This might be my favorite post yet! I stopped wearing most leather five years ago when I gave up meat, but since my feet were in such bad shape I continued to wear leather shoes as synthetics never seemed to stretch enough to accommodate my extra-wide foot. Lately I have been on the lookout for a nice bag with no luck, but seeing these options has really perked me up. Thanks for the info!

You are welcome! Let us know what you find and if you come across other fab vegan sites, we’d love that you share that with us too.

Matt & Nat has vegan bags that are pretty good. They even have one called the Angie.

Great post! I might throw in a recommendation of Matt & Nat, out of Montreal. I’ve been using a yellow bag of theirs all spring/summer and have received a ton of compliments. Here is their website:

http://www.mattandnat.com

Thanks Danica and Lannie. I’ve just had a look at the Matt & Nat site and their items look wonderful. And I rather fancy the “Angie” bag!

I was also going to echo what Lannie and Danica said about Matt & Nat. As for shoes, Novacas is great. There is a store called Moo Shoes that sells both brands (and many more) at their store in NYC and on their website (mooshoes.com).

Melie Bianco, Kathy Van Zeeland, and Kenzie also use faux leather in their handbags. I’m not personally drawn to them, but someone else might be. Kenzie does make fab shoes and clothes though!

As for top notch designers, I recently discovered that Stella McCartney makes a lot of vegan bags, but they will still cost more than a pretty penny. I have also seen some Orla Kiely, Isabella Fiore, and Mary Francis bags that don’t use leather.

I ended up getting the vegan Prada bag. It looks so beautiful on screen and yet it’s so cheap. I hope it’s not too good to be true and it looks just as good in person!

While I completely understand why some people choose non-leather accessories, I would warn folks against buying vinyl products as a substitute. The manufacture of vinyl, or Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is highly toxic. (You can read more about it here: http://www.myhouseisyourhouse.org)

Basically, the development and then the burning of PVC releases dioxin, which causes:

• Cancer
• Endometriosis
• Neurological damage
• Immune system damage
• Respiratory problems
• Liver and kidney failure
• Birth defects

In short, the stuff is seriously bad for one’s health and the environment. And it’s everywhere, mostly in homebuilding materials, but in fashion accessories as well.

When shopping for non-leather goods for humanitarian reasons, in mind that just because it’s non-leather, doesn’t mean it’s socially-conscience.

Stephanie-

I also thought about that at one point (when I stopped eating meat but continued wearing leather), but as it turns out the process of tanning leather has virtually the same consequences.

You do raise a good point though. Perhaps canvas, microfiber, and other fabrics are the best way to go.

By way of update:
Vegetarian Shoes and Bags have a new website design – making it easier to find more great vegan shoes and vegan handbags.

Cheers

I am trying to find the Cleo Roos Hobo Handbag in the light blue as pictured for my wife and can’t seem to find it. Any suggestions?

THANKS!

I can’t find that bag either!! Does anyone know where to get it?

That bag can be found on VeganUnlimited’s website if you can access it. I went to shopzilla.com and it came up, but then when you try to go to that individual website it never works. Good luck.

Its good to have something to choose other than leather. But are they eco-friendly?