A Spotlight on Vegan Companies and Businesses
throughout the United States and a few beyond - updated May 2006
by M. 'Butterflies' Katz
co-author of Incredibly Delicious; Recipes for a New Paradigm
by Gentle World www.gentleworld.org
| International Vegetarian Union (IVU) | |
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A Spotlight on Vegan Companies and Businesses throughout the United States and a few beyond - updated May 2006 by M. 'Butterflies' Katz co-author of Incredibly Delicious; Recipes for a New Paradigm by Gentle World www.gentleworld.org |
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Vegan Virtual Shopping Sites based in the USA - California: Allison's Gourmet is an on-line organic, vegan artisan bakery and gift company that sells ONLY vegan products. Presently, the product line includes cookies, brownies, monthly clubs, gift-boxed chocolate truffles and caramels, special holiday items, gift tins, and gift baskets and the product line is always expanding! Allison Rivers Samson, the company owner, has been vegan for 10 years, and a vegetarian for 8 years before making the transition to veganism. The answer she gives for becoming vegan is that she couldn't find any reason NOT to be, so it was an obvious and natural choice! A lifelong passion for sweets, coupled with a reverence for our planet and all of its inhabitants led Allison to open Allison's Gourmet in 1997, after eight years of carefully perfecting her recipes to rival or surpass any baked goods available. Allison's Gourmet won the Best Brownie Award in VegNews Magazine's Veggie Awards. Being the very first on-line vegan bakery, Allison's Gourmet has been featured in many print publications, like The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, Vegetarian Times, VegNews Magazine, Healing Lifestyles & Spas, Woman's Day, E: The Environmental Magazine, Veggie Life, The Vegetarian Journal, The Puget Sound Business Journal, as well as several books, countless web site reviews, on the television shows Good Day L.A. and The Rosie O'Donnell Show, and is endorsed by numerous celebrities in the entertainment business and the animal rights movement. Located at PO Box 2454, Nevada
City, CA. 95959 ; Phone: 800-361-8292 ; AlternativeOutfitters.com sells ONLY vegan products and is the brainchild of animal lover and vegan, Jackie Horrick. She has been vegetarian for 26 years, and a vegan for the last 3 years. Half of the staff is vegan. Jackie wanted to create an online resource where people from all over could find fashionable leather alternatives and cruelty-free personal care items in one location. As a little girl, Jackie, adored animals of all kinds and essentially 'adopted' a neighbor's goat, sheep and lambs - to the dismay of her mother. At 9 years old, she had a life-altering trip to Greece. While there, her hotel was across from a butcher shop. She watched as three helpless lambs were pulled from the back of a truck, tied up and weighed. The next morning, their carcasses hung in the window of the shop. Jackie quickly made the connection that the meat we consume actually comes from a living, breathing animal. It was at that point she became a vegetarian. She always dreamed of having a career that she could be proud of and enjoy doing. She thought of various career paths she could take, but the idea of starting her own company was terrifying. However, she knew she needed to do something that was near and dear to her heart, and it had to be something that she believed in. Her 'Ah-Ha! moment' came when she realized she always had a problem finding shoes that were stylish, good quality and not made of leather. She knew there had to be other people out there who faced the same dilemma. Within months, she teamed up with friend Henny Hendra, created a business plan and after 6 months of planning, Alternative Outfitters was born and went live in April 2004. The web site offers a tremendous selection of leather alternatives and cruelty-free products, including: non-leather footwear, handbags, belts, cellphone pouches, makeup, nail care and skin care, T-shirts with a message, vegan outerwear; faux suede jackets and wool-free scarves and hats. At long last, Jackie is finally living her dream. Recently they've won their 2nd annual Proggy Award from P.E.T.A. (Best Animal Friendly Retailer for 2005) and a 2005 Veggie Award from Veg News Magazine for the sassiest on-line store. 556 S. Fair Oaks Ave. #430,
Pasadena, CA 91105 (We do not have a store front, we are an online retailer).
Vegetarian Shoes and Bags sell ONLY vegan products. The company owner is a vegan for 10 years and 100% of the staff is vegan. The online site has been in business for 3 years offering men's and women's shoes, boots, sandals, handbags, belts, and pet carriers. The owner, Daniela, tells us "I love fashion, especially shoes and felt there just weren't enough choices out there to find stylish and fashionable shoes. It was very time consuming and frustrating searching shoe stores for non-leather, vegan shoes. Many of them have leather soles or leather insoles. I felt there was a market out there for other professionals with the same dilemma." Daniela explains her move to veganism, "I became vegan ten years ago on Thanksgiving. I was biting into my traditional Thanksgiving turkey when it hit me and I felt the sheer panic this poor animal felt at the moment of slaughter. I spit out the meat, went home, cleaned out my kitchen and fridge, went vegan cold turkey (no pun intended) and haven't looked back since." In conclusion she adds, "We strive to make a difference in this world not only by providing cruelty free-footwear, but also by donating a generous portion of our profits to animal rescue and rights groups." 14101 Oxnard Street. Van Nuys,
CA 91401, U.S.A. (office only) |
