Where ethics meet elegance: How LaBante London is setting a new standard for sustainable luxury
As the fashion industry faces growing accountability for its environmental footprint, LaBante London emerges as a defining example of what sustainable luxury should look like. Founded with a mission to create high quality products that not only merge beauty and desirability, but also to remain cruelty free and ethical, LaBante London blends high fashion aesthetics with unwavering ethical values- demonstrating that affordable vegan handbags and conscious consumerism can go hand in hand.
While often synonymous with glamour and luxury, the fashion industry has long grappled with a shadowed legacy- marked by overproduction, excessive waste, and exploitative labor practices. Fast fashion alone is responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions- leather production in particular, leaving behind a trail of environmental and ethical concerns. LaBante London instead defies this status quo, establishing a new standard to sustainable luxury. By weaving eco-consciousness into every element of its production, LaBante London champions sustainability, cruelty-free materials, and ethical sourcing as its foundation- redefining what it means to create with conscience.
Vegan Leather: A closer look at the material that's making high fashion more humane
When it comes to redefining material luxury, vegan leather is at the forefront of the evolution. LaBante London’s vegan leather handbags are meticulously crafted from plant-based and recycled materials, ensuring each piece is not only 100% vegan and cruelty free, but also fully biodegradable.
Unlike traditional leather, which depends on animal agriculture and harmful tanning processes, LaBante London’s affordable vegan handbags use a refined blend of vegetable by-products and polyurethane. This not only eliminates animal cruelty but also significantly minimizes the environmental footprint of production. The result? Ethical handbags that are as luxurious and stylish as they are compassionate.
LaBante London’s cruelty free handbags offer style-conscious individuals the opportunity to make a luxurious statement without compromise. They are more than just accessories- they are symbols of a movement toward biodegradable fashion and a more sustainable, future-focused industry.
Recycling and plastic use: Giving waste new purpose
Each minute, over one million plastic bottles are purchased globally, the majority of which end up discarded in landfills or oceans. LaBante London is actively addressing this issue by repurposing single-use plastics into each one of our products. The interiors of our vegan handbags and sustainable tote bags are lined with high-quality, durable polyester derived from recycled single use plastic bottles, reducing the amount of water used in product production, by 50%.
But Labante London’s commitment to sustainability does not stop at the bag itself- with every element of the packaging carefully designed with environmental consciousness in mind. Each item is encased in a dust cover made from recycled fabric and organic cotton. The cruelty-free sustainable handbags are then wrapped in recyclable tissue paper and accompanied by minimalist, recyclable swing tags, ensuring that every detail aligns with the eco- conscious principles that compose the foundation of Labante London’s values.
Greenwashing: What to avoid in the pursuit of sustainability
As sustainability increasingly becomes a selling point, numerous brands are embracing this trend- but not all are doing it with genuine integrity. This brings us to the issue of greenwashing: the practice of marketing products as ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘ethical’ without substantive actions to support such claims.
Terms such as 'natural,' 'eco,' or 'sustainable' may sound appealing when featured on a product tag, but their true meaning is often vague or misleading. To distinguish between authentic sustainability and greenwashing, look for transparency in sourcing- specific information about materials (such as 'crafted from 100% recycled plastic bottles'), and third-party certifications that verify claims.
LaBante London avoids the traps of greenwashing by offering full visibility into their supply chain, their use of certified factories, and clear breakdowns of the materials in each bag.
Whether purchasing vegan handbags, sustainable totes, or biodegradable accessories, choosing brands like LaBante London that exemplify integrity and genuine sustainability, rather than those that are arguably ‘greenwashed’, ensures that your fashion choices contribute to a more ethical and environmentally conscious future.
Ultimately, true sustainability in fashion requires both integrity and intentionality- values reflected in ethical materials, transparent sourcing, and conscious production. By rejecting overproduction and greenwashing, the industry can set new standards for luxury that prioritize both style and environmental responsibility. As consumers, our choices can drive a more ethical, sustainable fashion future- a future where elegance and sustainability coexist seamlessly.
Labante London’s classy ‘Mae’ bag in pink has been featured in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the ‘bags: inside out’ exhibition. The exhibition is running now until the 16th of January 2022, so be sure to check out the exhibition where our bag and other amazing designers work have been featured.
Choosing what to buy for a woman who deserves the world can be challenging, but we're here to help with some present ideas you just can’t go wrong with, worthy of the queens they are, for the upcoming holiday! These ideas take the environment into consideration making them low impact presents in terms of sustainability.
This past week we had a lovely cute baby orangutan featured on our Instagram and we received an overwhelming response to this post so we did some digging to give you more information and when we dug more it turned out the matter is much more serious than even we originally understood.
Not only are there many food and cosmetic brands that are using palm oil its found in everything from shampoo to donuts, palm oil is now the most common vegetable oil in the world—and also one of the world's leading deforestation drivers.!
Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the palm tree, which thrives in humid climates.
The majority of palm oil production occurs in just two countries, Malaysia and Indonesia, where huge forests are being cleared to make way for palm oil plantations...but when this habitat is cleared it does TWO horrible things :
To explain in a bit more detail to set up this palm oil plantation they need to BURN the peatlands which are carbon rich. What this means is that when they are BURNED both carbon and methane are released into the atmosphere and release global warming emissions for decades!! Yes you heard right DECADES! As if that wasn't bad enough, the burning of peatlands releases a toxic haze into the atmosphere, resulting in severe health impacts and significant economic losses. Each year, more than 100,000 deaths in Southeast Asia can be attributed to particulate matter exposure from landscape fires, many of which are peat fires.
Beyond its global warming and human health impacts, palm oil production also takes a toll on biodiversity and human rights. Only about 15 percent of native animal species can survive the transition from primary forest to plantation. Among the species vulnerable to palm oil expansion are orangutans, tigers, rhinoceros, and elephants. So it’s just not the baby orangutans there are other species ALL impacted by this crazy greed.
So what did we as a Western Society do … We set up a Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil Production (RSPO) If the company you want to order products from is a member then great there are some checks in place to ensure that they don’t OVERBUY palm Oil and the sources are supposed to be sustainable. 'The Accreditation Body will certify sustainable palm oil production, as stated in the RSPO Certification Systems. Growers will be assessed for certification once every 5 years, and if certified, will be annually assessed for continued compliance’- Source Rspco.org
What can we do to help ensure this deforestation stops?
Being on the RSPO is not a guarantee card that the deforestation will not continue the only way forward is if we as a community stand up and ask Vegan brands to stop using Palm oil in their products brands such as Oreo, Jordan Cereal etc lets ask them to just stop using it
If you have other ideas write to us on ecoblogs@labante.co.uk
Share the Love, Spread the Change!Love your LaBante?
Now’s your chance to share it with someone special! Introduce a friend to our world of sustainable luxury, and you’ll both enjoy a treat. It's our way of saying thank you for helping grow our eco-conscious community. Let’s make a difference together—one friend at a time!
Help us support a better tomorrow.
