Non-skate shoe company vegan skate shoes

Cariuma

Most of shoes below have a canvas upper, which skateboarders (who are typically animal suede users) traditionally frown upon. But with regular use of Shoe Goo (or Ripcare or something of the kind) they can be just as durable as suede/vegan microfibre suede shoes. And at some point the shoes' soles will develop big toe holes. I think skateboarders should really reconsider suede (especially animal-source suede) and give canvas another chance.

The only skateboard "pro" shoe with a non-canvas upper (durable vegan microfibre suede) is the "Vallely Pro".

NAIOCA

(organic canvas)

Vallely Pro

(vegan suede and some recycled fabric)

Note: This shoe is now also available in real animal-source leather. This probably has something to do with Mike Vallely (once again) going back to eating meat.

Vallely Pro "Avatar Banshee"

Vallely Pro "Black & blue/ivory"

Vallely Pro "Black & charcoal grey/ivory"

Vallely Pro "Black & off-white vintage/black"

Vallely Pro black ivory

Vallely Pro "Blue & off-white/red"

Vallely Pro "Camel & off-white vintage/black"

Vallely Pro "Camel/ivory"

Vallely Pro "Grey/black"

Vallely Pro "Off-white vintage/black"

Vallely Pro "Off-white vintage gum/grey"

IBI low

(bamboo and recycled plastic)

IBI slip-on

(bamboo and recycled plastic)

Slip-on

(organic cotton canvas)

OCA low

(organic canvas)

OCA low x Pantone

(organic canvas)

IBI high

(bamboo and recycled plastic)

OCA high

(canvas)

OCA Therma high

(vegan suede recycled materials natural rubber sole)

Caturi

(vegan suede recycled materials natural rubber sole)

The Cariuma website has a prominent "VEGAN" button for which they should be applauded - this is not something you'll find on other skate shoe companies' (or "skate shoe" companies', like Nike, New Balance, Adidas, Reebok) websites.

Nike

Nyjah 3

(synthetic rubber upper - note: the rubber *might* not be 10000% vegan)

See more colourways of this shoe here.

Nike SB Blazer low x Doyenne

(canvas upper)

Converse

Converse are a subsidiary of Nike (i.e., Nike owns Converse).

One Star Pro Herringbone

(canvas upper, I think - note: Herringbone is usually made from wool but I would be very suprised if this shoe's upper was made from wool. I'm guessing it's a Herringbone pattern canvas upper.)

Taking cues from military uniforms, the always bold One Star Pro gets an understated, tonal update. Ornate stitching and durable, woven herringbone bring a textural edge, while glossy egret rubber keeps your look clean and classic.

PRODUCT DETAILS

• Low-top shoe with woven herringbone upper
• CX Foam cushioning for all-day comfort
• Cotton canvas tongue and heelstay
• Tonal, textural design for a clean look
• Iconic One Star branding

CONS One Star Pro Embroidery

(canvas upper)

Back in the 90s, it was probably Thurston Moore who made the "one star" look cool. But don't be fooled, coporate rock still sucks and corporate footwear ... likewise.

Says the Converse website:

"The skate-ready One Star Pro gets an elevated update with a chambray upper [chambray is 100% cotton], adorned with colorful embroidery. Paired with matte rubber for a low-key vintage look, they're a Wild West take on your favorite sneakers.

PRODUCT DETAILS

• Low-top shoe with chambray upper
• OrthoLite cushioning for all-day comfort
• Western-inspired embroidery dresses up your sneakers
• Unvarnished foxing for a matte finish
• Signature One Star detailing "

CONS Chuck 70 no waste canvas (armory blue egret black)

(100 % recycled rPET-Canvas uppers)

CONS Chuck Hi 70 canvas (black black egret)

(100 % recycled rPET-Canvas uppers - note: with "rPET" I'm guessing they mean recycled PET.)

CONS Chuck Taylor All Star Pro cordura canvas (cargo khaki egret dark gum)

(Cordura upper - note: it says "cordura canvas" but Cordura is by definition at least partly synthetic)

CONS Chuck Taylor All Star Pro cordura canvas (velvet brown egret dark gum)

(Cordura upper)

CONS Chuck Taylor All Star Pro Mid (black black egret)

(canvas upper)

CONS Chuck Taylor All Star Pro Mid (egret red clematis blue)

(canvas upper)

CONS Chuck Taylor All Star Pro Ox (black black white white)

(canvas upper)

Reebok

Does Reebok make skate shoes? I'm not sure. But I have seen these sold as skate shoes in a number of online skate shops. I'm not sure if the toe cap is in any way reinforced in the ollie and/or kickflip areas. If you know, please let me know.

