Real fur has been frowned upon for a while now, but are you unknowingly wearing the skin of an innocent animal?

If you take a look in your closet, you may find leather shoes, wool sweaters, silk dresses, fur-lined hooded jackets, down jackets, pearl necklaces and cashmere scarves. Sure, these items may be essential to your stye and feel amazing to the touch, but I am here to introduce new options into your wardrobe.

The simple truth of the industry is that they're killing the planet and it’s killing us. Obtaining these materials takes billions of animals (sheep, goats, rabbits, minks, cows, foxes, seals, etc), which means plenty of destroyed land used for farming animals that will ultimately die. Frankly, the conditions of the lives of these animals through factories is a miserable one, to say the least. It is important to educate yourself on the process of producing these materials so that you can decide for yourself if you want to contribute to it.

Once the skin is removed from the animal, it is treated with loads of toxic chemicals used to maintain its quality. Needless to say, that isn't so great for our skin, or even the workers using these chemicals on a day to day basis. In fact, the employees of leather distributers live very short lives, often developing cancer and other debilitating health issues.

Ever wonder why real fur costs so much? It’s because it takes approximately 20 times more energy to produce than the faux products. But don’t worry! There are many faux fabrics that resemble the real stuff and you can wear it without the guilt.

Wool

As a fashion design major, fabric is essential to my career. I have enjoyed knitting since I was eight years old. I always believed that real wool was the best way to go. I was absolutely wrong. When I took the plunge into the vegan lifestyle, I thought I must stay away from yarn at all costs, because how else does one get such a silky soft texture from man-made fibers? Through extensive research, I discovered that fabrics that are the perfect replacement: cheaper and cruelty free.

When buying fabrics that resemble wool check the packaging for cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, soy, banana silk, rayon, viscose and acrylic.

Leather

Faux-leather is one of my favorite fabrics! There is no better feeling then shopping for a nice pair of shoes and seeing that the label says it is produced with all man-made materials. You would never know the difference. Again, it is typically much cheaper than the real thing.

When buying leather alternatives be on the look-out for some new, innovative products. There are new ways to produce leather from fruit (such as pineapple) and vegetables (such as mushrooms). Always check the leather to see the wonderful label that specifies if the product comes from man-made materials. For shoes, the label is typically somewhere on the inside. Online shopping makes this process easier by having the used substances listed.

Silk

Silk can be absolutely beautiful in scarves, dresses and blouses. However, it required the boiling of caterpillars and is simply unnecessary. Rayon, viscose, mercerized cotton, polyester fabrics and polyester cotton blends are all fibers that give a very similar shine and flow of silk.

While these are only a few fabrics, I encourage you to do your research on all the products you buy. It is hard to know where everything comes from at all times. However, I believe it is very important to limit the products we steal from other animals to use for our own selfish needs. The alternatives for animal products are endless and new fibers are continuously emerging.

My goal through this article is to make viewers aware of the abundance of alternatives and realize that “plant-based” does not equate to boring. The next time you go shopping do yourself and the world a favor and check the label. If you are ever unsure of a product, google is always there to help you figure it out.