Pants and shorts: tips on buying cruelty free items

Pants can be made of wide range of materials and fabrics, their shape could be very different especially the shapes of pant-legs but ultimately they serve some similar purposes – being polite by covering your legs (at least partly), comfort, practicality and fashion.

Common materials and fabrics used for pants production

Between all different types of pants, most of known fabrics and clothing materials can be used in production – from plant-based cotton, linen, hemp etc. to synthetic fibers as well as animal derived wool, silk and leather. Statistically speaking man- made materials are leading the way, being followed by cotton and some other plant-based fabrics. Animal based materials are used less often, still they are quite abundant on the market and worth paying attention for if we don't want to contribute to animal cruelty.

Buttons, zippers, decoration and other additions

Zippers and fly are made of light metals and will always be vegan, just make sure your zipper doesn't have a leather pull attached to it. Buttons are mostly vegan too, although it is possible to find ones made of animal's horns – those are very rare and unreliable and manufactures won't typically use them but it is worth checking out. Decoration on the other hand can be made of animal based materials, mostly leather, like in the case of derriere patch on some denim jeans. Some types of decorations can also be glued using animal derived adhesives (even though synthetic glues are most common and are on the rise). It is tough to check the ingredients of clothing glues - best way being asking the manufacturer.

Types of pants and shorts:

Denim jeans

Denim jeans are made from cotton and are animal friendly overall. But quite frequently manufacturers add leather derriere patch which proclaims some pants info, single-handedly making the pants 'guilty' of animal cruelty. You should be aware of it and make sure the pants you are buying doesn't have that leather patch.

Shorts

Shorts are worn during warm seasons and that is almost the only feature they all have in common. Shorts very in their length, shape, purpose and materials they are made of. Most of the production materials are plant based, man-made, synthetic or blended, yet some animal derived shorts or short's components can be found, for example leather derriere patch that is frequently put on denim shorts. Please be aware of that fact and take it into account during your shopping.

Sweat pants

Sweat pants are providing some warmth during cold seasons as well as great comfort wearing them. While aesthetics is as always quite important, those types of pants' primary role is to provide it's owner with some comfort and warmth and sometimes even some thermal insulation by the means of an air trapped between it's fibers or otherwise. Common materials for sweatpants are cotton, wool and synthetic fabrics like nylon or some kind of blended textiles. Although wool and other animal based sweat pants are less common then non-animal ones, it is still important to make sure you are purchasing a vegan option by checking the label.

Dress pants

Dress pants are worn especially as a work outfits or for special occasions. Although they may differ somewhat in shape, pattern and fabric thickness, comfort and aesthetics is the name of the game for this pants' type. Dress pants are mostly made of vegan (plant based or man- made) fabrics, common exceptions are wool and silk which is very commonly used in dress cloths. For that reason it is very important to watch out for your pants production material to avoid contributing to an animal cruelty. By the way, ahimsa silk, while very rare and quit expensive is a perfectly animal friendly option (see a paragraph about ahimsa silk in our animal based article fibers for more details).

Overalls and jumpsuits

Overalls and jumpsuits are very similar in their shapes, purposes and uses. They usually are used as a protective clothing while working but can be a fashionable item as well. Both types are made mostly of plant based materials, like denim that overalls historically were produced out of, and man made materials and blends. Although animal derived overalls and jumpsuits also probably exist.

Uniform pants and cargo pants

Uniform pants and cargo pants are made to withstand rough activities people perform on some of the toughest jobs known to man. As such they are made mostly out of tough enough fabrics, yet of those comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time and having fast drying properties. Cargo pants are also characterized by having a lot of spacious pockets. Those pants are mostly made of synthetic, cotton or blended fabrics, very rarely from animal based materials.

Outdoors and sport pants

please check our post on that topic here – outdoor and sports clothing

Leather pants

was really popular in the old days. Even though they aren't popular anymore at general public they do still exist and are worn by some groups. If you are one of the fans, you should know that they are great synthetic alternatives that look exactly the same and have all the same properties. Please choose those leather free alternatives for your outfit.

How to make sure the pants are vegan?

As for any other clothing type purchase, we advise the 3 main methods for ensuring type of materials our pants are made out of we have in our arsenal. Those are checking all the components on item's label, asking the store stuff and reaching out and asking the manufacturer for some information and clarifications. If you still have any doubt after those 3 steps, you can seek advise and counsel from vegan groups – ether local you can physically meet with or online – they will gladly help you.

Important issues other then animal treatment

Although this site's main concern is for animal treatment and veganism, there are 2 more main ethics issues with textile industry, namely workforce ethical treatmens and environmental impact. Unethical workforce treatment in a textile industry is a major concern that should be taken into account by the consumers and is worth our time as a consumers to educate ourselves on.
Likely, recycled and organic production will offer better solution for ethical and environmental concerns, but not always and they are far from being the only 'woke' textile producers. Companies specializing on vegan or cruelty free clothing production are also probably a good bet on ethical and environmental issues, although those products often are more expensive. Please be aware on those issues and keep them in mind during your next shopping trip for pants.