The 10 Best Sustainable Vegan Shoe Brands

Kids grow out of shoes in about five minutes — but for adults, a well-made pair of shoes can last us for decades. And fortunately, there are more and more eco-minded footwear brands working to make durable, vegan, and sustainable shoes these days. Here are some of the best sustainable vegan shoe brands for adults.

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Cariuma is a Certified B Corp and Butterfly Mark Certified company. The company offers a wide selection of entirely vegan shoes, though it does use leather in some of its products. The brand also utilizes a variety of eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton, natural rubber, FSC and OEKO-TEX-certified bamboo, IM GREEN certified sugar cane, recycled nylon, recycled PET, cork, and more. Cariuma has a "plant 2 trees" initiative where it partners with nonprofits to support reforestation in the Brazilian Rainforest.

With over 30 years of footwear experience, U.K.-based vegan shoe company Vegetarian Shoes makes its products in Europe. The company has a plant-based line where it uses materials such as apple skin leather, cork, hemp, organic cotton, and Piñatex pineapple leather. Vegetarian Shoes makes footwear of all kinds, from cute sandals to steel-toed work boots.

COG makes cruelty-free, PETA-approved vegan shoes that are OEKO TEX 100 standard certified. The French company states that "most of our leathers are of vegetable origin based on grape marc and cereal waste," and it uses 100 percent recycled or recyclable packing. COG also sells what it calls "Les Imparfaites," or "The Imperfects," which are prototype pairs or secondhand models worn during a shoot available at reduced prices.

Ecoalf is Organic Content Standard (OCS) and Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified. The Certified B Corp uses "recycled materials, giving a second life to waste such as recycled nylon, polyester, wool, and cotton," per its website. Additionally, the Ecoalf Foundation is currently involved in several partnership projects, notably Upcycling the Ocean, which removes waste caught in fishermen's nets and then recycled or converted into new products.

Portuguese brand NAE has veganism woven into its very name — which stands for "No Animal Exploitation." The plant-based materials used in NAE's shoes include OEKO-TEX-certified microfiber, apple leather, corn, cork, organic cotton, vegan leather, and recycled PET. The company also has a pre-loved program.

Certified B Corp Veja has a vegan line of shoes that is 54 percent bio-based. The company also upcycles shoes using "B-Mesh" which is recycled polyester. Veja also uses Hexamesh, which two threads of mesh layered together; one thread made of recycled plastic bottles and the other made of 70 percent organic cotton and 30 percent recycled plastic bottles.

Thesus Outdoors makes vegan shoes for all weather by hand in a family-run factory in Portugal. The Weekend Boots are vegan and made from 95 percent natural and recycled materials, including recycled ocean plastic and natural tree rubber. Similarly, the vegan Terrus shoe is designed with recycled ocean plastics, cork, and natural rubber, and Thesus' Anyday Rain boots are made with recycled nylon.

Etiko is an Australian company that is Fair Trade-certified, Australian Social Enterprise-certified, and a Certified B Corp. The company's products are vegan and use GOTS-certified organic cotton canvas. Etiko uses non-animal-based glues and non-toxic dyes, with shoeboxes made of post-consumer waste. Regarding packaging, Etiko opts for plastic-free or biodegradable packaging whenever possible.

Thousand Fell's sneakers are made with responsibly-sourced materials such as aloe vera, castor beans, natural and recycled rubber, recycled bottles, palm leaf fibers, sugar cane, and coconut husk. Used (but clean) items can be recycled for store credit via SuperCycle, and Thousand Fell only sources materials that "can either be biodegraded, recycled to make new shoes, or upcycled into materials for new projects."

Will's Vegan Store is a certified carbon-neutral company, making most of its footwear and other goods from Italian bio-based vegan leather. The current model of shoe uses 69 percent bio-oil and a viscose backing fabric made from eucalyptus trees, and the company is always on the lookout for more sustainable alternatives to implement. Will's Vegan Store offers a wide variety of shoe styles, ranging from running sneakers and hiking shoes to cowboy boots and high heels.