Moto chic leather jackets are right on trend for Fall/Winter 2014, especially when paired with plaid, chunky sweaters, biker boots, and classic cut trousers. Eco-friendly options for a stylish leather jacket now abound, as so many labels and designers are embracing vegan leather or upcycling vintage leather into beautiful, new creations. Rock this trend with one of our 8 favorite picks from below!

1. Sweater Story Vegan Leather Jacket

This grunge inspired vegan leather jacket is just the ticket to a comfy and stylish winter look. Pair it with a plaid dress or skirt or a pair of ripped black jeans for the full ’90s look. $228

2. Kiind of Ryder Moto Jacket

This rocking vegan leather jacket has just the right mix of elegance and attitude. Wear it with an LBD on a night out or your favorite pair of jeans for weekend outings. $139

3. Pender Jacket

Olga Road’s upcycled leather jackets are all made from recycled leather materials. The Pender style is simple and clean, and easy to pair with any casual outfit. $229

4. Studded Vegan Leather Moto

This vegan leather jacket from Free People tops the chart for rocker chic, and definitely requires some serious attitude, a good bit of bling and a smoking hot outfit underneath it. $348

5. Kut from the Kloth Lincoln Faux Leather Drape Jacket

This chic and elegant vegan leather jacket from Kut from the Kloth is the perfect cover-up for a chilly fall evening or winter in a warmer climate. $88

6. The Moresby

The Moresby is another upcycled leather jacket from Olga Road that is available in a range of colors. Make it your fave new fall coat! $229

7. Vegan Leather Bomber by Hei Hei

Looking for something a little more elegant and sophisticated? This vegan leather jacket from Hei Hei is perfect for more formal occasions and outfits. $188

8. Sam Edelman Caitlyn Vegan Leather Jacket with Sherpa Collar

This vegan leather jacket is perfect for colder climates with its Sherpa collar. Wear it with your favorite jeans or over a winter dress, skirt or thick knit leggings. $154

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The leather biker jacket is a key wardrobe piece for spring and summer. Get the look, the ethical way, by choosing one made from upcycled leather.

One of the definite key wardrobe pieces this spring and summer is the leather biker jacket. It’s a beloved classic that will never go out of style and goes with anything from sweet floral dresses to tough distressed denim. This versatility makes it a great investment piece that will last you a very long time. Although leather is ethically questionable, it is also highly durable and, let’s face it, looks great. Luckily, there is a way to get this look without having to put your ethics aside – by choosing a jacket made from upcycled scrap leather. Here are four great-looking options for upcycled leather biker jackets.

Byron Retro Biker Jacket by The Sway
This cropped biker jacket by NYC-based The Sway comes in black as well as a rich tobacco color that gives it a great vintage feel. Ethically made from upcycled leather factory scraps.
$460, The Sway

Olga Road The Cypress C24 Jacket
Olga Road’s leather jackets start life as trench coats. After being sorted and examined to identify unique qualities, the designers incorporate design elements of the original piece into the new, upcycled version in creative ways. This one comes in black as well as navy and is a great classic pick that will go with whatever you decide to pair it with.
$197, Olga Road

Olga Road The Cypress C28 Jacket
If plain black is too, well, plain for you, opt for bright red, like this one by Olga Road. In addition to a great red-orange color, it features unique vertical piecework on the front, back and arms and has a nice heavy weight. Upcycled from old leather trench coats, it has inviting creases from the old leather and some slight dye irregularities that give it an offbeat yet mature personality.
$197, Olga Road

The Sway Momo Biker Jacket
Made by The Sway from upcycled factory leather scraps, this cropped version of the classic biker jacket features great patchwork detailing that sets it apart from the rest. Not only does it look good, but it ensures that even the smallest leather scrap can be put to use. Dress it up with killer heels and tuxedo pants or make it more casual with jeans and a plain white tee.
$690, The Sway

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Jill Danyelle pioneered eco-fashion blogging with her FiftyRx3 project. Her favorite outfit is a combination of family heirlooms, designer duds and activewear.

Six years ago, Jill Danyelle began a year-long project, documenting every outfit she wore on the blog FiftyRx3. As indicated by the name of the project, her goal was to make sure that 50% of her outfits were made up of the three Rs of sustainability: Reused, Reduced or Recycled. Now, as everyone and their mother (sometimes, quite literally) has a daily outfit blog this may not seem like anything unique, but at the time it was a groundbreaking experiment.

During the FiftyRx3 project, Danyelle also designed clothing. Among the projects that garnered the most attention was the 30-minute dress — sewn from an old T-shirt during a lunch break — and the umbrella dress — made from broken umbrellas gathered on the streets of NYC after a major rainstorm. A master of many trades, Danyelle now runs a successful business doing personal style and interiors. Her own NYC pad was recently featured on Design*Sponge.

