Conscientious

Ethical and shoes is not an Oxymoron (ethics are your personal) but neither is it straight forward. Vegans are kind to farmed and hunted animals but synthetic leathers are harsh on the environment. Many of us find humanely farmed animals acceptable in products that have longevity. But fast made cheap leather is produced in dangerous conditions. Slow made leather is safe to health and the environment but how do you know how your leather was made? A good guess is if it cheap and comes from a country that is not strict on environmental standards, don’t buy it.

For summer shoes there are great alternatives like canvas or silk. Hemp has been flirting with the new suede for a while, but it yet to make big inroads.

Hasbeens are handmade and each shoes is original- hence collectable. They are made from wood and slow European produced leather in the way shoes were made until the 70s.

Not for vegans, but it is worse considering that slow made leather uses far less chemicals and has a smaller carbon footprint than synthetics. It's also worth noting that fast made, over heated leather production produces carcinogenic chemicals. Slow, traditions leathers are safe to workers health and the environment.

Raffia is a material made from the palm tree, Raphia farinifera that can be stripped, twined and tied,

Raphia farinifera is native to Madagascar. Most commercial Raffia comes from harvested palms, often in East Africa (so there is no connection to the palm oil controversies of South East Asia

Fendi gladiator heels with Raffia Upper. Armani Raffia wedge with leather uppers.

The Etiko sneaker range are poduced in Pakistan and are Certified Fairtrade. They also feature a rubber sole which has been certified sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) …..making the sneakers ethically and environmentally sound. Available at selected Oxfam Shop in most Westfields throughout Australia.

Raw Antique organic hemp unisex boots, 100% made in Europe.

Chione Hemp ladies fashion boots. Made in Korea,

available online at Yesstyle.

Cork is a material that grows as the bark of the Cork Oak tree. More than half of the world's cork originates in southern Portugal. The bark of the Cork Oak tree is harvested about every 9 or 10 years, and it is allowed to dry for 1 to 2 years. It takes a long time to produce so should be used in products that last a longtime.

During WWII when shoe materials became scarce Italian shoe maker Salvatori Ferragami invented the wedge by recycling cork from wine bottles.

Synthetics: Polyurethane (PU) is supposedly gentler than PVC. Synthetics invariable produce toxic waste that generally ends up in the river systems of Asia.

Leather: Fast Tanning verses Slow Tanning

Most leather tanning uses Chrome III to cross strings of protein to hold them together and preserve them. Chrome III is safe except at high temperatures when it rusts into Chromes IV, which is carcinogenic (not only to workers but traces can remain in the leather). Therefore, cheap leather of unknown sources may be made under sweatshop conditions by tired workers, non-government or other monitoring and with tight deadlines; this is when the danger would occur.

Vegetable tanned leather accounts for only a tiny percentage of the world’s leather. Traditionally it’s stiff and used for saddles, harnesses and work boots. Rumour has it that current generations are improving and getting more supple and soft.

Then there is the complex issue of animal-cruelty.... Even for non-vegans there is issues farmed verses hunted, endangered species.... Is it okay to use the leather from animals that would be eaten anyway?