Hold the animal, please

It can be tough to be a vegan with style.

Take shoes, for example. Try finding a good pair that aren’t made from leather. And most brands of lipstick are made with beeswax; some are even tested on animals.

That makes it pretty tough for vegans like Lindsey Packer to follow a strict dietary system that bars eating or wearing anything made from animal by-products. No meat, no dairy, no eggs ? not even honey.

Packer was used to purchasing her nondairy cheeses, spicy Tofurky and organic leeks, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to find shoes not made from leather.

So Lindsey and her mother, Melanie, decided to open their own clothing boutique, Humanitaire, specializing in animal-cruelty free, non-sweatshop clothing and apparel. And they picked the ideal spot, right across from a popular vegetarian restaurant at The Camp on Bristol Street in Costa Mesa.

“It’s really the perfect location,” said Melanie, a Carlsbad real estate investor and former music teacher.

The store sells mostly shoes, but carries a variety of clothing and makeup products. Lindsey said their goal is to educate the public about the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle and foster a dialogue with these growing communities in Orange County and throughout Southern California.

“We get a real diverse group of people,” she said. “Everyone from high school kids with nose rings to grandmas with blue hair.”

Veganism has been growing in popularity in the United States, thanks in part to a convergence of subcultures that also includes yoga, environmentalism and even punk rock. A 2000 Zogby poll commissioned by a vegan group estimated there were about 2.5 million vegans in the United States, and natural food grocers like Mother’s Market and Whole Foods are multiplying to meet that trend.

Humanitaire recently held an art show to reach out to vegetarian and vegan artists. Dubbed “Food without Faces,” the exhibition brought in a dozen Orange County artists with work depicting the cruelty animals endure at slaughterhouses.

Lindsey said she hopes Humanitaire can become a hub for people to discuss the prevention of such cruelty and other vegan issues, and tolearn about new vegan products coming on the market. Melanie said she’s open to recommendations from customers and will try to order products they request.

“We just don’t want to go with the earth shoes kind of look,” Lindsey said. “We realized that the vegan community is a diverse community and just doesn’t keep one type of style.”

In many cases, vegan textile materials last longer than traditional leather, she said. To drive that point home, she has one of her first pairs of synthetic leather Dr. Martens on display. The company doesn’t make the shoes anymore, but she said the point is not lost on her customers.

“In a lot of ways, vegan materials last longer,” Lindsey said. “They’re stronger and a lot more durable.”dpt.22-bizspot-C.1PhotoInfoP71R6BA620060522izn03tncKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Lindsey Packer, left, and her mother Melanie Packer, own Humanitaire, which specializes in clothing and accessories fit for a vegan.