Take a glimpse into my trip to Europe in September - with a particular focus on the Lineapelle material fair in Milan, Italy. Material is at the core of our ethos - specifically choosing not to work with animal hides - and sourcing innovative alternatives to leather provides both inspiration and education. The vegan fashion space has come a long way in the past decade + the future looks even brighter.
Introducing more bio-based materials into the Sans Beast handbag collection is our goal, and we're excited to launch more styles crafted in Italian Uppeal™ apple 'leather' as part of Series 14. Learn more about this innovative material.
TRAVEL DIARY: Cactus 'Leather' with Desserto Pelle in Guadalajara
By Cathryn Wills
Cathryn reflects on her visit to Mexico in early 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 crisis escalating in Europe / US / Australia + across the globe. One of the highlights of the trip was time spent with the founders of Desserto Pelle, the innovative business behind the cactus derived vegan 'leather'.
Whether it's for environmental or ethical reasons, more + more people are seeking alternatives to leather in the fashion space. The term 'vegan leather' has gained in popularity as a result. What does this mean, what are the options, is it better or worse for the environment? For Sans Beast, ethics will always be a fundamental element of this conversation - we don't believe animals should suffer for our fashion choices - however for many, it's a bigger conversation around the environment + finite resources, that resonates. We attempt to offer some insight on this subject in this blog post.
It's been awhile since we've written about our approach to raw materials + with the rapid change occurring in this space, combined with enthusiasm around the question of 'whats to come next for Sans Beast?', our founder, Cathryn Wills, has written an overview of our material roadmap. Read on for a recap of where we've come from, where we're at + where we're going. It's an evolving space + with collection leadtimes being 11+ months, combined with development cost investment challenges, it's one that moves slowly (but surely) for this independent, small business.
Sourcing materials is a major part of creating our vegan handbag collections at Sans Beast. With our core mission to use no animal products, we take a look at the range of biobased + manmade materials currently available for non leather handbags, and talk you through some of the issues in selecting the right materials. Cost, minimums, freight + commercial availability are all factors that come into play when we're compiling our wishlist for new collections.