California Apparel News
Retail Notes
Vegan Fashion Store Humanitaire Builds New Location in Los Angeles
http://www.apparelnews.net/news/retailing/Vegan-Fashion-Store-Builds-New-Location-in-Los-Angeles

May 30, 2008

Vegans, who observe a strict diet that contains no animal products, have the same rigorous demands for their fashion choices.

Costa Mesa, Calif.–based Humanitaire opened a boutique two years ago to outfit this group, and now the company has expanded to another location.

In April, the 2-year-old store opened a mini-shop inside the Native Foods vegan restaurant at 1110½ Gayley Ave. in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The biggest sellers at the kiosk-sized Humanitaire location in Westwood are canvas tote bags made by Portland, Ore.–based Herbivore Clothing Co. The shop also sells T-shirts made by the same company, as well as stuffed animals made out of soy silk, a silk substitute not produced by silk worms.

Humanitaire co-owner Lindsay Packer said she believes there is a big enough vegan market to eventually support running a chain of Humanitaire stores on the West Coast. She estimates that 75 percent of her consumers at her 842-square-foot Costa Mesa location identify as vegan.

However, they are interested in some upscale looks, including purses. More than 40 percent of the store’s sales are handbags. A leading brand is Montreal-based Mat & Nat, which makes sophisticated-looking handbags constructed from leather substitutes.

Other popular items are vegan shoes designed by MacBeth Footwear, T-shirts by Herbivore Clothing and jewelry by Kenya-based Zulu Grass.

Packer also said that vegan and eco-fashion consumers shop on their own schedules. Her top day for sales is Earth Day, scheduled annually on April 22. It is busier than Thanksgiving Day weekend, the traditional start of the holiday retail season.  —Andrew Asch