Grooving Vegan?

A New Groove in Shoes! 

SPOTTED:  On websites, shoeboxes, in stores and online.  A heart with a 'V' inside, 'Be Green', 'Go Veg', 'Live on the Veg'.  What are all these companies talking about?  Keep reading, eco-friendly fashionistas, because I'll never tell!

            XoXo,
            Groove Girl

Recently, more and more icons are popping up on websites and stores for Vegan Footwear.  What exactly is a 'vegan' shoe and why is it such a growing trend?  With the ecological enlightenment of global warming, over consumption, and the consequences of synthetic plastics and other materials, there has been a huge surge in 'Green' living.

Using fake leather versus real leather, some even go as far as using all plant based materials from the laces to the bindings.  While this growing trend may seem to be new to the fashion scene, but cruelty-free footwear has been around for years.  Just ask A-Lister Anne Hathaway!  For years this celeb has been rocking her own custom-made cruelty-free shoes.  In fact, she wore a pair of vegan Tom Ford gladiators to the NY premiere of Les Miserables and required vegan-friendly footwear for all of her character's shoes.

Leather is the most common animal skin in the fashion world and most of the high-end labels do not play nice when it comes to getting their supply.  Amongst poor living conditions, many animals are tortured and executed without anesthesia.  Many manufacturers will choose the cheapest fur farm, which often results in purchasing from some of the most cruel and inhumane ones.  It's not just our furry friends that are in danger here, so are our slippery and slithery friends.  Take Gucci, for example, take their snake skin from pythons...which California has banned the selling of python shoes already.  Jimmy Choo even has a pair made out of eel skin!

Maybe if she waited a few years Natalie Portman's Vegan shoe line (by Dior) may have survived :( 

So what do companies, like MooShoes, make their shoes out of you ask?  Here are some of the popular vegan materials: Ultrasuede (post-industrial polyester), Reclaimed wooden soles, Italian synthetic leathers, Organic cotton and hemp fabrics, Water-based glues with cell-rubber lining, Vegetable-dyed linen and cotton linings, as well as biodegradable boxes printed with environmentally friendly inks! I even read that one of the nontoxic, environment friendly synthetic microfibers is derived from recycled televisions. That's right; recycled TV screens!!! How cool is that?!

Did you know every Stella McCartney shoe is vegan-friendly?! 

I love indulging in a really expensive pair of designer shoes, even though I can get an almost exact faux replica for half the price.  I am not a vegetarian,vegan, or extreme environmentalist (I do what I can to reduce, reuse, recycle), but after doing this research, I definitely feel a lot better about the faux leather and fur in my closet.  I get to save my money (let's be real...I just get more shoes for the price of one expensive pair) and no furry friends have to give their life, win-win!

P.S. ALL Groove Footwear shoes are Furry Friend Approved!

What to look for next week!?!

::: Ever wonder "Where can I get that outfit!?", or "Who on earth put that outfit together??" when you were watching Sex and the City?? Well, I am bringing out the lowdown on the styling and fashion behind the show and movies! :::

::: Want to be trendy, but still rock your feminine, girly style?  No worries, I will be breaking down the new Street/Punk/Rocker trend to make sure any fashionality (fashion personality, hehehe get it?) will be able to incorporate it into their Fall wardrobe! :::