Vegan wallets & card holders

What makes vegan wallets worth buying

Vegan wallets skip animal leather, and the material that replaces it decides how well they age. Some cheap non leather wallets use plain PVC, which cracks along the folds within a year. Better options blend plant-based or recycled content into the coating and use a strong fabric backing. Votch makes its vegan wallet range from bio-based bamboo leather and AppleSkin, which uses waste from the apple juice industry. Check the edges and the stitching on any vegan leather wallet, because that is where wear shows first, and check the material line on each product, since a few styles here use other materials. Can leather be sustainable? The honest answer explains how the materials compare.

Card holders for a lighter pocket

A card holder carries the few cards you use daily and nothing else, so it slips into a front pocket or a small bag. A vegan card holder in bamboo-based leather or AppleSkin works as a card holder wallet if you only carry a note or two. Some styles add a key ring, and a slim card wallet with a money clip suits anyone who still carries cash. Count your everyday cards before you choose, then add one slot spare.

Minimalist and upcycled wallets

A minimalist wallet holds cards in a compact case, often with a pop-up mechanism that fans them out. Bear Essentials makes pop-up wooden wallets and minimalist wallets in bright colours. An upcycled wallet gives a second life to tough materials, and So Just Shop makes card holders from old tyre inner tubes and wallets from seatbelt webbing. Both suit anyone who wants something hard-wearing and a little different. A cruelty free wallet in wood or rubber also shrugs off rain better than most leathers, so it suits cyclists and anyone who carries a wallet in an outside pocket. No two upcycled pieces are quite the same, which is part of their charm.

Choosing the right size

Bifold and trifold purses suit people who carry coins, notes and loyalty cards, and coin wallets keep change in one zipped place. Match your wallet to the bag you carry most: a card holder for a crossbody, a purse for a larger bag. Pair it with a bag from Bags, a strap from Watches or a belt from Belts in the same bamboo-based material.