Not all shoes are made equal.
In the image above, Natalie Portman is shown wearing a vegan shoes from her Natalie Portman Collection shoe line.
(image from http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/04/13/natalie-portman-vegan-shoes/)
Wearing your beliefs on your feet is quite a statement.
A reader submitted this About.com site that gives a list of where you can buy non-animal products footwear. There are vegan shoes for everyone in the family and not all vegan shoes are canvas-like.
I understand that people say it's hard to find those kind of shoes. I hope with access to these, it will motivate people to avoid leather made footwear products.
ReplyDeleteI'm not often impressed by celebrities in general. Natalie Portman is one of selected few who I see beyond as a mere celebrity. One I consider as a spokesperson for the animals, environment and people as a result of vegetarianism.
Wow! Thanks for sharing! I tried to look for vegan shoes in local stores. It is very difficult to find them and often with limited choices of vegan footwears. I agree that animals don't want to see us dragging our feet around over this issue anymore.
ReplyDeleteGreen thumbs up to Natalie Portman!
(That's one point for Star Wars!)
i was in austin not long ago, and visited the whole foods headquarters there (OMG, it's hugeeeee!).... they had a great selection of vegan shoes - my eyes popped! i love being able to try on shoes, so hoping stores start carrying more vegan shoes. i know rei does, and hopefully more will!
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about the shoes. They're SO expensive. You can go to Target and get leather-free shoes for one-tenth the price. (yeh-- I know they're not high fashion), and no one would take her seriously if she sold vegan shoes for $26.00 instead of the $250.00. But I just have to wonder why these shoes really need to be so expensive? Anyway, I just wanted to say that I find you extremely interesting. . . so much so that I nominated your for a beautiful blogger award. This is a really super great blog.
ReplyDeleteKim, good vegetarian shoes are very expensive because not enough people are buying them and there are not enough competition in the market. It comes down to supply and demand. If more people buy them, vegan shoes will eventually get cheaper. And the availability and price reduction of vegan shoes should happen soon, I hope.
ReplyDeleteBut, you are right... Why should those vegan shoes be expensive? It is unfortunate for authentic leather shoes to be much cheaper than vegan shoes in general. Hardcore animal lovers will not find them that expensive if they care enough about saving the life of animals.
Maybe the best solution is to go barefoot. The Flintstone style. LOL.
My tofu ( <-joke intended) with vegan shoes is I want to walk around in vegan shoes before buying them. It is hard to tell if the shoes found on-line will be comfortable to wear. There are not so many of vegan work shoes available in Buffalo. I will have to travel to Toronto or NYC to try them on.
Lucky Austin!
kim, i have to agree about the outrageous prices!!! anthony, yes, you're right about us having to buy them more (demand rises, then supply rises, and prices plummet). *sadly looking in my very thin wallet*
ReplyDeleteand kim, thank you for nominating ecodeaf for the beautiful blogger award! that's very sweet of you! we'll be posting about this next! keep tuned... :) p.s. congratulations for being nominated twice!
I would also encourage people like you, Kim, to go to Target to buy cheaper ones that are not leather. I am not into high fashion and have managed to buy affordable footwear that's not from leather.
ReplyDeleteAnything to send a message to the industry that profit from leather at the expense of the farmed animals that we are not enabling or giving them any reason to promote cruelty and suffering for their skin.
oh.. Target has vegan shoes?? I have a Target literally across the street on the next block. I have to go there today anyway so I will check out their shoes. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteExactly what are vegan shoes made of? If it's not leather, what is the leather-alternative material? If it's synthetic, is it petrochemical in origin? The magic word "vegan" doesn't necessarily mean eco-friendly or sustainable.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that a vegan product does not mean the it is eco-friendly. It is possible that vegan shoes are petrochemical in origin, but I don't know much about that.
ReplyDeleteI did some research on the PETA's Shopping Guide to Compassionate Clothing (www.peta.org/living/alt1.asp). It describes vegan products as not using animal byproducts at all and that includes silk, wool, fur, and down. Alternate materials include cotton or hemp. Companies may vouch for sustainable practices but do not proclaim themselves as vegan. This includes the Simple shoe company which uses recylable and sustainable materials.
Vegan shoes are without animal product as well as the glue that is used must be without animal products. Also, I would like to say that the shoes purchased at Target and such, while they may be non-leather, are likely made in sweatshops overseas. Think about it, how many Targets do you have near you, and how many of those stores have the same shoes in various sizes? Do the labels say "made in China" where their minimum wage and child labor laws are nothing like they are here? Going vegan is a huge step in the right direction in terms of helping our planet and animals, but don't forget about the humans exploited around the world on a daily basis for our bigger, better, faster, cheaper, more American lifestyle. I am vegan and I have a very hard time finding eco-friendly products not made in 3rd world countries, but I still try and check labels on what I buy.
ReplyDeleteGreat shoes. Perfect for a special event where you want to look feminine and feel glamorous. I have shoes like that but with black color and I feel sexy when I’m wearing it.
ReplyDeleteIn my wife experience, good vegetarian shoes are very expensive because not enough people are buying them and there is not enough competition in the market. Indeed very difficult to choose shoes that are good and suitable for us. But I hope with this site it will motivate people to avoid leather made footwear products.
ReplyDelete