Emerica has a newish vegan/leather-re shoe and it's called "Dickson black white". Note: ONLY THIS COLOURWAY is vegan (leather-free).
What the Emerica website says:
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I sometimes use the term "leather-free" instead of vegan because "leather-free" is less strict (or more precise) than saying vegan. But Emerica does use the label vegan for this shoe. Glue or even rubber could contain some animal by-products. However, I personally don't think that worrying about the 1% non-vegan component that might potentially be there in some types of synthetic rubber (not all!) isn't that important. Also, water-based glues - which should be animal-free - seem pretty standard nowadays for making shoes. But I'm not an expert in current shoe manufacturing practices.
Emerica has several vegan (or "leather-free") skate shoes on their website. Check the vegan section out here: emerica.com/us/footwear/vegan/ Or just search for "vegan" on their website.
But the "Dickson black white" seems to be the sturdiest, more suitable for actual skating, even though this is a canvas shoe, too. If you use some kind of Shoe Goo-like glue though a canvas upper, especially if it's strong canvas, isn't such a bad thing at all. It's also about the shoe being a bit sturdy (not too flimsy) and the shoe being comfortable (no heel slippage, no heel bleeding, no ankle biting, etc.). I have some Emerica Laced (all canvas), and they are not exactly the most comfortable shoes, fine for walking around, but the canvas is really stiff and pinches my toes and below the ankle. But I think, the Dickson is a much better design.
I haven't actually seen them live. So better check out this review by Andrew Cannon on YouTube which does the shoes better justice probably.
What I find odd though is that the tip of the shoe has no rubber cap. Isn't "everyone" doing 360 flips all the time nowadays?
What the Emerica website says:
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DESCRIPTION
Emerica is proud to present Jon Dickson's first Emerica pro model, The Dickson. The Dickson features Flick Shield, a rubber underlay designed to last longer while also having our Desert Grip tread on the outsole for better grip and a polyurethane G6 insole for impact resistance with custom artwork by Jon Dickson himself.
Emerica is proud to present Jon Dickson's first Emerica pro model, The Dickson. The Dickson features Flick Shield, a rubber underlay designed to last longer while also having our Desert Grip tread on the outsole for better grip and a polyurethane G6 insole for impact resistance with custom artwork by Jon Dickson himself.
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PRODUCT DETAILS
Item Code: 6102000130/976
Color: Black/white
Features:
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PRODUCT DETAILS
Item Code: 6102000130/976
Color: Black/white
Features:
- Double Wrapped Vulcanized Construction
- G6 Foam Polyurethane Insole
- Flick Shield Rubber Inlay
- Soft Cuff Achilles Foam Pad
- Heel Halo Fit System With Integrated Lycra Tongue Straps
- One Peice [!] Vamp
- Triangle Tread Outsole
- Custom Topaz Eyelet
- Custom Insole Artwork By Jon Dickson
- Vegan
- Animal Friendly
