By Ivy Dai, Staff Writer
U-Entertainment
Article Launched:11/28/2006 10:07:48 PM PST
Vegetarians can have a hard time, not only in finding places to eat, but in avoiding clothing made from animal hides and fur. For those who have made a commitment to refuse to wear fashions made from animals, finding quality shoes, belts, and purses that are not made of leather is a challenge.
One place to find these and other so-called cruelty-free items is at Alternative Outfitters.
"We focus on mainstream fashion," Alternative Outfitters co-founder Jackie Horrick said. "A lot of people don't even know its cruelty-free."
Horrick and her partner Henny Hendra, both Pasadena residents, started an online store three years ago to offer trendy and fashionable products that were kind to animals, too. The company recently opened a showroom in Pasadena.
Horrick has been a vegetarian since she was 9 and is now vegan. Hendra became a vegetarian a couple of years ago.
Vegetarians avoid eating meat, but vegans go farther than that by refusing to eat fish, dairy products, gelatin and honey; they won't buy items made of wool, leather, silk, down or bone; and they boycott cosmetics and other products that are tested on animals.
A small percentage of American adults describe themselves as vegans, according to a Times/CNN poll done a few years ago. But lots of Alternative Outfitters' clients are college students who are interested in learning more about the vegan lifstyle, but still want to buy stylish clothing.
"I was a total freak when I first decided to not eat meat," Horrick said. "But with each new generation, we're becoming more aware."
Shopping cruelty-free is also in vogue: Celebrity vegans and animal rights activists like actress Linda Blair and TV star Persia White of "Girlfriends" have bought products from Alternative Outfitters.
Horrick said environmentally-conscious clothing is less expensive. Usually, leather substitutes like polyurethane are cheaper than leather, she said.
They don't sell clothes made of silk, wool or fur; rather, they are made of pleather, canvas, nylon, cotton and hemp. They also indulge a little; for example, the company offers fake fur puffy vests that are just as attractive as the real thing.
Some of the company's best-sellers are cell-phone pouches and T-shirts with quirky messages like "I (heart) Tofu." There's also hair, makeup and skin care lines from Beauty Without Cruelty, Crazy Rumors, Alba, Ecobella and Giovanni (organic hair care). Beeswax and carmine, a red dye made from crushing small beetles, are common ingredients in beauty products, said Horrick.
Most people come in looking for shoes, though, and there's a large selection — and we're not talking about tennis shoes and clunky clogs. Steve Madden and Chinese Laundry have a vegan-friendly line that offers work shoes, and slingblack platform heels with embroidery detail.
This fall, Alternative Outfitters offers flat knee-high boots with buckles and casual slip-ons and wedges in brightly-colored and camouflage prints by Sugar.
For men, there are casual and dressy shoes; the Jimmy slip-on vegan dress shoe is $55.
Hendra said she tests all the shoes before they are offered for sale, but warns that non-leather shoes can be uncomfortable if you're picky about that. Fashion and comfort purists swear by leather shoes and purses because they're comfortable and last forever. It's difficult to go completely cruelty-free, but any small thing clients do to avoid animal products makes a difference, Horrick said.
"Taking all animal products out of your life becomes a whole lifestyle," Horrick said. "Not everyone is ready. But if one person buys shoes from us versus leather ones elsewhere, it's a step in the right direction."