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Unfortunately I have found leather a good material for some uses. About 10 years ago (before I was vegetarian) I was given a leather belt and leather wallet which I use daily. So far the wear on them indicates they'll have another couple of decades of use.

Since the core reason for my vegetarianism (and aspirational veganism) is sustainability, durability, repairability etc. is key. For boots/shoes specifically, in the pre-plastic days I guess I would have bought leather boots which, when cared for properly, would have lasted for years, and been re-soled several times. At the end of their life they would have rotted away with no ill-effects.

In our saturated-with-plastic-days I'm wondering what the best alternative is to leather for footwear? Most shoes are made of plastic, non-repairable, and not designed to last for very long.

If there was a case for making leather from wild animals which died of natural causes (and without a toxic tanning/dying process) then maybe that would answer my question. But that's not practically achievable in today's world, so I can't buy those boots in reality.

So are there any vegan/vegetarian boots/shoes designed to last and be hard-wearing, which aren't made of plastic?

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  • Duplicate? vegetarianism.stackexchange.com/questions/2261/…
    – user6686
    Commented Feb 17 at 15:26
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    IMO footwear and clothing have competing ethical concerns. It's good to reduce consumption of feedlot cattle products. On the other hand, the vast majority of clothing available in the USA is made in China, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc with dubious labor laws. But not all clothing is made by people in poverty, forced labor or children. And not all leather comes from feedlot cattle and maxes out on the cruelty scale. Here's an option: usalovelist.com/vegan-shoe-brands
    – user6686
    Commented Feb 17 at 15:47
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    @PaulWalker re:duplicate, tbh I'm assuming the majority of recommendations in the answers to that question are made of plastic.
    – thosphor
    Commented Feb 17 at 21:21
  • Yes, they are. And the person posting both the Q&A swear by them, that some are MUCH longer lasting than leather. Well, I have a pair of Army jump boots I bought in 1992 that I wore at my retirement in 2018. Special occasion footwear, but still. I was searching for canvas footwear and that might be an option. Boots I found still have some leather, though.
    – user6686
    Commented Feb 18 at 2:19
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    @h_undatus Looks like it's back now, whatever the problem was.
    – user6686
    Commented Mar 1 at 17:04

2 Answers 2

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Yes. Soldiers in some countries wear canvas boots, which are available as surplus. Other shops sell more casual canvas shoes.

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  • Welcome to the site! Please could you edit your answer to expand on this a bit? For example, soldiers in which countries, and can you include some link or source to support this claim? Stack Exchange works best with answers supported by sources or arguments, otherwise it's hard to tell if this is correct or just a random internet person posting anything.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented Feb 26 at 15:41
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    Thanks for the welcome, and the feedback. I’ve updated my answer with links that support my claim.
    – h_undatus
    Commented Feb 26 at 20:20
  • The US Military has used several boots with canvas in the past. Now they use a nylon-type fabric, some kind of synthetic material for boots without full leather. All their boots still had at leather at least for the lower part and maybe the strip holding the eyelets.
    – user6686
    Commented Mar 1 at 17:11
  • Since conventional cotton is so harmful for animals and the environment, I’d take the synthetics or even responsibly-sourced leather as a “Paris exemption,” since it could well mean less animals harmed overall. The more difficult veganism appears to be the less attractive it becomes to others, and the more suffering there is in the world.
    – h_undatus
    Commented Mar 1 at 20:16
  • @h_undatus Why do you think "...cotton is harmful for animals and the environment?" And what exactly is "responsibly-sourced leather?"
    – user6686
    Commented Mar 3 at 14:22
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Leather from Wild Animals which Died of Natural Causes

When I was building my Lotus Seven, I managed to find a hide from a Sri Lankan Water Buffalo, that had died from natural causes. I was never very proud of those seats. As karma would have it, I blew a tire on a windy mountain road, and ran into a power pole at 70mph.

Now in Sri Lanka I either go barefoot or wear rubber/plastic sandals. I wear a sarong around the villa. When we travel I wear shorts with a leather belt that I manage to rationalize because of its age and the fact that it was a present.

I have seen photos of lots of movie stars wearing Converse tennis shoes. They last a long time.

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