제 16 호 The Negative Side of the Vegan Fever on The Environment
Kicker: LIFE
The Negative Side of the Vegan Fever on The Environment
Su-Young Kim, Reporter
Have you recently purchased vegan cosmetics or clothes? These days, you can see that products that do not bother animals are produced and promoted in various ways. Because people tend to consider valuable consumption, so they find the keywords “animal protection” or “vegetable ingredients" attractive. When making cosmetics, they do not experiment with animals, and when making clothes, they use plastic or fake fur rather than animal fur. However, the way animals are treated can have a bad effect on the environment. Therefore, I am going to talk about how the method called vegan affects the environment and what measures are needed to solve the problem.
According to Grand View Research, a U.S. market research firm, the global vegan cosmetics market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6.3 percent to reach 20.8 billion dollars by 2025. Vegan and eco-friendly have become the center of consumption trends, with 9 out of 10 responders saying they will choose products that are beneficial to society and the environment when purchasing cosmetics in an Olive Young which is South Korea’s cosmetics store survey last year. A cosmetics official said, “This year, the concept of vegan gas quickly emerged as a new trend in the cosmetics market”, and explained “The focus is on the MZ generation of customers who value consumption.” Vegan, which does not bother animals, is also emerging in fashion. Luxury brands Hermes and Gucci are producing products made of vegan leather, also Canada Goose, famous for padded jacket, said last year, “We will finish producing products that contain coyote fur by 2022 at the latest.” In addition, London Fashion Week, one of the world’s top four fashion shows, has banned fur-made clothes since 2018, following the Cruelty Free’s wish that it did not harm or kill animals.
However, not using animal skins does not mean it’s environmentally friendly. This is because among artificial leather, polyurethane (PU) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) materials emit three times more carbon than cotton fibers and emit a lot of microplastics every time they are washed. As a result, the fashion industry is actively developing technologies to make “real” vegan leather. A typical one is leather made of ingredients extracted from mushrooms and cacti. Milo leather developed by U.S. startup Bolt Thread is made by cultivating mushroom mycelium on the corn stem and compressing it. It is collaborating with various luxury brands in recognition of its commercialization. In September last year, Stella McCartney introduced a bag made of Milo leather. An official said, “Leather using vegetable materials is attracting attention as a sustainable fashion because it helps farmers as well as the environment.” And predicted, “The value of vegan fashion will increase as the European Union (EU) is strengthening eco-friendly regulations by mandating the use of recycled fibers by 2030.”
The environmental protection group is concerned about environmental pollution caused by the generation of garbage that is difficult to recycle, saying, “It is less harmful to the environment than to buy three artificial leather products.” I thought there was only good things, but it was surprising to know the behind-the-scenes nature of vegan products while writing the article, and I was able to look back on my consumption habits so far. Animals and the environment are suffering a lot due to the current high level of development. I think our efforts are more necessary for life to coexist together. Why don’t you make reasonable consumption for both animals and the environment in the future? Even if it’s trivial and annoying to check everything, a little more our attention can protect both animals and the environment.
Sources:
https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/vegan
http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/View/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0002669909
