I know you are going to love today´s podcast. Why? Because it is full of insights and great information. Today Shruti Jain, Co-founder of Address Chic is going to tell our fashion community at the podcast, what vegan fashion is and how she started her ecommerce site Address Chic.
ABOUT ADDRESS CHIC AND HOW IT STARTED
Address Chic is not a very common website. It is a digital magazine and a shop that is home to vegan and ethical products and articles.
We might think that Veganism is only related to food, but in reality, there is a lot more. The philosophy behind is based on being compassionate and do not hurt animals. So, vegans not only don’t eat meat, fish, eggs, etc… they also avoid animal products such as milk, honey, etc…Why? Because more often than not, the process or ways to get them are not too respectful or may hurt or stress the animals.
Behind this, there is huge respect for every living being. Shruti has been a life long vegetarian, and eventually, she moved to veganism. “It is a change that takes time and is a personal journey”.
She realized that keeping her philosophy in all the realms of her life was very difficult. And that is how the idea to curate and select products that will follow the requirements for a cruelty-free lifestyle started. Address Chic was born.
VEGAN FASHION?
In vegan fashion, there are certain materials that are not used, such a leather, wool, silks etc… Instead, they use organic cotton and new high-performance textiles that don’t contain any animal fibers, such as tencel, pinatex or mushroom leather.
It is not easy to find products that use these materials and are fair trade. Of course, if veganism is about compassion, not fellow humans are underpaid or mistreated in the process of producing the garments or accessories.
Stella McCartney is a vegetarian fashion designer that helped the world see that there are other possibilities, more environmentally friendly and more animal-friendly. The movement got a real push and exposure.
Shruti shares with us vegan designers that we can find on her page and that are worth watching.
- Veerah vegan shoes: http://shop.addresschic.com/designers/veerah.html
- Matt and Nat vegan handbags: https://mattandnat.com
- And their own label Faeth (from Fashion+ Ethical) vegan clothing & jewelry: http://shop.addresschic.com/designers/faeth.html
THE MARKET
The vegan market is very niche but there is a lot of space to grow. At the end of the day, the products might be attractive for many reasons: the design, the innovation behind, the comfort and of course, the cruelty-free care.
USA and Europe are bigger on it. In UAE, it’s still very incipient. That is why Address Chic ships worldwide. Also, because their products are produced all over the world, they are more kind of an e-marketplace. That means they don’t stock the items but make sure the selected suppliers do ship the right goods to the clients.
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Shruti wants to break the image that vegan, ethical or vegetarian fashion are only for the hippies or for the beach. She is taking her time to source stylish and cool garments and accessories that follow her requirements. But once you have them, you need to communicate and change the misperception the world has about these alternative proposals.
Of course, thanks to their digital magazine they have already a voice in the community. But as they are the first ones, they needed to go further. That is how she decided to do a vegan fashion look book. Using products in or out her website, she put together different looks for different occasions. Have a look at the lookbook and how it was done here!
Also, there is a TV program in the US that talks about veganism and they were invited to be part of its second season. You can imagine that brought a lot of exposure to the vegan fashion website and the magazine.
By the way, here you have the links to both sites: the magazine and the e-commerce if you want to have a look and share it with your friends and family. If you want to get in touch with Shruti or Ritika, you can email them or get in touch through their social channels. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram .
ABOUT DUBAI FASHION NEWS PODCAST
Did you know that Dubai Fashion News is a collaborative platform? Our mission is to help emerging talent thrive and get visibility. We have a lot of amazing partners and contributors that always support us and give us ideas to create new and fresh content. We write about it on the digital magazine and we speak about it on the fashion podcast.
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