If you take a look through your closet, you’re likely to find something made from vegan leather. Whether it’s a coat, shoes, or a skirt, artificial leather is a common material for the fashion industry because it’s stylish, durable, and reduces the need for animals to be slaughtered to produce real leather. For decades, PVC has been the material behind this revolution in fashion and upholstery. Vegan leather made with PVC is one of the most durable, affordable, and stylish leather substitutes on the market.
Consumers are more conscious of the impacts of using animal hide for leather garments and upholstery than ever before. As a result, they’ve sought out alternatives. Vegan leather made with PVC has proven to be a very popular alternative. Its adaptability and durability have given designers the flexibility to bring their visions to life and give consumers access to high quality, stylish products that are made to last. More importantly, PVC vegan leather costs less than real leather or the trendy, plant-based products touted by high fashion magazines. This means consumers from all socio-economic backgrounds can afford leather alternatives.
Unfortunately in recent weeks, we’ve noticed a concerning trend in the rise of news coverage promoting dubious claims about vegan leather made with PVC. These breathless stories are light on facts and heavy on scaremongering and, in the end, mislead consumers about the products they use.
Some outlets promote unfounded chemophobia of the materials used to make PVC vegan leather. For example, Vogue Business recently published a story decrying the use of phthalate plasticizers in these products. Of course, phthalates have been safely used in consumer and commercial products for more than 50 years.
Still, other writers claim that vegan leather made with PVC is bad for the environment. The production of PVC in the U.S. – including for vegan leather – is strictly regulated to ensure the health and safety of our communities and the environment. Vogue Business also repeats the common and inaccurate claim that U.S. PVC production releases ‘dangerous’ amounts of dioxin. The simple fact is that the entire U.S. PVC industry is responsible for about 5% of total dioxin emissions to air and water that people have the potential to be exposed to. And vegan leather made with PVC makes up a minuscule fraction of that.
And finally, some misguided reports suggest that, because PVC is a kind of plastic, vegan leather made with PVC is a major contributor to plastic pollution and ‘fast fashion.’ This is just not the case. One of the great advantages of PVC vegan leather is its exceptional durability. Products made with PVC tend to have exceptionally long useful lifetimes. And clothing and accessories made with PVC vegan leather are not just single-use, throwaway items. In fact, many of these items last for many years after the original purchaser uses them on secondary markets and consignment stores. It’s also worth noting that of all of the plastic found in the world’s waste stream, just 2.8% is PVC according to the United Nations.
Unfortunately, some fashion writers would rather remove this affordable, high quality, and stylish item from the choices available to lower-income consumers. We believe that consumers ought to have access to the best, most durable, and most affordable products possible. This is why we’re committed to keeping this kind of scaremongering out of the public discourse. We hope that outlets will stick to facts and let our products speak for themselves.