sidecar for Pigs Peace (a vegan general store in University Village) many people would come in and ask where they could find vegan shoes. Therefore, I saw a need for a vegan shoe store. I decided to combine the two and that is how Chocolate Shoebox came about. SL: What encouraged you to become vegan? SH: I had always been vegetarian but I was still eating a lot of cheese and other animal products. After my father passed away due to health problems and I saw myself going in the same direction due to my poor eating choices. I also read articles about pus found in milk and how bad animal products are for the environment, people and animals, and that is when I decided that I would become vegan. SL: Why do you think people should be vegan? SH: For one it is animal cruelty and why should animals, have to suffer for us? Secondly, factory farming is bad for our environment. If more people became vegan, it would help countries who have a high poverty rate because it would create more jobs in agriculture. Finally, health reasons are good reasons to become vegan, animal products cause heart problems, cancers, obesity, diabetes and many other illnesses.

The Odd Pair Written by Sonia Luevanos

Chocolate and shoes may sound like a weird combination to be the main selling point for most stores, but it works for small boutique The Chocolate Shoebox in Seattle, Washington. The Chocolate Shoebox has been in business since April of 2010. When she is not working as a physician at an urgent care facility in Kent, Washington Sadaf Hussain is running her animal-friendly boutique.

Interior of The Chocolate Shoebox

SL: Do you eventually want to expand to vegan clothes as well? SH: We do sell vegan T-shirts that have graphics encouraging veganism. Other than the T-shirts, we do not plan to expand. SL: Do you believe that vegan fashion is a growing market? SH: There are a lot more shoe and clothing companies than when we first opened up a year and half ago, even well known brands that are starting to sell vegan shoes. In addition, veganism is becoming more mainstream. SL: How do you manage to balance a business and be a physician? SH: I have a good schedule at Urgent Care in Kent; I work a couple of 12 hours a shifts a week. I also have a great staff at The Chocolate Shoebox that helps me out tremendously with running the store. SL: What do you want people to know about your business? SH: Besides selling vegan shoes, we also sell shoes that are eco-friendly and sustainably made by using recycled material as well as organic materials. We have a verbal promise of the ethical practices of each shoe company we buy from, meaning that factory workers do not make their shoes nor have animal products. All of our shoes are fair trade. SL: Has your business growth been affected by the economy? SH: No, we have actually increased our sales dramatically since the first year of opening. SL: I noticed that you sell shoes as low as twelve dollars. How do you have such reasonable prices? SH: Our mark-up is not that high. Money is not our main concern in this business as long as we pay our bills and our employees we are good. We really just wanted to have a store to help our customers and have reasonable prices. SL: Describe your store in one word? SH: Cute. SL: If you were a chocolate, what kind would you be? SH: I would be peanut butter and chocolate. I love chocolate and peanut butter together so much that my husband and I even have chocolate and peanut butter engraved in our wedding bands symbolizing how our love for each other makes a perfect match.

Owner Sadaf Hussain

I can’t believe I look this good and everything I’m wearing is cruelty free…… Being Vegan is Not Scarifying Fashion

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