It's pretty easy to be vegetarian in Seattle [0], but some of us who avoid meat on our plates are total space cadets about what's on our feet. Even dedicated vegetarians can conveniently "forget" that their shoes are made of leather; I'm living proof.
When I was a teenager, I demanded nothing but "vegan" shoes -- that is, shoes made without any animal products. Trouble was, they were pretty hard to find in stores, and when I did find some, they almost never fit. Eventually, and with no small twinge of guilt, I went back to wearing leather shoes.
Nowadays, happily, the variety of vegan footwear in stores is much better, and Seattle's shoe shops are catching up with its restaurants in offering animal-free options. Even if you're not prepared to give up meat, vegan shoes can be a nice choice. They tend to be much easier on the planet than conventional footwear -- in that they're often biodegradable and made of recycled, nontoxic materials -- and some companies, like England's Vegetarian Shoes [1], ensure on-the-level labor practices.
Drea Berthold, owner of Ballard's The Sneakery [1], says she opened the shop nearly a year ago to offer brands no one else in town was carrying. Among these are Macbeth [2] and Draven [3], both of which offer appealing vegan options, and the aforementioned Vegetarian Shoes.
Macbeth's vegan, canvas-and-rubber shoes, which range from $50 to $80, often win over omnivores; the conventional analogue of Macbeth's Aberdale style is Converse. Draven shoes, on the other hand, have a colorful, offbeat look; some pairs are designed so that a single image extends across both shoes.
Vegetarian Shoes, whose sneakers, slip-ons and other styles run from $100 to $160, are made of microfiber and/or polyurethane. The net effect: simulated leather. Comparable conventional shoes might run $80 to $100, but Berthold is quick to mention that not only are these shoes imported from England, they aren't made in China.
Shoes made there -- and a great many are -- can cost up to $40 less. In this case, you're paying "extra" for the knowledge that what's on your feet was crafted in a European Union factory that follows strict ethical and labor codes. With Chinese shoes, as The Observer's Lucy Siegle [4] and other journalists have recently noted, it can be hard to know for sure what codes were in place, or which were actually enforced.
Berthold appreciates the "simple styling" of many vegan shoes; whereas Nike and other brands create shoes that are composed of many different parts, vegan shoes tend to have a "clean" look that comes from a minimum of separate design elements.
Not too far from The Sneakery, Market Street Shoes [4] carries several varieties of vegan footwear, including the Green Toe [5] line from Simple Shoes [6]. Green Toes get an "A" for environmentally conscious effort: They're compostable and recyclable, which is no surprise given what's in them. Each pair is made from some combination of recycled car tires, organic cotton, crepe rubber, jute, cork and water-based glue. That shoes made of such materials actually look good seems like a minor miracle, but they do; employees at Market Street say there's consistent demand for them.
Green Toe loafers, the line's simple, go-to style, are $80 for women and $90 for men; the charming women's boots, in gray or beige, are $120. For those in search of something even less obviously vegan, Market Street sells a line of women's shoes from J-41 [7] ($89-$99) that would go over well at a party. The store also stocks No Sweat [8] vegan shoes ($46) that, like Macbeth's Aberdales, resemble Converse. Another world-saving perk: The company only produces union-made, sweatshop-free goods. Earth Shoes [9], whose good-looking sneakers, sandals and boots can all be ordered vegan, are also available at Market Street.
Seeking out brands specifically for their animal-friendliness is a noble enterprise, to be sure. But sometimes, like a vegetarian with leather on his feet, we get set in our ways. Sometimes new brands scare us. So omnivores and herbivores alike who are already enamored of Canadian designer John Fluevog [10]'s Art Deco-inspired styles are in luck.
Just a few months ago, the downtown John Fluevog store [10] received the designer's much-anticipated second line of vegan shoes, and while they cost more -- $149 for high-tops and $129 for low-tops, compared to $99 for Fluevog's original hemp shoes -- you'll know what you're paying for the minute you see them.
While the first line looked, to put it kindly, as though they were made of sackcloth, the new vegan Fluevogs are hip enough to make a splash on Capitol Hill. They're composed primarily of ultrasuede and microfiber; the soles are made of crepe rubber that hasn't been treated with nasty chemicals. The dyes are all vegetable-based and chrome-free. They're even biodegradable. According to John Fluevog's Leah Floyd, customers were asking for the new wave of vegan Fluevogs well before they arrived; now they have a prominent position at the center of the store.
Whether you eat meat or don't, you can't miss 'em.
If you have a shop, sale, event or great product tip you'd like to share, e-mail seattleshopping@nwsource.com.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