During the time I have known Jill, I have always taken great pleasure in seeing her come up with creative outfits, usually put together from thrifted items that she often customizes using scissors and simple stitching. Her favorite outfit is an eclectic combination of family heirlooms, designer duds and activewear — a perfect reflection of the Downtown/Upstate girl that she is.

“My Mexican silver bracelet is a favorite piece. It was the first piece of jewelry that my father gave my mother. I love it for sentimental reasons, but it also happens to be very much my style. I often wear it with one of these beaded necklaces that I have had forever. The rings are lapis and turquoise that I bought myself in Mexico,” says Danyelle. “It seems such a NYC cliché to be dressed in all black, but didn’t someone say ‘Black always goes with black’? I admit this is an easy roll-out-of-bed go to outfit, but it is also comprised of some of my favorite things and very much represents my wardrobe philosophy. I tend to pull from many places and price points.”

“The leather jacket was purchased at a vintage shop in Lawrence, Kansas. I went to university there and still have good friends who live there. Layered underneath is a black cotton tank that was gifted to me from John Patrick from his ORGANIC line and an asymmetrical cashmere sweater from Maria Cornejo, who is one of my favorite designers. The leggings are actually a Patagonia base layer, so I am ready to climb a mountain or some subway stairs. The Prada boots are in heavy rotation as they are comfortable and work with everything. Finally, there is a navy cotton scarf in there that I love. It pinch hits as a wrap and in the summer months doubles as my towel and sarong at the beach.”

What we love about Jill’s style is that it’s a unique mix of old and new, high and low, eco and non-eco. She makes each piece her own by unexpectedly mixing it with the other treasures in her closet. That, is what personal style is all about.

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One of the favorite items inside Marc Alt’s (mostly black) closet is a custom made leather jacket, designed for motorcycle riding and a lifetime of wear.

Marc Alt is editor and founder of Open Source Cities, an idea marketplace for the future of cities. During a career dedicated to connecting design, technology and ecology, he’s worked with companies like BMW, MINI USA and Ogilvy Earth and is actively involved in a number of urban mobility and smart cities initiatives. He often travels presenting workshops on living systems, resiliency, ecological design and ancestral knowledge. It was during one of these trips that he acquired the perfect leather jacket.

“I think that the year was 2005. I was at a design conference in Boston, and I used that as an excuse to take a drive out to the coastal town of Fall River to visit the factory and headquarters of Vanson Leathers, one of the few custom leather shops at the time that was still working with horse hide. Since then, there has been a small resurgence of interest in horse hide, and other makers have introduced or re-introduced it as an option in their lines. But at the time, it was very hard to come by, and only one tannery that I know of, the venerable Horween in Chicago, was still processing it.”

“I have a special affinity to horses, having grown up around them as a kid, and now living among them in California. I’m studying ancestral knowledge and primitive technology in my current work and life, and leather has an important role in the history of human civilization. Leather is the oldest continuously used material known to man. Its use pre-dates recorded history. Since at least 2,000 B.C, leather was used in China as currency and for weapons and armor. It is referred to in The Bible, Genesis 3:21. The same qualities that made it valued by ancient cultures make it valuable in modern times. Many traditional cultures believed that by wearing the skin, horns or feathers of an animal they took on some of its characteristics and gained some of its strength. For them, wearing leather communicated that strength as well as purpose and identity.”

Leather has always been one of those divisive topics among environmentalists, but if sourced properly it is a material that will last for generations. And the value of true craft should never be underestimated.

“How we acquire and process leather in modern times is far less considered, sacred or ethical, and represents often a very shameful legacy. However, very often, garment leather is in fact a byproduct of another industry and using it is part of a natural cycle that would otherwise be wasted. I strive to source leather from known or vintage sources, but at the time I wasn’t as aware in my purchasing as I am today.”

“Vanson is not the oldest leather company in the U.S., they have been around since the 1970s, but they have a heritage and specialty of making custom leathers, by hand, to the highest standard, for the sport bike racing industry. At their cavernous building, they still perform drum-dyeing, tanning, finishing, waxing, cutting and stitching by hand. Drum dyeing is a process in which leather is tumbled for hours with a mixture of oils, dyes and hot water in 12 x 12 foot oak drums.”

“I wanted a simple, basic black leather jacket that would last me for life, and be an heirloom that could be passed down. I also wanted something custom fit for riding. Most of the off-the shelf leather jackets have sleeves that are too short and ride up your arm while riding a sport bike or café racer style bike. I wanted something a little longer in the arms and body. After I spent some time wandering through countless racks of garments in their warehouse, someone emerged from their sewing shop, measured me up and took my order. The jacket arrived a few months later and has been with me ever since.”

In this new weekly column, we’ll take you inside the closets of some of our favorite people, asking them to choose one piece that defines them in some way and also, to tell the story behind it. To us, style is not about being a follower of trends, coveting this or that season must-have, it’s about carefully selecting pieces that deserve to be in your closet because they represent you. Personal style is something that lasts through years and fads — just like that favorite piece in your closet.

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