A Conscious Alternative

I love the simple and minimalist design of Veja shoes. But, in addition to good design, Veja is a brand that values transparency…and delivers in its promise. Veja details why they use the materials they do; how they source them; and where they source their materials from. Their mission is centered around ethical and sustainable production.

Veja buys cotton from 320 families who make a living from organic farming, while respecting fair trade rules. Also, for their rubber materials, according to their website, “Since 2007 Veja has been working with Bia Saldanha, the Brazilian Green Party co-founder and environmental activist. She provides technical support for the rubber tappers and she coordinates the rubber supply chain.”

A Conscious Alternative

I cannot say enough good things about TOMS. I love their branding, their product design, and the principles they stand for and work into their cause driven business model. TOMS has a massive give back program, where they have, to date, given over 60 million pairs of shoes to children in need around the world. Their shoes are also made with vegan friendly ingredients and eco friendly canvas and cork materials. Personally, I also find their shoes to be very comfortable and lightweight. They make for a great Spring and Summer shoe.

A Conscious Alternative

Next to each shoe, Eco Vegan Shoes says, “We are committed to providing our customers with animal friendly footware to the highest ethical and quality standards.” That’s something I like to read. Even if you don’t bring vegan living values into your fashion and wardrobe, I feel it’s still good to support these kinds of initiates.

This shoe is a simple sneaker. It’s lightweight, soft and comfortable — lined with Replaceable Ortholite™. It comes in more styles and colors, if you don’t like this one.

A Conscious Alternative

At first face, I really like the aesthetic of this slip on. It looks lightweight, comfortable and has a very natural, earthy feeling. According to their site, this shoe is made from 60% Coconut Husk, 40% Natural Latex, while that lining you see is pure wool fleece. Po-Zu also uses an eco friendly, vegan plant based alternative for their shoes called, Piñatex. Piñatex is a natural and sustainable non-woven textile made from pineapple leaf fibres. If you’re more curios about the innovative materials they use in their shoes and how they incorporate ethical and sustainable production into their business model, you can read their page, here.

A Conscious Alternative

I’ve always loved Converses. No, these are not Converse, but I have to imagine they were modeled from them. These shoes, by Ethletic, are 100% vegan. Their lining and laces are crafted with 100% organic, Fair Trade Certified Cotton. The sole and rubber parts are FSC certified natural rubber. Ethletic also says on their site that all of the cotton they use is Fair Trade certified and sourced from Fair Trade producers. And, if you’re wondering what Fair Trade values are defined by, Ethletic offers a helpful statement: “Fair Trade fairer trading conditions and opportunities for cotton producers in developing countries to invest in their businesses and communities for a sustainable future.”

A Conscious Alternative

These shoes are a fun play on the shoe / sandal hybrid. They’re kind of like a Greek sandal, with a minimalist twist. Indosole is a Certified B Corporation. B Corp. Certifications reflect both socially responsible and environmentally conscious methods of business practices.

A pretty amazing program that Indosole has in place, which is part and parcel of this shoe…Indosole recycles / upcycles wasted tires into soles for their shoes. This is amazing! These shoes are not only vegan, but they’re also eco conscious, helping to reduce and reuse rubber waste.

A Conscious Alternative

I think these are some of the coolest looking running shoes on the market. Or should I say ‘conscious market’! In addition to making beautiful shoes, Native abides by a value, which they term, ‘Beast Free’. What does this mean? Native makes shoes that are 100% vegan and PETA Approved.

These shoes come in several styles and colors, so definitely click through to see more of their options. They have versions in Navy Blue, Black, Grey, White, Red and more.