Ethical Shoes

If you want something tougher than a textile shoe, choosing footwear can pose some real ethical dilemmas for consumers. 

Animal rights

Leather isn’t an inconsequential by-product of the meat industry, but an economically important co-product so buying leather directly contributes to factory farms and abattoirs. Therefore, on our ranking tables, companies using leather are marked down under Animal Rights.

There are leather alternatives available and the number of brands offering vegan options has increased since our last guide.

Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint of a pair of leather shoes is higher than a pair of synthetic ones, largely because of the carbon intensity of cattle farming. 

Of the total carbon footprint of a pair of leather shoes, around half is down to the leather, a quarter to the energy used in manufacture, 15% is transport, 5% the shoebox and 5% other parts of the life cycle.

Another issue is the sourcing of cotton from Turkmenistan.

Toxic Chemicals and Pollution

One of the riskiest processes of leather production is the tanning phase – a process that mainly uses toxic chemicals to turn animal skin into leather and stop it from decomposing.

One of the most problematic chemicals used is chromium which is highly toxic to people and the environment, but used in 85% of shoes. Chromium produces the toxic chemical by-product hexavalent chromium, which is a known human carcinogen. Many other hazardous chemicals are used including arsenic and cyanide, which add to the pollution of waterways. 

Sexism

Is also an issue in the shoe industry, and it seems like major shoe companies are falling behind on gender equality.

Leather Shoes

It’s true that leather shoes often last a long time. There’s a reason for this: the tanning process. Tanning prevents an animal’s skin from decomposing. The vast majority of leather available today was made using the chemical chromium – and it’s highly toxic. Other harmful chemicals can also be used in leather production, ranging from formaldehyde and arsenic to cyanide.

Many brands are increasingly sourcing leather certified by the Leather Working Group. At the highest “gold” rating, this represents progress on the issue of tannery chemical use. However, you are still left with the hefty environmental impacts of cows, and exploitation of animals.

There are leather-free shoes available from most shoe makers which come in all the same styles that leather shoes come in. Just check that the shoes or their packaging do not contain a leathermark.

Faux Leather Shoes - more ethical?

Non-leather shoes can be made from a variety of materials. Faux leather, vegan leather or pleather (plastic leather) is usually made of PU (Polyurethane) and polyester or nylon.   

While they still have problems (e.g. toxics used in their manufacture), the environmental impact of vegan leathers has been improving enormously.

The plastic coated onto fabric is generally polyurethane (PU) rather than the more toxic PVC. The newest forms use a water-based method to apply the PU to the fabric rather than the highly toxic solvents that were traditionally used.

A 2017 report produced by Global Fashion Agenda, the Boston Consulting Group and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition called ‘Pulse of the Fashion Industry’ assessed the environmental impact per kg of leather and synthetic leather, using the Higg Materials Sustainability Index.

The index measures chemical use, rate of depletion of natural resources, eutrophication (releases of nutrients that upset the balance in ecosystems), greenhouse gases, and water.

Synthetic leather material had, on average, less than half the greenhouse gas emissions and overall environmental impact than real leather per kg, although there are concerns that it may last less long which may counteract some of this.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) should be avoided. This is a synthetic plastic polymer that cannot be recycled. It contains carcinogenic chemicals, and its production process results in toxic wastewater.Polyurethane (PU) is an environmental step up from PVC, although as with most plastic materials, it does not decompose in the environment.

Our last guide to shoes introduced the fruit-based leather alternative Piñatex (pineapple leather), which has since become very popular. Piñatex is made from 80% pineapple leaf fibre, and 20% polylactic acid (a vegetable-based plastic material which comes from a renewable source). It is meshed rather than woven, looks like leather and is strong and breathable. 

The by-product of making Piñatex can also be converted into fertiliser or biogas. It is however coated with PU, but is REACH compliant.

Vegan shoes

Two main things make footwear vegan:

1) no leather, and
2) no animal-based glue.

So, whilst lots of footwear is not leather, it is not truly vegan unless the manufacturer can guarantee that the glue is non-animal. And a lot of companies either use animal glue or can’t guarantee that they don’t.

So, to be totally sure that you are avoiding animal glue, look for the vegan brands listed in our shopping guides. They appear on the rankings tables with [A] after their brand name.

The brands selling more sustainable vegan shoes

These brands are leading the way in terms of eco leather alternatives:

• Will’s Vegan Shoes developed a vegan leather alternative material from a mix of bio oil (from organic cereal crops in Northern Europe), and polyurethane.
• Po-Zu is currently in the process of phasing out all leather and becoming 100% vegan. The company uses Piñatex and also Frumat™, which is made in part from the fibrous waste of the apple juice industry – pretty sweet way to make use of fruit waste, although it is also 50% polyurethane. The company uses a range of alternative materials – coconut husk, cork and natural rubber.
• Some Vegetarian Shoes products use Piñatex, Cork and Vegetan Uppers. The Vegetan Uppers are 70-80% biodegradable. The company also however uses non-biodegradable alternatives including Vegetan suede, micro, active and bucky.

Returns policies on vegan shoes

If you’re interested in trying a synthetic alternative to leather, have a look at the detail of their returns policies.

Two sellers – Will’s Vegan Shoes and Po-Zu – offer a returns period of a whole year. Will’s Vegan Shoes states “We want to make it easy to try sustainable, ethical, vegan fashion”. This means if the shoes start to wear out after a few months, you’re not stuck with them.

Freerangers, Vegetarian Shoes, Office, Dr Martens, Vivobarefoot, and Eco Vegan Shoes all allow you to return unworn shoes for at least 28 days.

Where are your shoes made?

Several of the brands we looked at do not disclose where their shoes are made. Most of the other big companies relied on outsourced cheap labour mainly in Asia. Even a generic ‘Made in Europe’ label is not enough to guarantee workers’ rights, say Labour Behind the Label.

Those at the top of the rankings table showed some commitment to protecting workers’ rights in their supply chain. They included explicitly unionised labour, or companies that made most of their shoes through close relationships with factories in Portugal, Spain or the UK.

Supporting local cobblers

Dan Nelson is a seventh-generation cobbler with a shop in Settle, North Yorkshire. His great, great grandfather – also named Dan – began the family business in 1752.

What shoes can you repair?

We get jobs from all over the country. We can usually do something. A lot of welded shoes are easy to repair, and anything handmade (such as Conker or Totnes shoes) can usually be taken apart and fixed. Shoes made in small factories are likely to be easier to repair. We’re still here making shoes that last 20-odd years.

What shoes can’t you repair?

A majority of shoes now have polyurethane soles – after 10 years they start disintegrating whether you’ve worn them or not. You can’t do anything with that sole. You also have to think about the economic value. Someone came in the other day and asked how much it cost for a stick-on rubber sole. I told him £9 – well, the shoes only cost him £8!

What’s the future for the cobbling industry?

There are still quite a few highly skilled cobblers, but definitely fewer. Sometimes the old guys go, get replaced, and their skills have gone and they didn’t pass them on. No one wanted to learn about it. They want more glamorous jobs.