A handmade dress shoe made from the highest quality, soft and breathable Vegan leather, especially made for the true gentleman.
There’s nothing quite as classy as a set of dress shoes. They’re sleek, they’re comfortable, they’re made of fine materials, and they pair perfectly with a tailored suit or a dress shirt and a pair of formal pants. Most of us only break out our dress shoes on special occasions, but when we do, it always makes the event feel a little more special. They usually don’t come cheap, but the price is well worth it–a good set of dress shoes can last for a decade or more. And once the wedding or graduation party is over, you tuck them back into your closet, ready to be brought out for the next big event.
In the past, you probably slipped on your pair of dress shoes without a second thought. But now that you’ve gone vegan, you’ve started wondering what you’re actually wearing. Is there a chance that your beloved shoes are made from leather or suede? Unfortunately, the shoe industry is similar to the rest of the fashion industry in that animal products are seen as “high-end” materials. The majority of men’s dress shoes are made from leather that’s been treated and shaped to make the outer parts, the lining, and even the sole. Many brands think it’s impossible to replicate the look and feel of leather. But in fact, there’s a whole spectrum of vegan shoes that are just as comfortable as the “real thing.”
If you’ve got a pair or two of dress shoes sitting around in your closet, you might be hesitant to part with them. They weren’t cheap, and a vegan pair probably won’t come cheap, either. But when we look at it from a bigger perspective, we’ll realize that it’s not just about the shoes. The leather industry represents decades of cruelty, slaughter, and abuse for billions of innocent animals–and the more research we do, the more we’ll wonder why we ever wore leather in the first place.
While most people assume that leather is made from adult cows, leather can be made from calves, ostriches, buffalo, goats, sheep, snakes, and even alligators. Some countries raise animals and slaughter them just for their skin without even eating the meat. The animals are bred and raised in filthy, cramped conditions, and killed with brutal methods that aren’t always immediately successful. A small but not insignificant percentage of animals are skinned alive. In less developed countries like India, cows are forced to walk hundreds of miles to reach the nearest slaughterhouse. If a cow collapses on the way, the handlers often rub chili peppers into their eyes to startle them back into alertness.
The leather industry is also terrible for the environment. The tanning process produces a great deal of animal waste like blood, hair, and muscle. Some manufacturers use the waste to make other products, but others simply dump the waste into the nearest landfill or water source. This organic waste can pollute the water and make people and animals sick in the process. The leather-making process also involves harmful, disease-causing chemicals, which are often dumped in the water or released in the air with little thought given to the local ecosystem. Additionally, the leather industry uses massive amounts of water that’s rarely taken from sustainable resources.
At first glance, vegan dress shoes look so similar to leather shoes that you could easily mistake them for the real thing. But there’s an important difference: these shoes are made from cruelty-free materials that make each pair a worthwhile investment. Common vegan shoe materials include rubber, cotton, cork, hemp, polyurethane, plant-based faux leather, and synthetic materials like Gore-Tex. Many brands source their materials from natural, renewable resources like cork trees and ethical cotton fields.
Are cotton- and rubber-based shoes just as tough, durable, and waterproof as an expensive pair of dress shoes from the mall? If you’ve worn a pair of vegan shoes, you know the answer is indisputable “yes.” Many vegan dress shoes are made from waterproof materials that keep your shoes from getting ruined if it’s a little wet outside. Some brands are also specifically engineered to be mud- and stain-resistant. You won’t want to go hiking in these shoes, but if they get splattered with mud, it’s not a chore to clean them up. The soles are made from strong, durable materials like rubber and cork that can hold up for weeks, months, or even years. And unlike leather, vegan materials are lightweight and breathable and won’t leave your feet sweating in the heat.
One reason that many people are afraid to switch to a vegan lifestyle is the popular, enduring belief that vegan products are rare, expensive, and exceedingly hard to find. In fact, several brands offer a wide range of vegan shoes that come in various colors, styles, and sizes. Brown and black are the traditional colors, but if you’re looking for something different, there’s no shortage of vegan dress shoes on the Internet. Shiny faux leather, soft faux suede, laces, buckles, simple designs, intricate embroidery: there’s a design for just about every occasion and lifestyle. Some brands are even devoted exclusively to vegan shoes, with hundreds of products available for sale on their website.
Vegan dress shoes for men cost about the same as traditional leather shoes, if not less. You can easily find a good pair of dress shoes for about $150. Some of the fancier brands might ask for more, but at least you’ll know you’re paying for a better quality product, not just a brand name.
If you’re searching for a vegan alternative for dress shoes in the store, you might have trouble figuring out whether they’re vegan or not. Some brands are advertised as vegan, but the actual materials used in the product can be hard to determine. For this reason, it’s easiest to shop online. Most brands, vegan and non-vegan, provide a list of shoe materials on their website. If you can’t find a list of materials, it’s safe to assume that the shoes you’re looking at probably aren’t vegan.
Most vegan shoes can be ordered off the Internet with a few clicks of a mouse. You might find some shoes at major retailers, but the majority are sold in online stores, where they can easily be shipped nearly anywhere in the world. If you’re not sure where to start, we’ve got a list of high-quality vegan dress shoes right here on our website. We’ve expertly-reviewed these products and give you extensive information on the brand, their prices, their impact on the environment, and the kinds of materials they use in their products, making it easy for you to make an informed decision. If you know of a brand we didn’t include, feel free to submit it to our database!
