Thankfully, our shopping habits are becoming leaner, greener, and far more considered than ever before. It feels somehow retro and out of touch to shop quite so consistently and with such abandon as we used to. Homeware brands themselves are urging us to buy once and well, rather than peddling “newness” and trapping us into this tacit loyalty with built-in obsolescence. We are also becoming far more discerning about the provenance of our purchases and the materials they comprise. Living in blissful ignorance about the animal cruelty and exploitation that goes into some of our most commonly used materials has become faux pas, and the enlightened few are steadily becoming the illuminated many.
In exciting news, Peta, the animal rights charity, has confirmed its list of winners for its 2022 Vegan Homeware Awards. Although the winning brands are largely not cruelty-free, it is a great sign that some of the big names in mainstream homeware design are pioneering innovation that serves to protect animal rights, with eco materials and alternatives to animal-derived fabrics. Vegan home furnishings are not just designed with animal welfare in mind, but they also have much smaller carbon footprints than those made from leather and wool, for example, as animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of the climate crisis.