More than you need to know: I used to skate in Reebok basketball shoes before I had my first pair of real skate shoes (Airwalk Vic, without (!) a lace saver) - back in non-vegan days (~1989).

• Note 3 February 2024: Yesterday I saw someone at the skate park wearing these shoes (probably the non-vegan version) and I asked how they skate and he said "not good, I only wear them because I already had them".

Club C 85 Vegan

(synthetic leather upper)

This shoe has the word "vegan" on the insoles.

Cloud White / Stucco / Red Ember

Cloud White / Lilac Glow / Classic Teal

Chalk / Pure Grey 3 / Steely Fog F23

Chalk / Pink Glow / Forest Green

"white blue" (not sure what the colourway is officially called)

"pink navy" (not sure what the colourway is officially called)

Puma

Puma does have "skate shoes" on their website. At least that's what they call them. But from what I can tell the upper of these shoes is only partly synthetic, for example synthetic with real leather Puma stripes or "Closed mesh upper with suede and synthetic leather overlays". Puma also have vegan shoes on their website (with the European vegan logo), and there are no skate shoes with that logo on their website.

Adidas

Did you know that Puma's founder was the brother of the founder of Adidas? Nike is the biggest (by far), followed by Adidas, and then Puma. In the 1990s, this alone would have been a good reason for every skateboarder on the planet (statistically speaking) to not by from these huge corporations. Now, it seems to be a good reason for most skaterboarders to buy these shoes (Nike, followed by Adidas - my observation; not Puma of course). ... Anyway, like Puma, Adidas have vegan shoes - they explicitly state that these shoes are vegan but Adidas does not display [pay for] vegan logos - like vegan versions of the Samba, Stan Smith, Superstar, and Nova Court. But among their actual skate shoes there aren't any vegan ones, with the exception of the occasional all-canvas-upper shoe such as canvas versions of the "3MC Vulc", the "Nizza",and the "Adiease" (even though with the Nizza and the Adiease, I'm not 100% sure that the stripes are vegan; they probably are but best to double-check before you buy).

3MC Vulc

(only those with an all-canvas upper)

New Balance

I don't think New Balance Numeric have any vegan skate shoes at the moment. I don't even see any canvas shoes. --- >>> Update 17 July 2033: There's a new vegan NB colourway!

Others

Many shoe companies that make skate shoes are boderline "actual skate shoe companies". DC started out as a skate shoe company in the 90s but really is an entirely different company now and isn't owned by skateboarders. Fallen - the rebirth (second version) of Fallen - isn't owned by skateboarders. Vans has never really been a company owned by skateboarders or a company originally focused on making skate shoes (and Vans is now owned by some huge corporation, VF Corporation that also own North Face, Timberland and god knows what). Globe was actually started by skateboarders, and the current CEO seems to be a skateboarder (at least he grew up skating) but the company is on the (Australian) stock exchange (so it's owned by all kinds of people).

God knows who owns Circa (C1rca) nowadays. And god probably doesn't even know who owns Osiris (yes, they still exist). It still seems to be a fairly small company though. Straye still seems to be owned by Jamie Thomas. Sole Tech (etnies, éS, emerica) is owned and run by skateboarders (onwed by Pierre-André Senizergues). Last Resort is owned by Pontus Alv probably (and his friends maybe) - Last Resort only have canvas shoes (other than their animal-slaughter shoes). Lakai is owned by the Girl people (Crailtap), but they also only have the occasional canvas shoe. Servant Footwear doesn't exist anymore - and that's the worst. 

P.S.: Not that "skater-owned" is necessecarily a good thing, not if the skaters in question are people without much of a trace of integrity or just outright right-wing thugs (let's say, like Biebel, or Jay Adams (☠), or Danny Way, ...) ... or people who just lost control completely, like Gator [check out "Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator", 2002] or Ben Pappas [check out "All This Mayhem", 2014]). The documentary "All This Mayhem" is worth watching also just for a glimpse of what might just be the tip of the iceberg of the almost total lack of integrity in the upper echelons of US-American pro skating.