Eco-must-have: vegan boots

When we peer at a pair of fabulous boots, we check the tag to see its ingredients, and leather, wool, and fur are some names we enjoy seeing. As a society, we are influenced to buy these top-notch materials, but usually their artificial counterparts are more eco-friendly. 
  

Blowfish Walsh Black Knee-highs, $79, lulus.com

Vegan boots will lack the following materials:

• Leather
• Wool 
• Fur
• Suede
• Other animal by-products

Vegan & eco-friendly boots will contain the following materials:

• Organic cotton
• Organic dyes
• Other organic fabrics
• Recycled rubber
• Faux leather
• Low-impact leather (uses enzymes to polish it rather than chemicals) 
• Faux fur
• Faux suede
• Natural fibers (i.e. hemp)

Leather is usually the main material that makes up our boots. What makes it a sometimes eco-zero material is companies use harsh chemicals for the tanning process.

Tanning is the process in which chemicals such as tannin are used to prevent leather returning to its rawhide form, making it more suitable for our needs. A few companies do use natural enzymes to tan leather, and this may be marked on a label as "low-impact leather."

To see if a company uses low-impact leather, check its website. Many companies have press releases on their sites about the ways they are becoming greener.

Using leather in shoes may be considered environmentally sound since the product is technically leftover waste from the meat industry. But if you're concerned about the animals within our ecosystem and can't commit to a vegan diet, then maybe vegan shoes are the way to go.