Leather is not a by-product of the meat industry (most leather goods are made in countries with poor animal welfare laws and the leather process is very polluting).
Quality vegan shoes are made from Microfiber, so don’t make your feet sweat, and are easily cleaned with a damp cloth.
Europeans don’t offer half-sizes, so choose the bigger size and wear thicker socks! Get your feet measured in a shoe shop first, to save the hassle of returns. Or measure your own feet. Try to buy two pairs so you can alternate (this helps them last longer).
Will’s Quality Vegan Shoes (from London)
Will’s Vegan Shoes (also sold at Shop Like You Give a Damn) is a London company offering quality vegan shoes and boots. Focusing on quality (there are no Black Friday sales), with a whopping 365-days return, sent in zero waste packaging.
Everything is made ethically in Italy and Portugal, shipped quickly from Essex. In lovely colours and styles, you can also buy vegan leather belts, bags, satchels, cardholders etc.
If buying the wool-free jumpers, launder in a microfiber filter (due to synthetic fibres).
Quality Vegan Footwear from Wales
Ethical Wares (Wales) has been making vegan footwear for 30 years, and profits support a farm sanctuary for rescued barnyard friends. Not just everyday shoes, this company also sells safety shoes and vegan dancing shoes!
If buying their walking socks, launder in a microfiber filter, due to synthetic fibres.
Ethical Vegan Shoes (from Brighton)
Vegetarian Shoes (Brighton) has a physical shop but also an extensive range online and offers a wide range including safety shoes. It also offers a good sale shop, with many items often half-price.
Handmade Vegan Shoes from Tyneside
Freerangers (also sold on Etsy) offers handmade footwear designed to last years. Each pair is signed by the maker, and you can send soles back for repair.
In a huge array of colours, there are loafers, sandals and boots – and also bags, satchels and even vegan sporrans!
These shoes are not ‘high-fashion’, but they are very comfortable and designed to last years. This is a company that has a loyal fan base, who buy from the same maker each time they want a new pair of shoes.
A Stunning Vegan Shoe Brand
V.GAN London offers nice shoes for men and women, worn by 50,000 people across the planet. In just 4 years, it’s established itself as one of the world’s major vegan shoe brands. It has some real sale bargains, and also offers vegan leather bags and wallets.
Stylish Vegan Footwear from France
Minuit sur Terre is a super-stylish vegan footwear company from France. For every pair sold, 5 Euros are donated to a partner association to help animal welfare. The founder was a (stylish) woman (she’s French!) who could not find clothes of ethics to match quality and fashion she wanted.
Stylish Vegan Footwear (from Portugal)
NAE (stands for ‘no animals exploitation’) is a stylish Portuguese footwear brand, with everything made from quality vegan materials. Many items make use of zero waste materials including:
- Cork heels (no trees cut down to make cork)
- Sandals made from pineapple industry waste
- Sneakers made from recycled plastic bottles
- Mules made from apple leather (waste material)
Handmade Vegan Shoes from Portugal
Venus is Vegan is a brand of ethical footwear, handmade in Portugal. And designed for those who are fed up of boring shoes!
Most of the shoes are made from apple leather, made from a ‘fruit leather’ that’s made from recycled apples, leftover in the industry (mostly sourced from the Milan area of Italy). The linings are also made from recycled materials.
Don’t use shoe protectors on apple leather. Dirt can simply be removed with a warm damp cloth.
The range includes:
- 50-style creeper shoes
- Ballerina-style shoes with ribbons on the backs
- Fun and colourful boots
Quality Vegan Fashion Boots from Europe
A Perfect Jane (also sold at Shop Like You Give a Damn)is a lovely compassionate footwear brand, designed in The Netherlands and made ethically in Portugal.
Renowned for its boots, this brand mostly uses a vegan leather made from appleskin waste (from the Italian apple industry mostly in northern Italy). This is combined with recycled plastic bottles, extracted from the sea.
Eco Suede is made from recycled polyester, and the insoles are made from cork (no trees are chopped down to make this material, the bark is simply stripped from the tree every 9 years).
The linings are made from On Steam, which is a breathable microfiber to let your feet breathe. Far more comfortable than plastic.
Designer Vegan Leather Shoes from Italy
Solari Milano (also sold at Shop Like You Give a Damn) is a brand of Italian shoes that are sustainably-made. Handcrafted by experts, these shoes use corn leather to make the uppers, and feature recycled rubber outsoles, bamboo linings and organic cotton laces.
Where to Buy Vegan Shoes for Children
Clarks Frugi Shoes are a collaboration between an organic cotton clothing children’s company in Cornwall and Clark’s shoes. Clark’s shoes are good quality, and for this brand they have ditched leather and instead created vegan shoes with organic cotton and rubber, in colourful designs.
The hard-wearing rubber soles keep pace with everyday adventures, still offering stability and support for little feet, with quality you can trust for growing tootsies.
The soft foam footbed keeps little soles comfortable while playing, and protective toe bumpers guard against scuffs, for long-lasting wear. The padded collars offer additional ankle support, making each step a breeze.
Vegan Children’s Shoes from Europe
PAIZO is a Greek vegan children shoe brand, everything is ethically made and all shoes are sent in eco packaging, with organic cotton tote bags to protect shoes, when not in use.
Made from soft vegan leathers (or organic cotton), use the on-site size guide template to measure little feet (add 1 to 1.5cm growing room, and mark the line at the end of the longest toe, to measure both feet as one may be longer). Print the chart at 100% scale.
NOAH is an Italian vegan footwear brand, that now offers lovely shoes for children. Made with sustainable materials, under fair working conditions in Italy, they are also affordable for all.
