Did you know our website has an extensive range of vegan products? If you’ve already had a browse, you may wonder why certain items aren’t currently featured. In all honesty, categorising outdoor clothing and equipment can be a little complicated, and our vegan collection is a constant work in progress! Today, I’m here to tell you why that may be.
Lorna wearing the Fjallraven Womens Expedition Latt Hoody, from our vegan range, in Terracotta.
Revisiting The Basics
What does being vegan mean?
Choosing veganism means avoiding the consumption of animal-based products in all capacities. In terms of the outdoors, this includes the food you eat during your adventures, clothing, footwear and the equipment you use too!
Identifying vegan clothing and outdoor equipment
Firstly, when categorising items for the vegan collection, we need to look at every detail of each product. Analysing these details ensures that the products fit the correct criteria. Many items are ‘naturally vegan’, whether a polyester beanie hat, cotton t-shirt or a 100% synthetic jacket. However, some contain small details made with animal products, such as glue or a leather badge, which are less noticeable at first glance.
Lorna wearing the Fjallraven Abisko Varm Headband, from our vegan range, in Deep Patina.
Can Waterproof Jackets Be Vegan?
Unfortunately, identifying waterproof jackets as vegan is more complex than you think. Many brands are still determining whether glues, waterproof membranes or dyestuffs used in their shell products include animal derivatives. Other tricky products to categorise include waterproof trousers, footwear, and camping equipment, such as sleeping mats.
Transparency within the Trekitt vegan range
Many renowned waterproof labels such as Gore-Tex® and Pertex® don’t believe their products contain animal-derived products. However, they admit that they aren’t 100% sure. Sounds a little odd, right? To paint the picture, when brands locally source material or fabric, it often comes with little information about what it contains or is made of. Some brands are steadily combating this by switching to nominated fabric suppliers instead of locally sourced ones. Although on the contrary, some brands may not have the option to do this.
To clarify, if there’s no certainty, we will not feature those products in our vegan range. We hope this will give you complete peace of mind when shopping with us.
Vegan product verification
A new vegan verification programme, introduced by Intertek, for textiles, clothing and footwear, is beginning to allow brands to certify products as vegan more easily. We are still waiting to see this verification programme thrive in the outdoor industry. Still, it’s an exciting step towards providing more information to allow vegan customers extra reassurance with their purchases.
Lorna wearing the Scarpa Women’s Mescalito Planet, from our vegan range, in Light Grey/Coral.
Hopefully, though a little vague, I admit, the above will give you a brief idea about why certain products are currently not featured in our vegan category. I also hope that this blog has provided enough advice to allow you to make a more informed decision about buying your gear, or at least a more thought-provoking one. If you still need help with where to start, our customer service lines are open to call on 01432 263 335. Alternatively, you could pop into the Hereford Service Centre and chat to one of our friendly team members.
Our top vegan picks
Take a look at some of our current vegan favourites for the autumn/winter season:
Want more? Check out our full range of vegan products by clicking here.
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