Cruelty-free fashion

Many years ago I became a vegetarian, however in recent years I have re-introduced fish into my diet, partly for health reasons - although I still don't eat meat. One of my reasons for becoming a vegetarian (having been persuaded by my oldest daughter Vicky!) was that I disliked the idea of animals suffering just to feed me, when I could easily survive on a vegetarian diet. If I'm not going to eat animals, logic says that I shouldn't wear them either, however I confess to having a few leather shoes and handbags in my wardrobe, even though I would draw the line at wearing fur.

That same vegetarian daughter has just started a new blog for the ethical consumer, expanding on her ideals: NOT BAD. Having read Vicky's first post, I suspect that she is going to persuade me to stop wearing leather too, or at least desist from buying any more leather products.

Looking back over the years, vegetarians used to get a bad press and were often mocked in the media for their beliefs. I guess it didn't help that some of them were very earnest and that vegetarian restaurants could be a bit boring! When it came to non-leather shoes, they weren't exactly the height of fashion either.

Readers, things have changed! You probably know that Stella McCartney is a committed vegetarian and therefore designs vegetarian footwear, but did you know that Vivienne Westwood and Karl Lagerfield have created collections for an ethical brand?  Neither did I till I read my daughter's blog.

Vivienne Westwood - Melissa shoes

What do you think about this shoe designed by Vivienne Westwood? I doubt if anyone would describe it as boring - I certainly wouldn't. Do you know of any ethical companies that produce stylish non-leather boots or shoes? If so, please share them with us.