Understanding What the Best Vegan Shoes Can Offer Our Planet
Did you know about 5% of the U.S. or 16 million people are vegan? From what you eat to what you wear, veganism is a lifestyle for people. It can be tough to find shoes that are good quality and also completely free of animal products. Keep reading, and we will help you find the best vegan shoes in the market today.
What are Vegan Shoes?
Vegan shoes are shoes that aren't created or made with any animal products, including fur, leather, silk, down or wool, are used, produced, or distributed. You need to consider every part of the shoe when you are making a vegan shoe. You need to make sure everything down to the glue used to put the shoe together doesn't have casein, gelatin, or any other animal byproducts. You also need to consider other parts of the shoe, including the counter pocket, lining, and any other features that add comfort. Alternative materials, such as synthetic, is seeing a lot of growth in the market. The aim to make the shoes look just as nice as leather shoes you would wear to an interview, social event, or business meeting. This is the same for casual footwear and making vegan shoes comfortable. Another essential point to make is that creating vegan shoes leaves a smaller carbon footprint on the earth. The overall aim of vegan shoes is to develop brands that people don't have to question if they use any animal products or not and reduce our carbon footprint on the earth.
Types of Vegan Shoes
There are many ways that vegan shoes are made, and brands want to make sure they are creating shoes that can be used for all different types of events and daily life. They want to make sure the shoes are still comfortable as well as looking nice in appearance. We are going to go over the different types of common shoe materials and how they are made vegan.
Vegan Leather Shoes
If you use faux shine leather, with a subtle gloss, you will find great office shoes and shoes for special occasions. If you use matte faux leather, this has a softer, everyday appearance for flats or boots.
Vegan Suede Shoes
Recycled faux suede, an example of this is Dinamica, is a microfiber made from recycled PET plastics. The positive to vegan suede boots and shoes is that it's affected by water, whereas real suede could get ruined if you wear them in the rain.
Vegan Fabric Shoes
You can use printed or woven fabrics made from polyester to make flats or slippers. The polyester material makes shoes very easy to clean. There are a lot of examples of the real materials that can be replaced and are vegan and give the look and feel of the authentic shoes. Whether you're looking for men or women's vegan shoes, there is a fit for everyone.
The Best Vegan Shoes Effects on the Environment
If you have vegan shoes that are made from the inside out with no materials that are a product of animals and they are made sustainably so that you don't leave a carbon footprint, you are working towards positive effects on the environment. There is much debate over making synthetic leather shoes and the environment. Still, one way to ensure that you're leaving less of a carbon footprint is using recycled polyester, old tires, and fishing nets to create new eco-friendly, vegan shoes. If you take all of the right steps, you will help the environment. There are a lot of different earth friendly shoes out in the world, and vegan shoes are one option for people to be conscious of animals and the environment with what they wear.
Vegan Shoe Brands
When you go shopping for vegan shoes, you want to make sure you do some research on the brands that would best fit the type of shoe you need. If you need gym shoes, flats or shoes for a special occasion, PETA has a list of 100% vegan brands. You might want to go into the store and check all of the labels to make sure there isn't leather, suede, fur or other animal products in the shoes you want, but it's better and quicker to come prepared. Can you tell if a shoe is really vegan unless it says "vegan" on the tag? Sometimes, when you're browsing through new shoes you'll see "50% polyurethane" or "50% volcanized rubber." You may not know what either means and it's helpful to have a guide while you're browsing with common materials and what you should look for on the tag. PETA came out with a helpful shopping guide that has materials you should look for, materials that you should stay away from, and common misconceptions. For example, felt can be made from acrylic or rayon, but it also can be made from wool. You want to make sure the shoes you buy aren't made with wool or an animal product. Some common brands listed are Jambu, Arcopedico, Indosole, and Oka-B.
Ready to Shop
If a vegan shoe is made with the right materials and made in an environmentally-friendly way, they are at their best to reduce their carbon footprint on the earth. The best vegan shoes aim to look just like every day, formal occasion, or workout shoes and serve the same purpose. Get your vegan shoes today!