Amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, Angana Maheshwari says that she noticed the lack of sustainable vegan leather handbags that were well-made, classically designed, practical, and affordable.
With the intention to create a positive impact on the world and encourage ethical consumerism, Maheshwari founded her own vegan bag company called Veganologie. All of this was done despite the fact that Maheshwari didn’t have any experience in handbag production.
As such, she recruited the talents of designer Sara Basar to lead as executive director. Holding a BA in fashion design from the IUAV University of Venice, Basar utilizes her diverse background of Albanian, Syrian, Turkish, and Italian to unify people of various cultures through the common language of sustainable fashion.
“It seemed like there was a gap in the market that I could fill, that would appeal to other people who also wanted to try to do something good for the planet. Living in Europe and the US has definitely made me acutely aware of the damage overconsumption is causing the planet. There is a sense of urgency for sustainability advocacy among my generation that transcends geography,” Maheshwari tells Vogue Arabia.
“Starting a business during the pandemic was definitely interesting to say the least,” adds Maheshwari. “But the collection wound up being even more sustainable because it was impossible to fly to China to have one-on-one meetings with the factories, which reduced our carbon footprint even more significantly.”
According to Veganologie, all of the materials used for its products and packaging are 100% recycled and Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified.
PU (polyurethane) vegan leather derived from plastic bottles is the key component used for Veganologie’s bags. Unlike PVC leather, PU leather is said to be less harmful thanks to being less chemical-heavy. Veganologie says that PU leather also doesn’t contribute to the change of PH levels in the soil.
All images in this article are courtesy of Veganologie.
