Shoes: different types, vegan choices and how to ensure comfort wearing them

We are wearing shoes most of our awake lives, they provide both practical function and appearance. Shoes may wear fairly quickly depending on their quality and purpose. Shoes production have been traditionally very heavily reliant on animal products, fortunately in recent years there are more and more animal friendly and sustainable alternatives rising on the market due to increasing awareness to this issue in general public. The easiest way to ensure cruelty-free products is, of coarse, a vegan or vegan-friendly labeling, but not all companies labeling their vegan products as such. Asking the stuff is also a great option while buying in the store, unfortunately they don't always know.
There are also some apps available exactly for that – finding out if products are vegan. You may choose one you like and try finding out that way.
Materials most commonly used for vegan-friendly shoes are: polyurethane and other synthetics, cotton, hemp, linen and other plant based textiles, cork and rubber. Adhesives and dyes are also important part of shoe manufacturing even though they are less thought about as being a cause of animal suffering.

Glue of your vegan shoes

Glue material is usually the hardest to identify and know whether or not it is cruelty free and vegan. Fortunately, in recent years there's been a shift to synthetic adhesives for footwear glue as they are more effective, economically profitable and reliable in production, yet more traditional animal based ingredients are still widespread. Most manufacturers will not reveal their glue recipe, as it is frequently their trade secret. Still it is usually helpful to ask them whether or not it is actually vegan. In that case, besides founding that out, you signal them that cruelty free materials are costumer's priority.
We encourage your to check the materials of all shoe parts, maybe contact the manufacturer for more details if you are not quit sure about something.

How to measure your shoe size – width , insoles & arch support etc.

Stand on a horizontal surface with your heel pressed against straight perpendicular edge (might be wall).
Put your weight on that foot, while your heel is still pressed against the edge.
Mark a line on the surface – you might want to place a paper on it in advance - next to your longest toe (will probably be big or index toe). Make sure your toes are straight.
Measure the length between the wall/edge till the line in milometers, centimeters or inches.
It is advised to repeat it for both your feet, in case one is slightly longer then the other which is quit normal and common. The largest length of the two is your feet length measurement.

Measuring your foot width:

Place your foot on a peace of white paper on the floor while seated
Draw an outline of your foot with pencil or pen as closely as possible while putting some of your weight on that foot. Be careful not to move the foot during that stage.
Remove your foot from the paper and measure the widest area (in millimeters/centimeters or inches), usually located at the toes base of your foot just behind the toes. You might want to reduce 3-4 millimeters (1/6 of an inch) of your measurements due to inaccuracy of drawing over your foot.
Repeat with your second foot.
Select the shoes according to your larger foot width (same as with length).

Some shoes do not show their width on the label, in that case please contact the manufacturer for more info.

How to know if you have a flat, normal or high arch:

Put some clean paper or paper bag on the floor or other flat surface
Get one of your feet wet (but not too much, we don't want the water to spill down from it)
Step on the paper for 2 seconds with your wet foot and apply your weight on it
Step away and examine your footprint. You may want to take a picture of it or outline it before it dries.
Do the same with your other foot.
Compare your footprints with 3 typical imprints:

Depending on your feet arch, you might need or want to add some insoles for more comfort.

Insoles

Wearing the right type of insoles will give you better arch support and may reduce stress on your legs, back and other parts of your body. While choosing the insoles it is important to consider what type of shoes you're meaning to use them with and what activity and endurance level you plan them for. For normal arch - cushioning insoles could be used for more comfort; if you have a high arch or flat feet– arch supportive insoles are recommended to reduce an impact on your arches and stabilize your heel during walking or running. It is also important to choose the insoles of right size in terms of both length and width and their compatibility to the shoes themselves. Some can be used for a range of shoe sizes, for example ¾ length insoles. Insoles can also be customized individually for your feet shape and any conditions you may have.
It also is very important to consider the material insoles are made out of. Most are made of synthetic or plant based materials, such as cork, foam, polyurethane and plant based fibers. Still wide variety of leather insoles unfortunately are being produced. There are companies that specializing on cruelty-free insole production, please consider buying one of their products if you decide to purchase some insoles.

Approximated sizes conversion tables for men's, women's and children's footwear:

Shoe sizes can be very confusing as they frequently differ from brand to brand. For your convenience we've gathered the most frequent size's conversion. Please note that there is no international standard, so the numbers may very. When applicable you should mostly rely on inches or centimeters (or millimeters) measurements as they are more definitive. Sometimes it is beneficial to contact a manufacturer for a precise measurements of their products.

