Matt & Nat

So here's the thing about Matt & Nat-they've been doing the vegan leather thing since 1995, way before it was cool. Like, we're talking Montreal in the mid-90s when most people thought "vegan accessories" meant hemp sandals and burlap tote bags. But these folks? They had a different vision.

The name itself is kind of clever. MAT(T)ERIAL and NATURE. Get it? And their whole "live beautifully" motto isn't just marketing fluff-it's basically their entire philosophy wrapped up in two words. They're committed to never using leather or any animal-based materials in their designs. Ever. That's a pretty bold stance for a fashion brand, especially one that's been around for nearly 30 years.

Here's what makes them interesting, though. Since 2007, every single lining in their bags has been made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. We're not talking about a small percentage or "up to" some number-it's all recycled bottles. And get this: by 2018, they'd recycled over four million plastic bottles just for their bag linings. That's a lot of water bottles that didn't end up in landfills.

But the materials story gets even better. They've been experimenting with all sorts of stuff-recycled nylons, cardboard, rubber, cork, and even windshield resins. Their Purity collection uses PVB, which is made from 100% recycled windshield glass resin. And more recently, they've started testing fruit skin fibers and even launched bags made from apple waste from the juice industry. It's like they're constantly asking, "What else can we turn into a stylish handbag?"

The brand's grown pretty significantly too. What started as a wholesale operation now includes 14 standalone stores across North America, from Montreal to New York's Soho, plus outlet locations. They're in over 800 boutiques worldwide-Canada, the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Australia. CEO Manny Kohli has been pretty strategic about the expansion, making sure not to cannibalize their wholesale partners while building brand awareness.

And people have noticed. Celebrities like Natalie Portman (makes sense-she's famously vegan), Charlize Theron, and Olivia Wilde have been spotted with Matt & Nat bags. The brand's Instagram has over 321,000 followers, which is pretty solid for a niche accessories brand.

Now, it's not all sunshine and recycled plastic bottles. If you dig into reviews, you'll find some customers complaining about quality issues-seams coming apart, materials tearing after limited use. There's also been criticism about their use of PVC in some collections, which isn't exactly eco-friendly despite the recycled linings. The company has acknowledged this and says they prefer PU over PVC and have been transitioning collections away from PVC, but it's still a work in progress.

Their return policy is pretty standard-30 days for returns or exchanges, but sale items are final. And here's a quirk: online purchases can't be returned to physical stores, which seems a bit inconvenient in 2025. Customer service has gotten mixed reviews too, with some people saying it's hard to reach them by phone.

But overall? Matt & Nat carved out a real niche in the vegan fashion space. They're not perfect, and they're definitely not the cheapest option out there, but they've proven that you can build a successful accessories brand without using any animal products. Whether that's enough to justify the price point is up to each shopper, but at least they're trying to do something different.