In the quest to figure out what’s really in your beauty products and what they do not only to your skin but to the planet, it’s good to know that there are brands you can truly trust. A new brand to add to your list is Teal Botanicals – a New York City-based beauty brand that makes organic, vegan and cruelty-free products for the face and body. Ideal for conscious skincare consumers and those with allergies, the products are formulated without petrolatum, formaldehyde, mineral oil, triethanolamine, synthetic fragrances, parabens, sulfates and other concerning or toxic chemicals. Tea ..read more

Plastic. It’s probably one of the most used words in the sphere of sustainability over the past couple of years. We all know that single-use plastic cups, straws and water bottles are bad news for the environment, and generally the population have gracefully accepted sustainable alternatives that are better for themselves and for the planet. When it comes to plastic within beauty, there has again been a major focus on the packaging of products, the type of plastic used and whether it can be recycled. However, it’s not just the plastic on the outside of our cosmetic go-tos that is th ..read more

  Left: vintage cotton floral dress and brooches, Hunter boots (stylist’s own) Right: Vivienne Westwood cotton shirtdress and climbing ropes worn as belts, vegan Dr Martens boots The current state of the world sometimes reminds me of a short story by Daphne du Maurier which I read by a while ago, called ‘Don’t Look Back’. In it, a hotel room is described as a borrowed place to stay, somewhere to arrange one’s things as at home, and once left, the room and all its memories cease to exist. The very idea of this feels in line with a percentage of people in power at the moment. The attitude ..read more

After last year’s success, all eyes were on this year’s Vegan Fashion Week: what would founder Emmanuelle Rienda and her team of ethical style enthusiasts come up with this time? Well, now we’ve got the answer: nothing short of something extraordinary.  Held in October this year, this Vegan Fashion Week featured designers such as Nicoline Hansen, Enda, Minttu Melasalmi, Wasted LA and more creators of stylish and innovative cruelty-free designs. The event also featured several educational talks and panel discussions such as “How to Build a Vegan Brand: Vegan Fashion 101,” Social Justice ..read more

When I launched this site six years ago, I had a clear vision of what I wanted it to be. The idea came to me while sitting at my desk at my fashion job in Milan, looking through some Fashion Week photos (yes, I was actually required to do that for work! And yes, I still left that job). Up to my eyeballs in glamour and sophistication, something stood out to me: the constant repetition of certain words. Fur. Leather. Snakeskin. Cashmere. Dead animals. Dead animals. Dead animals. I had stopped eating meat at the age of 11 – as soon as I had realised that humans can be vegetarian. It was obv ..read more

Advertorial presented in collaboration with Ultrafabrics As international fashion events such as Helsinki Fashion Week are refusing to show leather on the catwalks and Fashion Week is targeted with anti-leather protests, it seems like the fur debate is over – the next big issue in fashion is leather.  The fashion industry is turning to new suppliers who are offering varied, sophisticated and durable alternatives to animal skins and toxic synthetics such as PVC. One of these suppliers is Ultrafabrics – already working in a variety of industries, the PU specialist is now branching out into ..read more

Photo by Jordan McKinsey After last year’s successful first event, Vegan Fashion Week is returning to Los Angeles, with the latest in material innovation and sustainable style.  On 10-15 October, Vegan Fashion Week founder Emmanuelle Rienda is bringing another four days of runway shows, captivating seminars and exciting exhibitions to showcase the finest in cruelty-free style. This season’s theme, Fashion Is Activism, will interpret the way that fashion interacts with the issues facing our planet at this time such as the climate breakdown. “The relationship between fashion, factory farmi ..read more

The recent Amazon wildfires shook the sustainable living community to the core. Outrage was expressed, memes were shared, and change was repeatedly called for. And with good reason: the Amazon rainforest – the largest remaining rainforest area in the world – is home to at least 10% of the world’s known biodiversity and over 30 million people, including some ancient tribes thought to be among the oldest ever. It also provides 20% of the oxygen that our planet needs to survive.  The Amazon rainforest is also the largest carbon dioxide sink in the world, meaning that it stores compounds tha ..read more

photo by The Hendrys This article contains affiliate links Here at Vilda we’re massive fans of the growing vegan wedding trend – so when we found out that an actual vegan wedding fair was coming to Los Angeles, we were beyond curious. If you’re planning your big day, this is the perfect event to dream and get inspired to create an unforgettable event that’s free from cruelty.  Taking place in Los Angeles (because where else?) on September 8th, the Kind & Luxe Bridal Boutique is an idea born from a collaboration between Daniela Degrassi, founder of vegan bridal online community The Ki ..read more

UPDATE: We have had news from the brand that the court case was won – the court ruled that “apple leather” was an acceptable term to describe vegan bags. A win for progress! In rather absurd news from the fashion industry, a vegan fashion startup is being targeted by a leather-producing giant over a fabric name. This David-versus-Goliath scenario sees German vegan fashion brand Nuuwaï, whom we included in our edit of the best apple-leather products, being taken to court by the German Leather Federation (VDL) for…using the term “apple leather” to describe their bags. The VDL’s motivation is ..read more