Women's Shoe sizes:

Length, cm	Length, in	US size	EU size	UK size
21.2	8 3/16	4	35	2
22.0	8 1/2	5	36	3
22.9	8 7/8	6	37	4
23.7	9 1/4	7	38	5
24.6	9 1/2	8	39	6
25.4	9 7/8	9	40	7
26.2	10 3/16	10	41	8
27.0	10 1/2	11	42	9
27.6	10 7/8	12	43	10

Men's Shoe sizes:

Length, cm	Length, in	US size	EU size	UK size
22.0	8 5/8		37
22.7	8 15/16		38
23.5	9 1/4	6	39	5.5
24.4	9 5/8	7	40	6.5
25.4	9 15/16	8	41	7.5
26.0	10 1/4	9	42	8.5
27.0	10 9/16	10	43	9.5
27.9	10 15/16	11	44	10.5
28.6	11 1/4	12	45	11.5
29.4	11 9/16	13	46	12.5
30.2	11 7/8	14	47	13.5
31.0	12 3/16	15	48	14.5
31.7	12 1/2	16	49	15.5

Children's Shoe sizes:

Length, cm	Length, in	US size	EU size	UK size
9.2	3 5/8	1	16	1
10.1	4	2	17	1.5
10.9	4 3/8	3	18	2.5
11.5	4 3/4	4	19	3
12.3	5	5	20	4
13.0	5 1/4	6	21.5	5
13.8	5 5/8	7	23	6
14.6	5 7/8	8	24	7
15.3	6 1/4	9	25.5	8
16.1	6 5/8	10	26.5	9
16.9	6 7/8	11	28	10
17.6	7 1/8	12	29	11
18.4	7 3/8	13	30.5	12

If you foot length is in-between sizes – choose the larger size. If your feet measurements are a little bit different select the size of your larger foot.

Additional tips regarding different shoe types:

Sneakers and running shoes: In my experience snickers, running shoes and other types of sports footwear are the easiest types to ensure cruelty free purchase with. Lots of vegan options are available and their labels and tags are quit detailed and precise. Carefully check the label to ensure all part of your chosen shoe is synthetic, man-made or plant based. Please check out our materials table for some assistance.
Boots: Most of boots, especially winter ones are made of animal based materials, involving manufacturing processes abusive to animals, so you should conduct a detailed due diligence as per each part's composing material. Best bet on getting vegan boot is to shop at specialty store or look for specifying vegan label. While measuring the boot keep in mind the shaft/calf size and weather or not it is comfortable to you.
Hiking boots and shoes: Your personal comfort is of the uppermost importance while choosing the hiking boots, more so then any other type of shoes. Thus you should measure them physically in the store before making any decisions. Slip resistivity, water resistance properties and durability are very important as well, do not forget to check those parameters and match them to your intended usage. And of course check a shoe label to determine that your purchase is cruelty free.
Safety boots: Cheak out our safety boots article which include safety grades description and how to choose an appropriate vegan safety boots for you.
Slippers: There are quit a few vegan options available. On the other hand many slippers contain wool or real fur decoration and infill so please check before you purchasing your new cozy pair. Vegan slippers could be bought from exclusivey vegan producer or not, they may look and feel exactly like their non-vegan counterparts and yet be entirely plant based, synthetic or made out of man made cruelty free fibers.
High heels: Unfortunately most of them made, at least in part, of animal based materials, involving abusive manufacturing processes, therefore you should conduct a detailed due diligence. You will certainly be better off trying high heel shoes on physically before buying, as foot measurement is not the only important thing in assuring your comfort. There is no measurement known to ensure the foot position comfort on high heels.
Sandals: Cruelty free options are abundant, yet many sandals are made of animal skins partially or completely. Even if you find canvas made sandal you should make sure the sole is also vegan, as there are plenty of canvas sandals with leather soles. Same holds for glue, heels and straps.
Formal/elegant shoes: One of the hardest types of shoes to ensure absence of cruelty in. Most of them are made from animal derived products. Nevertheless, there are some brands that manufacture animal friendly alternatives made of synthetic leather or plant based materials. Lots of those brands easily stand on the same level as their traditional leather counterparts in terms of their quality and appearance. There is very important to check all the components of the shoe, including glues and dyes as well as sole and all visible shoe parts.
Flip flops: Flip flops are very popular, comfortable during hot seasons and are cheap. Many vegan-friendly options are available, made of synthetic, plant based or combination of synthetic with plant based materials (see our fabrics and fibers table to check which materials are vegan). Although plenty of animal based ones exist, especially those made of leather, so there is important to check flip flops' source materials.
Being so cheap and widespread, flip flops get dumped a lot, especially on the beaches but not exclusively, and it cause a big environmental problem of ocean and land plastic pollution. So please bear it in mind. Try to buy ones made of recyclable and/or more sustainable materials (ex. recycled plastic and tires, natural rubber, cork, hemp etc.), try to repair you flip flop if possible rather then throw it away and, if you can, buy ones that are more durable so they will last longer.
Children's shoes: As all parents know, children's feet sizes are changing very quickly as they grow. So, unless you are planning to pass the shoes forward (which is of coarse a welcome initiative on it's on), they don't have to last truly long time. Make sure to purchase appropriate size shoes on time or maybe ahead of time so you will not be in a hurry to buy anything quick and will be comfortable to shop around for the most suited alternative and make sure that your purchase is cruelty free and as environmentally friendly as it can be.

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