*chimes in*
99.9% of brands these days use actual suede on their shoes and it has pretty much been an industry standard for years 20+ years now.
the only companies (apart from the ones that actually go out of their way to provide vegan options) that use fake suede on their shoes do so because exporting leather to some countries cost mad $$$.
there was a time back in the tech shoe craze where synthetic was huge but i think it was more of an aesthetic thing as opposed to companies actually caring about animal rights. having said that, many pro skaters have offered vegan options over the years (e.g. ed, vallely, moses, laban, rowley, the chief, mccrank) although these days ed is pretty much the only one left carrying the flag (where you at spencer hamilton?). emerica, etnies, dekline, and a few others do go out of their way to make sure you know they have vegan options in their catalogues whereas with other companies it's just sort of accidental because of the colourway etc.
a few thoughts on the matter:
- it's funny that skaters still rely so much on/ swear by suede considering it stretches and loses shape so quickly. when was the last time you saw a pair of running/ athletic shoes that wasn't synthetic?
- synthetic is usually pretty harmful to the environment in the scheme of things (then again, so is leather) so i wish companies would focus more on natural fibers ala old-skool i-path. rubber toe caps are making a comeback so i think hemp/ rubber toe combos would be the best option.
- some vegos can go either with the leather thang because it is actually a byproduct of the meat industry. i.e. the animals aren't killed solely for their hides (as in the case of fur). while i personally won't wear leather, i am in two minds about this train of thought; if a good quality leather jacket is going to last you say 15+ years then imo that's better (at least from an environmental standpoint) than buying 5x PU vinyl jackets over that same time frame. yes, an animal dies but as long as people still consuming meat you have all of the hides lying around that would otherwise be wasted. you could argue that increased environmental destruction causes more animal deaths down the line but in the case of skate shoes though you're gunna burn through them either way so of course cruelty free seems like the better option for true animal lovers.
- sheep shoes and zero-two should come back and take all my money; i miss the days when companies/ riders were more vocal about this topic
http://www.christiankoeder.com/2011/12/vegetarianism-in-skateboard-scen.htmlgood article if you're interested in this type of stuff (OP obviously is)
Savier seems to be pushing the envelope of synthetic-shoe development the farthest. �We focus heavily on creating the ultimate in synthetic skateboard shoes,� says McGarry. �Water-soluble glues and solvents are used in all of our synthetic shoes, and all the materials are PVC free. We�re currently working with a material vender with a new synthetic leather called Green-Pro. It�s even better than the PVC-free synthetic leather we�ve been using in the past.�"
wow! i hated savier back in the day but that's pretty cool to see the direction they were headed in
edit: sorry for them all, it's been a long day
Topic: animal suede and synthetic sude (Read 5305 times)