In this day and age, vegan products are all the rage. With the constant threat of global warming continuing to grow, we need more vegan products. Vegan products do not rely on fossil fuels to the same extent as non-vegan products. Animal-based products use lots and lots of resources and cause lots of waste.

One common misconception about vegan products is that it’s food only. Clothes can be vegan too.

For example, leather, a common clothes item, is not vegan because it comes from animals. More and more people seek clothing with vegan materials instead of non-vegan materials in addition to their food.

The following article will describe a little bit more about vegan shoes in particular, how they are made, and some common brand offerings regarding vegan shoes.

What Do Vegan Shoes Mean?

Vegan shoes are any shoes created that do not use animal products, most notably leather and suede. Some materials to use instead to make the shoes include canvas and rubber. The canvas is used to make the outer part of the shoe. The rubber is used for the sole.

Another popular material for making vegan shoes is artificial leather or PU leather. Pleather is an excellent alternative to leather for improving animal rights, but it has some environmental drawbacks.

For example, a popular form of leather, leatherette, is manufactured using polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which does not biodegrade and sits in landfills much longer.

Real leather, on the other hand, does biodegrade and does not accumulate as big as a mass in landfills. However, the resources saved in producing PVC may be offset by the resources behind manufacturing real animal products like leather. Ultimately the choice is up to you.

Are Vans Vegan?

Vans shoes do offer several vegan Footwear products. The styles of vegan shoes at Van offers include Classic Authentic, Classic Slip-On, Authentic Lo Pro, and Classic Era.

Vans use three essential vegan ingredients in making their shoes cotton, carbon, and rubber. The cotton is used for the outer layers and their shoelaces. The rubber in cars and carbon is used for the souls.

It’s worth noting that many rubber soles include beeswax, which is not vegan because it comes from bees. However, Vans makes it clear that their rubber is entirely beeswax free.

A common misperception about vegan shoes is that they might be slightly less durable than real leather shoes. Vans shoes, however, are just as durable, if not more so, than authentic other shoes.

Vans make a concerted effort to make its shoes as durable and long-lasting as possible. Therefore you should have no problem keeping your vegan Vans as up-to-date as you need.

This is an especially important consideration for wearers of Vans shoes because historical events are made for skateboarding which requires extreme durability. The last thing you want to happen is to have your shoe burst on you while you’re in the middle of a double ollie!

Are Skechers Vegan

Skechers is a trendy shoe brand, and its wearers are remarkably loyal. They love how light they feel on their feet and the fun colors and styles they provide.

Skechers has been around for a while, and they continue to grow in popularity. They’re also very responsive to the wishes and needs of their many fans. This includes their vegan fans.

This is especially true in response to their 2012 Super Bowl commercial featuring greyhound racing. Many people sensitive to animal rights issues cried out about the mistreatment of animals in that commercial. Skechers responded by looking out for the needs of their vegan-conscious people and so have recently seriously amped up their availability of vegan-friendly shoes.

At the time of this writing, the Skechers website yields 1809 different styles when searching “vegan”.

Therefore, Skechers has made a complete turnaround regarding catering to their vegan-conscious fans.

Can Flats be Vegan?

Flats are an increasingly popular shoe that women like to wear worldwide. What makes a flat is that it does not have a high heel. There are many styles of flats, including slip-on, ballet, and open-toe shoes.

One straightforward design consists of a flat sole with a material overhang similar to a sandal. Often the sole is made out of cork, and the overhang is made of leather or other material made from animals.

Luckily, there are plenty of vegan options when shopping for flats. For example, the trendy women’s apparel site Lulu.com lists over 160 styles of vegan flats available.

Another excellent option for buying vegan flats would be to use the vegan-only shoe brand beyond-skin.com. Beyond Skin’s vegan flats are made entirely of vegan materials. They do not contain common animal products in most flats, such as leather, crocodile skin, silk, or suede.

It is worth noting, however, that these vegan options tend to be a bit more expensive due to the specialized manufacturing process involved. However, the added eco-friendly benefits can give you peace of mind that you’re doing the right thing and your money is well spent.

 

Conclusion

With global warming and climate change becoming a problem increasingly, there is no wonder that there is such a famous market now and such high demand for vegan-friendly options beyond food. A great place to look is in apparel, specifically footwear.

Luckily, trendy brands like Vans and Skechers provide vegan options are plenty. Likewise, there are online vegan-only shoe stores, like beyond-skin.com, that you can use to find any vegan footwear product you need.

You no longer have to rely on animals to wear your favorite shoe style.