Friday, November 21, 2008

Vegetarian/Vegan Shoes, Belts, etc.




When I initially became a vegetarian, I didn't have a problem with wearing leather. I've now been a vegetarian for 11 years and I don't buy leather or silk, and only specific kinds of wool. I don't have a problem with people who do, or even with non-vegetarians. It's just not for me. I don't claim to be the best vegetarian in the world either, just trying to do the best I can within what works for me.

I had all kinds of trouble finding vegetarian shoes for a long time, and even more trouble finding vegetarian shoes that didn't look like a garbage scow . I particularly mourned my Dr. Martens which I was unable to find in a synthetic leather.

Here is a collection of brands and links that are either vegetarian/vegan, or consistently use synthetic materials. I cruise these sites fairly often but it took me a long time to find these brands so hopefully this will shorten someone else's search.

http://www.vegetarianshoesandbags.com/
Home of the "Utility Boot" pictured above, which will hopefully find its way to me as my birthday present... My absolute favorite vegan store-their products are very high quality and well priced. My boss asked me why I was carrying a leather handbag one time. It wasn't leather, it was from this store, and it has lasted a year of rough daily use and still looks good.

http://www.zappos.com/
I use zappos fairly often since their customer service is fantastic and my small town location severely limits shopping options. Some brands that are almost always vegan are Madden Girl (Steve Madden) and Unlisted (Kenneth Cole). The Madden Girl shoes are consistently comfortable though they run a half size small. A number of Keen styles are also vegan and last forever. All three of these brands are an excellent quality in my opinion.

http://www.forever21.com/
Wow, this store is over the top in a lot of ways.. However, I searched for a LONG time for a feminine leather-look belt and found it here. So there you go. They also have quite a few bag and shoe options. Not certain about the quality, but the price is right!

http://www.target.com/
Much of the Xhilaration line is animal friendly. They have lots of fun shoes, but they can be a little stiff/uncomfortable. Prices are good though. Be careful with this line, it is usually synthetic, but in my belt quest I found their belts were actually bonded leather. Which sucked because they were awesome. Hooray for sentence fragments!

If I think of any other sources I will put them down here, and if you have any suggestions please give me a heads up!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

These store are really great. Simple shoes is also a well known name for vegan shoes.