Vegan Shoes!

[PlatesofMeatFeet]

A friend has just posted this on FB:

"Keep seeing signs for “vegan shoes”. Is it a way of just selling cheaper non leather shoes at an inflated price"?

I think I agree that it's just a marketing ploy to charge more for uncomfortable plastic shoes?

Or are we both being unreasonable? (Oh and her family are vegan)!

If you genuinely think people should be eating fruit and vegetables 'a few times a week' we can safely disregard anything else you have to say about nutrition.

And yet plenty of vegans don't eat processed food either. Weirdly a vegan diet faces a tonne more criticism than others and you can guess whose is usually unhealthier.

They can market how they like but my gripe is on line filters. If I filter to specifically chose only leather from the material menu, then keep tour shanky plastic vegan shite out of my list. They're not leather! 😡

Esska selll vegan shoes x

The ignorance and narrow mindedness on this thread is astounding.
I am an omnivore and wear leather shoes, and don't understand the posters on here who despise vegans and love to make ignorant comments.

They clearly aren't very good cooks if they think an adult can't eat a balanced and delicious plant based diet.

I agree that companies marketing stuff as vegan are jumping on the bandwagon. However, if it makes it easier for people to make ethical choices then bring it on.

I try and avoid animal products. However, 2 years ago I bought some leather ankle boots. Before that, I searched the internet and a few big shops in London; I simply couldn’t find something suitable. I’m at peace with that.

i used to love animal print (as some old posts on MN would attest). Now even the thought makes me feel a bit weird. Like, why would swish around in this animal-trophy kind of clothing?

All the vegan hate on here!! Wow.

‘Vegan shoes’ are also helpful for vegans to know they are avoiding other animal products in the manufacturing process, not just leather. A big example would be the glue that is commonly used to bind shoes together, which is an animal product.

I think it’s the same with most shoes, you get what you pay for. My Vegan Dr Martens last me years and years and are ridiculously soft and comfy. You would not be able to tell that they are not leather. I’ve had my current pair for 6 years, worn every work day, and they will easily last for the same time again!

cheap shoes will always be cheap shoes. Irrespective of whether you think a vegan life is morally and nutritionally acceptable (it is).

Not trying to be goady at all but I really don't understand why vegans object to wool. The sheep are going to grow that wool anyway and will be really uncomfortable if they are not sheered. So why not wear it?

My dh is vegetarian and pays a small fortune to buy work shoes that look like leather but are not, belts also. He buys them from somewhere in Brighton and cost over twice as much as a decent leather pair would cost. They do last well though and are well made.

The issue is with farming in general, and the exploitation of animals by humans. You don't have to look closely into any animal industry to find cruel practices.

What a load of bollocks!

Do you not google things when you don’t understand? There’s plenty of horrific footage showing sheep being kicked and punched whilst being sheared for a start.

I have a few pairs of Vegan dr martens. Comfiest shoes ever and never seem to wear!

My DC are vegan and have been for years. Having done loads of research they tell me that, environmentally, vegan shoes are slightly worse than leather. I haven't done the research so I can only take on board what they have told me. Ultimately though, they recycle, re-use, buy second hand clothes and re make into something else. I think it is up to all of us to do what we can and what we can afford. Plastic is a massive problem and needs a lot more attention.

DD loves doc martens. I didn't know they made vegan ones so I will have a look now.

All these people with vegan friends and vegan kids that say vegan things are bad. 🤔😅

Marketing. But also fair, I think anyone who is a vegan that wears animal products like leather is a total hypocrite (if they're doing it for animal welfare reasons)

Comments like this are so dumb. There's also plenty of farmers who don't abuse animals 🙄 You do know google gives you want to see based on algorithms right?? I despair for humanity when I read things like this 😒

@AlansApprentice

It's made from plastic isn't it? Which is derived from oil? Which is made from the bones of tiny sea creatures?

At least it was plastic years ago 😂

It's marketing, plastic hasn't got quite the same ring about it

Oh it probably is marketing but that’s ok, surely. There’s a difference between Vegan and Plastic.

Why are people bashing vegans and talking about diet?

Wool often comes off the dead animal after slaughter. As there's no way to know if it came from a carcass or not vegans err on the side of caution.

It is also that wool is fairly worthless itself and like gelatin, is a by product. It's a by product of a process vegans (and many vegetarians disagree with) this can be because of conditions, the slaughter or various combinations of reasons.

Wool is also scratchy and horrible so I'd be giving it a miss even if it wasn't obtained from stripping down a dead animal.

Leather in particular has multiple issues including the way that it is produced has human rights implications as the fumes.produced in its production have health consequences for the humans involved in the tanning process. Where it's most produced in countries like India it's really not regulated, so although environment wise pleather may be problematic leather is not without its own issues.

And again,. personally I don't get why you'd have leather. Leather sofas for.example, too hot and sticky in summer, cold and not comfy in winter.

But if people want them that's their business. I don't and I think that should be fine.

I would never buy leather sofas or cars with leather seats as I find them uncomfortable, I buy leather shoes though as plastic aggravates my Pompolyx eczema.

Yep, it's a marketing ploy to bump the price up. There are, of course, very good vegan shoes that may be worth the price, but loads of cheap manmade crap now has "vegan" slapped on it as a marketing ploy.

And, because someone went there, anyone - whatever food choice category they fall into - can have a poor, inadequate diet if they are lazy or ignorant about nutrition. A good vegan diet is a million times better than a diet of ready meals, McDonald's and Krispy Kreme.

Wow! Another thread that turns into vegan-bashing!

Where to start?

-It’s useful for vegans to have shoes clearly labelled vegan, as just because something isn’t leather doesn’t mean it’s vegan (often glues are made from animal products)
-Not all vegan leather is plastic. There’s loads of much more environmentally friendly alternatives now, pinatex, apple leather, cactus leather etc etc.
-Not all vegan leather is cheap. Have a look at Immaculate Vegan and you’ll find plenty of high end, really well crafted vegan shoes, boots, bags etc. Like this cactus leather bag from Frida Rome.
-There are pretty significant concerns about the environmental impact of leather so all those that think vegan leather = naughty plastic and animal leather = fine, I’d highly recommend reading up on the subject. It’s really not that simple.
-Plenty of official guidance to support that the vegan diet can be healthy for all ages (like this from the BDA).
-It’s not as simple as vegan food = processed, = not processed. Plenty of vegans eat a whole food diet, lots of meat eaters don’t. There’s processed vegan food just as there are processed animal based food.
-It’s not as simple as vegan = healthy/unhealthy, omni = healthy/unhealthy. You can be healthy on either diet. Both require a fair amount of planning and understanding to be optimal.