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Best Vegan Belts (Vegan Leather, Cork, Cloth & Beyond!)

Sep 25, 2024 (Updated Sep 25, 2024) By: Michelle Cehn

Where can you find the best vegan belts? In this guide we'll outline the most popular brands of vegan belts, how to find "accidentally vegan" belts at mainstream stores like Target and Walmart, and what vegan leather belts are made from.

A brown vegan belt from the shop Will's Vegan Shoes.

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Once you start making more conscious food choices, you’re likely to become more aware in other aspects of your life too. Which is probably why you’re here! Bravo! We vote with our dollars and the brands and products we buy do have an impact on others, whether we think about it or not. Just as choosing vegan food can help create a kinder world, so can choosing ethical products, clothing, and even belts! So today we’re going to talk all about just that: vegan belts.

Are you ready to give your belt collection an upgrade? Luckily, you have a few options to think about. One is to support specifically vegan belt brands that are ethically made—although these do tend to be a bit more expensive. Or, if you’re shopping on a budget, you can look for “accidentally vegan” synthetic belts at mainstream stores like Target, TJMaxx, and Walmart.

And of course, the most sustainable option of all…you can buy belts secondhand. (This is where the thrill of thrift shopping comes in!) If you’re ready to make a change, we’re here to help every step of the way!

Table of Contents

Accidentally Vegan Belts

If you’re looking for “accidentally vegan” belts, you’re likely to find them at big stores that carry lower-cost items (since non-leather belts are generally much more affordable than leather). Check the belts they carry for labels that say:

All man-made material
All synthetic materials
Don’t have a leather symbol

If you have the financial flexibility to support more conscious brands that are specifically vegan, that’s wonderful! Below you’ll see some of the most popular specifically vegan belt brands.

100% Vegan Belt Brands

Another vegan-friendly option includes Slide Belts, which come in either faux leather or canvas.

Vegan Belt Materials

If you check out some of the stellar vegan belt brands above, you’ll notice that there are tons of different materials that can be used to make belts—without harming animals. The sky is the limit these days—we have beautiful belt options made from cloth, cork, vegan suede, mushroom leather, cactus leather, recycled tire rubber, and beyond! Some of the most common include:

Apple leather
Cactus leather
Canvas
Cloth belts
Cork belts
Cotton belts
Polyester belts
Mushroom leather
Nylon belts
Pineapple leather
Vegan leather belts
Vegan suede belts
Elastic belts
Rubber belts

There are many new types of sustainable vegan leather innovations coming to life too, such as pineapple leather, tree bark leather, apple leather, and even mushroom leather. It’s exciting to see fashion industry icons like Stella McCartney embracing these new more sustainable fabric options.

What to Do With Old Leather Belts?

One of the questions that every new vegan asks when they start to move to non-leather belts and cruelty-free clothing is:

“What should I do with my old leather belts (and leather bags, and leather boots, and all my other non-vegan items)?”

We discuss this question in depth in our Vegan Clothing & Fashion episode of the Plant-Powered People Podcast. But in short, you have a few options. Which route you take is completely up to you, your comfort level, and your financial means.

Use your non-vegan items until they’re totally worn out, and commit to buying vegan items going forward.
Donate them to a shelter where they will be given at no-cost to someone who can’t afford to buy these items.
Give or sell them to a secondhand shop (there are even online thrift store like ThredUp) so that someone else can use them until they’re worn out.
Give them to a friend who you know will get use out of them.

What NOT to Do

Please, please, please don’t just throw your non-vegan items away!

While it may not “feel good” to wear or use items that aren’t aligned with your ethics, the reality is we can’t go back in time and un-buy items we’ve purchased. If you just throw them away, that animal died in vain. There are people in need who can’t afford clothing, and to throw away something that’s in usable condition is needlessly wasteful. Accept the imperfection of the situation and just commit to making more conscious buying choices going forward!

We hope this helps you figure out what to do with your non-vegan belts and other items, and empowers you to choose more thoughtfully produced items going forward!

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