Every year, hundreds and thousands of people participate in ‘Veganuary’ - a month-long worldwide charity campaign that sees participants go vegan for the full 31 days. 

In 2022, a whopping 620k people pledged to try vegan for the month, and companies launched more than 1,540 new vegan products and menu options in key campaign countries. 

This January marks the 10th instalment of the campaign, and there are set to be more pledges made than ever before, meaning more people than ever are trying out going vegan.

Of course, here at Vendula London, we understand that going vegan isn’t just about the diet but is also about our lifestyle choices, shopping habits and how we choose to see our planet and everything in it.

We surveyed 150 people and found that a massive 66.4% of respondents would be interested in trying out a vegan lifestyle for a month if it meant not changing their diet.

Following on from this, vegan experts at Vendula have put their heads together and come up with the following ways we can all be more vegan-friendly this Veganuary without altering what we eat:

• Opt for vegan fashion

• Only use vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics

• Ditch real fur and down feather 

• Research the culture & take time to understand it

• Check the products you already use every day are vegan-friendly 

• Do your research before you buy new products

For some, switching to a vegan diet for a month simply isn’t as feasible as it is for others.

We spoke to Alice Sanders from Easy Vegan Recipes, a vegan expert that understands why sometimes not everyone can participate in Veganuary when it comes to diet:

“There’s nothing unique about meat, dairy, or eggs that you can’t obtain from plants and supplements. However, certain conditions can make it harder for vegans; finding a specific vegan diet that works for a health condition may take months or years of painful trial and error. The resulting diet may also be restrictive and fail to meet long-term nutritional needs.”

“Some people, especially menstruating women, can find themselves with low iron stores on a vegan diet because many of the foods highest in iron are meats. Also, the “heme iron” in meat is easier to absorb than the “non-heme” iron in plants”, she explained.

With this in mind, we must look at other ways of incorporating a more vegan lifestyle into our everyday lives as the popularity of going vegan continues to rise.

Vendula London found that between January 2014 (when Veganuary started) and January 2022, Google searches in the UK for the topic of ‘Veganism’ have risen by a whopping 589%, with the more specific term ‘vegan fashion’ increasing by 400%.

At Vendula London, vegan leather is the primary material used in our bags and wallets. Vegan leather feels genuine but free from animal produce and cruelty. We’re proud to be a vegan-approved company, and every season our products are tested and certified by The Vegetarian Society.

Check out our wide range of handbags, purses and accessories today.