Piñatex, cotton and other vegan materials are more sustainable than leather.
No animals are killed or exploited for vegan shoes.
Vegan shoes are often produced under higher social standards for employees.
This platform was created to make it easier for vegans to find shoes and to make vegan lifestyles even more accessible. All shoes on this website are 100% vegan. Shoes listed on this site are either directly confirmed to be vegan by the manufactures or from the product descriptions.
In order to explain what vegan shoes are, one must at least briefly touch on the subject of veganism. Veganism seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals. While many people associate veganism with diet alone, there are many nonfood products on the market that are often of animal origin - such as shoes. Vegan shoes are shoes which do not contain any animal materials (e.g. leather or wool) and for which no byproducts of animal origin have been used in the manufacturing process.
The question should be rather, why not vegan shoes? There are so many more durable, sustainable, and animal-friendly materials than leather and the like. So why should we still buy shoes made of materials of animal origin when we can have shoes without the cruelty that are better in every possible way?
You should make sure that the manufacturer states that the shoes are vegan, or even better, that the shoe has been verified to be vegan by a vegan certification body (e.g. V-label, vegan flower). If the manufacturer does not know if the shoes are vegan, or if you do not want to ask the manufacturer, you can try to identify the materials using the material identification symbols. However, if you want to be 100% sure that a shoe is vegan, then you should not rely on it, as animal adhesives may still be present, or the manufacturer may be testing the product/materials on animals.
Don't worry - we've done the work for you and asked many shoe manufacturers if and what vegan shoes they offer. We only publish shoes here that we know are vegan.
Unfortunately it is often the case that some materials are not easily recognizable from their appearance, so it is important that you buy certified vegan shoes or shoes where the manufacturer at least indicates that they are vegan. Below is a list of some materials found in non-vegan shoes:
There are almost no limits to creativity here. However there are still some materials that are repeatedly found in vegan shoes:
Most shoes are not vegan because we have not yet given manufacturers any reason to change. The manufacturers like to rely on years of experience and habits and thus they continue using materials such as leather and wool while we too easily overlook the fact that this concerns the skins and pelts of sentient animals. Many people believe that the materials used are local byproducts from the animal food industry - but the opposite is often the case. Animals are bred specifically for clothing and shoes! Animals that feel pain and are killed against their will. Our society has normalized the belief that it is acceptable to exploit other living beings for our benefit, but this is not at all necessary. Many manufacturers have already recognized this and are developing new materials that are more durable, more sustainable, and contain no animal derivatives. We ask everyone to consider vegan shoes, even if they are not yet vegan themselves. Every small step is a step in the right direction.
It is very effective to contact the manufacturers and ask if they have vegan shoes in their collection. Another possibility is to of course buy vegan shoes, perhaps not only for yourself, but also as a gift for others.
No. Vegan only means that no animals have been exploited for the product. It says nothing about the social, environmental, or health aspects behind the production. If you want to ensure that people have been treated fairly, look for products that have been Fair-trade certified. The origin of the materials used and the country in which the product was produced should also be taken into account.
The word vegan is neither protected nor regulated in any way by law nationally, EU-wide, or worldwide. This only underlines the importance of vegan certification bodies that issue certificates not only for food, but also for other products such as vegan shoes.
There are a few manufacturers who have their products certified. For the time being it is mostly small manufacturers who specialize in vegan, sustainable, and fairly produced shoes and/or clothing. However, the demand for vegan products is constantly increasing - so it is to be hoped that even larger manufacturers will soon change their minds and certify their products as well.
A shoe is sustainable if it has been manufactured in such a way that it has the least possible impact on the environment. This includes the way raw materials are sourced, the processing, the transport route and the recyclability of the shoe. Of course, it is often impossible for the end customer to find out all these things. However, there are still a few signs that can be taken into account when making a purchase:
In order to further increase the sustainability, one can also follow these steps:
