Vegan materials

From apple leather to cork: The variety of vegan shoe materials

Fortunately, more and more people are placing value on sustainable and animal-friendly fashion – and this also applies to shoes. But what exactly defines vegan shoes? What materials are used? In this blog post, we'll introduce you to a variety of innovative and sustainable materials used in vegan shoe production.

Bio-based leather

Bio-based leather is an innovative and sustainable alternative to conventional leather, made from natural raw materials such as corn, apples, grapes, or mushrooms. These materials often utilize waste products from the food industry and offer an animal-friendly and environmentally conscious solution. The plant fibers are combined with partially recycled synthetic fibers to create a robust, leather-like material. The proportion of organic and recycled materials can be up to 70%, making it the most sustainable option on the market! The result is a soft, flexible, and breathable material ideal for shoes and accessories.

Microfiber

The term microfiber always refers to a material made of particularly fine fibers. These fibers can be synthetic or natural.

Commonly used synthetic microfibers include polyamide, nylon, acrylic, and polyurethane (PU). Natural microfibers, for example, are made from cotton. These fine fibers offer a wide range of possibilities and can be processed into fabrics with different looks, flexibility, or haptics, for example, resembling smooth leather or suede.

The fabrics are usually particularly lightweight and can be very flexible and breathable. Shoes made from high-quality microfiber fabrics can therefore be particularly soft and supple.

Polyurethane (PU)

PU is a foam-like material that can take many forms. One of these forms is PU fiber, a particularly durable microfiber that is both flexible and breathable, making it perfect for shoe uppers. In its solid form, PU is used for shoe soles.

Many vegan brands offer shoes made from PU materials.

hemp

Hemp is a plant whose fiber has been used by humans for more than 10,000 years to make cloth and clothing. It is one of the oldest and most time-tested crops in the world. Today, thanks to the development of a natural enzymatic process in the 1980s, it is possible to produce even better fabrics from hemp fiber. Fabrics that are both soft and robust, making them ideal for high-quality clothing and shoes.

Hemp also offers several significant advantages over other materials in terms of environmental compatibility. It's a fast-growing (regrowing) plant that's particularly undemanding and doesn't require herbicides or pesticides. The fiber obtained from it is extremely robust, yet lightweight and breathable. It has a very attractive, slightly rough surface and, thanks to its coarse structure, is easy to dye.

We have some particularly beautiful shoes that use hemp fiber as the upper material from GRAND STEP SHOES and VEGETARIAN SHOES.

Cotton

Cotton is a renewable raw material that can be profitably grown using organic farming methods. It is often argued that cotton production requires a lot of water. The plant does indeed require a lot of water, but these amounts are many times less than the masses of water required in leather production for growing fodder, watering the animals, and later for the tanning process.

Cotton fibers, such as those used to make shoes, are characterized by being pleasantly soft and highly breathable.

Interested? Then check out our cotton shoes from AHIMSA or ETHLETIC.

PIÑATEX

Piñatex™ is a novel, innovative material made from pineapple leaf fibers. Because these leaves are a byproduct of the pineapple harvest, no additional agricultural land, fertilizers, or pesticides are required to produce Piñatex™.

At the same time, thanks to Piñatex™, an entire new production sector is emerging in countries and regions where pineapples are grown. Piñatex™ is a completely unique, natural, sustainably produced material used in shoes by NAE and VEGETARIAN SHOES, among others.

GORE-TEX

Strictly speaking, Gore-Tex isn't a woven fabric, but rather an extremely lightweight, waterproof, and windproof, yet breathable membrane that allows moisture to easily escape to the outside. These properties make Gore-Tex perfect for outdoor and hiking shoes.

This synthetic and vegan material was invented by US engineer Robert W. Gore, who patented it in 1976. Although the original patent has since expired, and several similar materials are now available on the market, genuine Gore-Tex is only supplied to manufacturers who produce products that meet Gore's own high standards.

cork

Cork can be used not only to seal wine bottles, but also to make fashionable shoes and accessories. It's a natural, renewable raw material that's ideally suited to organic farming.

Contrary to popular belief, cork is an exceptionally environmentally friendly raw material. All cork trees in Europe are cultivated under sustainable conditions, and the forests in which they grow form a rich ecosystem that serves as a home to a wide range of animals—including the endangered Iberian lynx. The trees are not felled; instead, the cork is harvested from the living tree once every nine years, giving the tree ample time to regenerate.

In pine and eucalyptus forests, for example, biodiversity is significantly lower, meaning there are noticeably fewer different animal and plant species. Therefore, anyone who wears cork supports the preservation of the ecologically valuable cork forests in the Mediterranean region, three-quarters of which are currently considered threatened.

Cork is fire-resistant and antibacterial, while also being lightweight and breathable. Its characteristic structure makes it a popular material that's currently very trendy.

rubber

Rubber is a natural raw material from which rubber and latex can be made and which can be easily extracted under sustainable conditions. In shoe manufacturing, rubber is primarily used for the production of soles because it is a flexible, yet durable and environmentally friendly raw material.

Rubber from ETHLETIC and AHIMSA, among others, is used to make soles. Take a look!

Recycled rubber

Recycled rubber is often used to make the soles of vegan shoes, but also as a material for rubber boots, for example. Rubber is particularly well-suited to recycling because it can be completely reused without leaving any residue.

Upcycled materials

The difference between upcycling and recycling is that upcycling does not require any new raw materials. Upcycling is therefore something like the next evolutionary step in recycling, one that is even more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Recycled PET bottles

Plastic bottles made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) are also highly suitable for recycling. AHIMSA, for example, uses them to make the soles for some of its shoes.

Whether you choose shoes made from hemp, Piñatex™, bio-based leather, or recycled materials, vegan footwear not only makes you stylish, it also makes you more environmentally conscious and animal-friendly.