While embracing the journey of adopting a vegan lifestyle, at some point you might wonder where to find vegan shoes because they are essential and also one of the things I find most frustrating to find.
The good news is that there is an abundance of vegan shoes available, and they are easily accessible. Even large, well-known brands like Adidas and Skechers are now offering vegan alternatives.
*There are some affiliate links in this article*
Why Vegan Shoes?
Before diving into all the available options, let’s consider the benefits and importance of buying vegan shoes, free from leather and other animal products.
From an ethical standpoint, leather production has significant implications for animal welfare.
Most leather products are manufactured via factory farming, which means that animals suffer throughout their lives and often live in very confined spaces1. Eventually, they are being sent to a slaughterhouse, where they experience stress and pain.
It’s important to note, that leather production is not just a by-product of the meat industry.
In fact, leather has been found to be responsible for more than a quarter of the cattle trade in Brazil.
It is estimated that in 2025, 430 million cows will be slaughtered for leather production2.
Additionally, leather production is known to be detrimental for the environment. Strong chemical processes are used to produce leather and to keep it durable, some of which are known to be hazardous chemicals3. During the leather tanning process, these toxins are released into the environment, which harms all life forms.
Where to Find Vegan Shoes – Brands
By now, I’m sure you are curious where to find the best vegan shoes to help reduce animal suffering and environmental degradation. Let’s start our exploration!
Skechers
Skechers, one of the world’s most famous shoe brands, offers vegan shoes and has a clear overview outlining which shoes are vegan!
They offer vegan winter shoes, as well as trainers.
They also have vegan sandals, for example Men’s here, and Women’s here.
Adidas
Adidas offers a large variety of vegan alternatives. For some of their models, they use recycled plastic from the ocean to reduce environmental impact.
One of their most popular vegan shoe models is the Adidas by Stella McCartney Ultraboost 20. The shoe is made from 50% Parley Ocean Plastic, which is plastic waste turned into shoe material, preventing it from polluting our ocean. Sounds like a great initiative!
- Shop here UK: Women’s & Men’s
- Shop here US (For some reason the Stan Smith’s aren’t listed but they are vegan)
- Shop here Canada (Stan Smith’s Canada)
Nike
It’s surprising that a brand as large and popular as Nike is not clearly labelling their vegan alternatives.
From their website, it’s not clear which models are vegan friendly. However, one model stands out…The interesting looking Nike Space Hippie 01 is made with about 85% recyclable materials and appears to be vegan.
I will be on the lookout for WHEN Nike finally decides to make it easier to shop vegan at their store. Until they do this post here can give you a little more help.
Dr. Martens
Looking for vegan boots? Well Dr. Martens has a vegan product line of high-quality boots but also some shoes and sandals as well. Shop here.
The Felix Vegan Chelsea Boots look surprisingly like leather, but Dr. Martens testifies that no animal was harmed for these boots.
Vegan Shoes – Smaller Brands
nae
Nae Vegan Shoes is a Portugese vegan footwear brand. NAE stands for No Animal Exploitation.
They have a large variety of shoes such as sandals, sneakers, flat shoes, heels, and boots.
Shop here: https://www.nae-vegan.com/en/ or on Amazon.
It’s good to know that Nae Vegan Shoes offers free worldwide shipping on orders over $75.
8000 Kicks
8000 Kicks is a 100 % vegan footwear brand. Their mission to provide great, durable vegan shoes that are kind to the planet. The shoes are based on an innovative concept and contain natural hemp fibres. To the best of our knowledge, it’s the world’s first shoes made partly from hemp!
They offer sneakers and boots for both men and women and you can find them here.
Ethicalwares
Ethicalwares is a family-run, fully vegan business offering leather-free shoes.
Established in 1993, Ethical WARES have specialized in breathable, long-lasting vegan shoes that are as comfortable and durable as leather-based shoes, without contributing to any cruelty. Good to know: Ethicalwares delivers worldwide!
The offer contains sneakers, boots, hiking shoes and even dance shoes! Shop here.
HyloAthletics
HyloAthletics offers a whole range of vegan trainers called HyloLight. They are certified by the Vegan Society and don’t contain any animal ingredients.
The trainers are made from renewable materials and have a carbon footprint 52% lower than the average trainer.
Shop here
Mizuno
Mizuno has a running footwear range which is 100% vegan. They emphasize the importance that no animals are being harmed to produce their running shoes.
They offer 23 different models for both men and women, and children’s options, ranging from every-day training, to performance, and trail.
Shop here
Vegan Shoes – Luxury Brands
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton has designed an eco-friendly, vegan alternative made from 90% sustainable materials.
Shop here.
Veerah
Veerah New York Ladies… You will love this one! Veerah offers vegan designer shoes for eco-conscious women.
They believe every woman should be able to maintain her personal style while embracing a cruelty-free, sustainable lifestyle.The shoes on offer include boots, pumps, flats, bridal and evening dress shoes!
Shop here
Vegan Shoes – Marketplaces
Avesu
Avesu Vegan Shoes prides itself on being the world’s biggest vegan shoe store! With two physical stores in Berlin, Germany, and a huge online store, there are plenty of different shoes to choose from.
We particularly love the summer shoes on offer, ranging from ballerinas and sandals to espadrilles and slip-ons. And, for the night out, great heels are available too!
Rather looking for winter shoes? Currently there is a huge winter sale.
Otherwise, shop here.
Vegetarian Shoes
Vegetarian Shoes is a unique online marketplace specializing in vegan-friendly footwear, established in 1990. Despite its name, the company is deeply committed to vegan principles, a choice rooted in the historical context of veganism’s less widespread recognition at the time of its founding.
They stand out for offering high-quality vegan shoes, made in the UK and Europe, utilizing innovative materials like apple skin leather, cork, hemp, organic cotton, and pineapple (Pinatex).
This dedication to ethical, sustainable fashion, combined with a broad range of products for both men and women, positions Vegetarian Shoes as a leader in eco-conscious footwear.
This concludes our exploration of vegan shoes.
I hope you found this overview helpful and discovered some new shoes that you love!
Isn’t it wonderful to see that so many vegan shoes are now easily available, and that more and more brands focus on sustainability and animal-friendly footwear?
And the highlight of course is that more and more brands focus exclusively on vegan, cruelty-free shoes! Because we all know…Veganism is the future!
If you think I have missed any notable places please leave a comment below!
- Choi, Y.-H.; Lee, K.-H. Ethical Consumers’ Awareness of Vegan Materials: Focused on Fake Fur and Fake Leather. Sustainability 2021, 13,436. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su13010436 ↩︎
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/mar/13/is-it-time-to-give-up-leather-animal-welfare-ethical-lucy-siegle ↩︎- Silva V. (2021). Overview of the leather industry and pollution impact. U. Porto Journal of Engineering, 7(4), 1-15. ↩︎
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