VEGANISM INSPIRES FASHION

That's the hed on yesterday's Inquirer "trend" piece on the growing number of fashion lines that are incorporating vegan options. "Dozens of merchants now offer wares that are labeled cruelty-free; the Web site Vegan Essentials offers hemp shoes and clothes. And Stella McCartney, long an activist for animal rights, has added shoes stamped 'suitable for vegetarians' to her collection. Her fabric-and-Lucite pumps are available at Nordstrom." It continues: "Vegan products are finding takers not only among the roughly six million Americans who call themselves vegetarians, but also among shoppers attracted to prices that are often 60 percent to 75 percent lower than leather. A spike in demand prompted Earth Shoes to introduce 15 vegan styles this year." That's all great, but I'm not mentioning it as some seismic development, only as a reminder that as options and alternatives increase, the stranglehold that animal-based products has had over our culture will continue to slip. And fewer outlets for, say, leather means higher prices for slaughterers who otherwise have to pay someone to get rid of the stuff. Baby steps...