What is vegan fashion? It’s clothing and accessories not made from animal products and no animals were harmed in the process of manufacturing.

You can tell if anything you wear is made from animals if it contains leather, wool (angora, sheep, cashmere, mohair), fur, feathers and silk.

Alternatives to animal materials are pleather, hemp, cotton, linen, microfiber, nylon and polyester.

Even if you don’t care about the protection of animals you may still want to wear vegan clothing, it’s also planet friendly. Most vegan fashion is made from recycled and biodegradable materials.

Fashion containing animal products does have its downsides such as expensive maintenance, odor, the inability to circulate air through the material making the wearer sweat, and the fact that it’s not considered fashionable anymore.

Downsides to vegan fashion are that not all stores carry them and the vegan material isn’t as durable.

You could be wearing vegan fashion without even realizing it. Brands like Chinese Laundry, Steve Madden, Asics, Macbeth, Saucony, Blackspot, Ben Sherman and Stella McCartney carry vegan fashion.

The highlight of vegan fashion is the cool and unique shoes. Macbeth, Asics, Saucony and Ben Sherman come out every season with new and savvy shoes for men geared at the trendy and conscious wearer. Band members who live the vegan lifestyle even design these shoes for the company, encouraging fans to do the same.

Blackspot is a shoe company created by Adbusters, a non-profit, anti consumerist magazine geared at the alternative reader. Their shoes were created to compete with Nike without the use of child labor, cheap labor or animal material. Their shoe is American union made and has no brand label except a matte black spot on the heel.

For the high fashion wearing woman, Stella McCartney designs everything eco and animal conscious for the runway and even has a vegan cosmetics line.

This summer might be the perfect time to start trying vegan fashion. Cute vegan flats and sandals made from recycled plastics and rubber are in stores now, in colors like hot pink, yellow, purple and blue, perfect for summer.

A great place to find a huge selection of vegan fashion is the shops on Haight Street in San Francisco. Stores like Villains, Verd’s Funk and Ambiance carry vegan fashion.

If vegan materials aren’t your thing, simple thrift store shopping where people can re-use wasted animal materials is always a good first step.