How Do I Know if My Shoes are Vegan? The Essential Guide

Whether you’re vegan, a fan of ethical fashion, or simply curious if your shoes happen to be vegan or not, it’s useful to know what materials your shoes are made of. Knowing what materials your shoe is made from can also play a crucial role in how they’re cared for.

Easy enough if you are shopping online at any of these fantastic vegan shoe brands.

But what if you’re out and about?

It’s not always that straightforward as you’ll soon find out.

Firstly, Check the Label

Yep, to begin with simply check the label.

It may seem obvious, but it will give you a good indication of whether the shoe is vegan or not.

So what am I looking for?

There are a few symbols you should be familiar with to help figure out what the shoe, and the shoe’s parts, are made from.

Each symbol indicates the material used in a specific part of the shoe. For example, the interwoven laces stand for textiles.

Meanwhile, the diamond stands for any other non-animal materials.

If your shoe happens to provide both of these symbols, this verifies that the shoe is likely to be vegan.

However, if your shoe has a “hide-like” symbol attached. This means that your shoe contains leather or other animal hide material such as suede or fur.

Or if it has the same symbol but with a small diamond inside it means it uses a coated leather.

Which bit is which?

I should also mention that different parts of the shoe may be tagged individually.

You’ll see three different labels for this.

One indicates the upper parts of the shoe.

The second indicates the lining or sock part of the shoe.

Lastly, there is one for the outer sole, or bottom, of the shoe.

You should see each of these paired with one of the material icons above so that you can get a pretty good idea of shoe’s overall structure.

Unfortunately, the mystery doesn’t always end here…

Hidden Gotchas

If the label says that the material is man-made, then you should be good to go right?

Not always.

Although the label can be helpful in identifying whether or not your shoes are vegan, it doesn’t give us the whole picture.

The Whole Picture

In the UK, for example, the label itself is only required to list the material that makes up 80% or greater of that part of the shoe.

[The labelling shall provide] the material which constitutes at least 80% of the surface area of the upper, at least 80% of the surface area of the lining and sock and at least 80% of the volume of the outer sole.

Footwear (Indication of Composition) Labelling Regulations 1995

That’s a whole 20% that isn’t required to be listed!

In most cases you should be able to tell if parts of the shoe aren’t made of completely the same material but if you’re at all unsure it’s a good idea to stay skeptical.

The In Between Bits

For most footwear the upper portion of the shoe is attached to the sole using a combination of stitching and glue.

These days more and more glue is synthetic, but there’s still a lot out there that is animal based.

Unfortunately it’s often a lot more difficult to to find this out from the label.

Brands tend not to know the type of glues used and manufacturers can be a little secretive about the glues they use. Which leads me to my final tip.

If All Else Fails…

If you’re still not sure at this point, don’t panic.

You still have two more options available before giving up on buying those new shoes!

Both require a little detective work on your part so put on your deerstalker.

First, you can investigate the company’s website.

There is often a list of the materials to be found in the product description. Keep a look out for clues such as the type of glue and the dyes used.

Many ethical brands, even if they are not 100% vegan, will feature vegan options for certain shoes. Some even carry entire lines that are made specifically for vegans.

Alternatively, you can check to see if the company has a mission statement that verifies their shoes/products are 100% vegan.

Second, if you are unable to discover the information you’re looking for, then you can always question the company themselves.

Whatever the brand, their customer service should be able to send you in the right direction when it comes to finding out if the materials used in making the shoes are vegan or not. Whether that’s giving you the information straight away or pointing you in the direction of the manufacturer.

Elementary?

I’ve listed a few ways you can use to discover the origins of your shoes.

Check the label. Read the product description. Find their mission statement. Call the company. Get in touch with the manufacturer.

It can be tough, especially if you really want to get that amazing piece of footwear you’ve had your eye on.

Fortunately you can also check out any of these amazing vegan shoe brands online where you can find all sorts of styles that are guaranteed to be 100% vegan.

If you have a great idea you think I’ve missed out, go ahead and share it in the comments below.