ECO-FRIENDLY SHOES Environmentally Safe Alternatives By Leah Jayasanker Sticking to our eco- friendly theme, a look is not complete unless shoes are accounted for. Fashion works head to toe, thus our inclusion of trend setting leather alternatives and cruelty-free products for the feet. Alternativeoutfitters.com proprietor Jackie Horrick tells Vis.A.Vis about the importance of using vegan accessories to assist with our every day efforts to sustain an environmentally friendly planet. LJ: Tell me more about Alternativeoutfitters.com and the products you sell. JH: We are a vegan boutique that specializes in footwear, handbags, accessories and other animal-friendly alternatives. We also sell cruelty-free beauty care and cosmetics. Our shoes are made without the use of animal materials such as leather, suede, wool or silk. They are made using animal-friendly natural or synthetic materials. Many of our shoes and handbags have the look of leather, but they are cruelty-free, which typically refers to personal care and cosmetic products, but we also refer to it in terms of our shoes and accessories since our products are made with animal-friendly materials. LJ: Do the materials used to make vegan shoes cost more money than the materials allocated for making “conventional” shoes? JH: You would think that it would cost less to make a vegan shoe, and most of the time it does. However, depending on the materials used and the manufacturing process, it can cost more. Generally, vegan shoes are more affordable so you can get more pairs for your money. LJ: How do vegan friendly products help our environment as well as the consumer? JH: Wow, where do I begin. Over a billion animals are slaughtered in factories for their skin every year. This doesn’t just include cows and calves, but also horses, sheep, lambs, goats, and pigs. Also, a not-so-well-known fact is that these factories / farms are a greater contributor to greenhouse gas emissions than the automobile industry. By purchasing vegan-friendly products you are not contributing to the suffering and waste that these factories produce, rather you’re supporting a lifestyle that has the smallest ecological footprint, uses fewer resources and is healthier. LJ: As our theme for the month is eco- friendly, we look at all sorts of eco- conscious ways of giving back, what are a few things Alternativeoutfitters.com does to encourage this effort. JH: We are doing our best to make vegan shopping more mainstream. We hope that for every animal-friendly shoe we sell, there is one less leather shoe sold. We work closely with animal-rights, animal-welfare, and environmental organizations to promote the vegan lifestyle and support them in what they are doing to help the animals. We also work closely with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) by donating 5 percent of every order that mentions PETA during checkout. A few ways that you can give back to the environment (and still look fashionable) is through education. Take a moment to get informed and check out these links: peta.com , pristineplanet.com and ecomall.com . |
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