Vegan Running Shoes and Trainers
Are Your Running Shoes Vegan?Good footwear is the basis of many fitness activities - pick up any book on running or fitness and the first recommendation is often 'get a good pair of trainers'. There are lots of ethical, technical and aesthetic reasons for choosing one pair over another, but vegetarians will also want to know if animal derived products go into the shoe.To try and find out which shoes are vegetarian-friendly, Vegan Runners UK have contacted those manufacturers who specialize in running shoes to get up to date information on which trainers are animal-free.What's the Problem?More often than not, a vegetarian or vegan can get information about the main animal materials used in shoes from the label. It usually says if leather or suede is used, if wool makes up the filling or if silk is part of the shoe. However, some glues used to put shoes together are derived from animals. The list below identifies those manufacturers who have told us that their trainers are vegan.Plenty of Vegan OptionsThe first bit of good news is that there are specialist running shoes for all occasions that have been confirmed as animal-friendly, so if you like trails, roads, gyms, forefoot running or racing, there's an animal-friendly option. Here's an overview of what the companies say:When it comes to road running shoes and racing flats, there are a good number of big names here. Saucony, Mizuno, Brooks, Asics, Newton and Pearl Izumi all confirm their performance running shoes are vegan. In each case, so long as it doesn't say leather on the label, the shoe is vegan. You'll notice that there are some big names missing; we seemed unable to get a response so can't really say if they're vegetarian or not. Luckily that still leaves a fantastic selection of great technical shoes.It's also a really good picture for off-roaders, with British-based Inov8 and Walsh both confirming that their main trainers are animal product free. Carn also stated that the leather-free shoes in their range are vegan.What About the Rest?Two companies, Puma and Reebok, replied to say that they cannot guarantee their products are free from animal products. Quite a few companies simply didn't respond; the full list of all responses is available at our website, www.veganrunners.org.uk.If anyone reading this is associated with any of those companies and wants to set the record straight, please get in touch via the website.The Vegan Running Shoes
Asics
All running shoes with N in the label/product code are vegan
Brooks
All but the 'addiction walker' are vegan
Carn
cobra, viper ev
Inov8
All but the Roclite 400 GTX Boot
Merrell
Some styles are vegan friendly*
Mizuno
All running products are vegan friendly
Newton
All are vegan
Pearl Izumi
Leather-free are vegan friendly
Puma
Not vegan
Reebok
Not vegan
Saucony
Leather-free are vegan friendly
Walsh
Some styles are vegan friendly*
*Walsh: PB Elite Trainer, PB Elite X'treme, PB Elite Racer, PB Ultra, PB Ultra X'treme, PB Junior, PB Boot, Spirit Lite, Spirit Peak, Spirit React
*Merrell: Men’s: Chameleon3 Blast, Chameleon3 Plexus Sport, Chameleon Wrap Slam, Waterpro Manistee/ Waterpro Maipo, Waterpro Gauley, Waterpro Ganges, Pathway Moc Canvas, Women’s: Siren Strap Sport, Waterpro Manistee/Waterpro Maipo, Waterpro Belle, Waterpro Ganges
The following companies were contacted, but no response was received:
Adidas, Avia, Diadora, Etonic, Hi-Tec, K-Swiss, Montrail, New Balance, Nike, Salomon, The North Face, Timberland, Under Armour, Vibram, Zoot.
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Story posted by JohnBa on 2011-04-01 16:45:12.
Story last updated by JohnBa on 2011-04-01 16:47:58.
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Forest Parks, United Kingdom on 12th Apr 2013 12:13
Thanks for the awesome work! I'm vegan and in the UK right now but won't be able to make it to a London meet. Is there anything happening near Liverpool soon?
Anyway, I made use of your table in my latest post: http://regularrunner.com/are-my-running-shoes-vegan-vegetarian/
Thanks again.
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jeremy, brighton on 25th Oct 2011 11:31
can anyone suggest a decent stable all terrain running shoe? i was running in a new balance ( pre china ) cross trainer but found them too high and had problems with rolling my ankle too easily.want something abit lower and more stable, but with good heal protection..any ideas?
cheers
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jeremy, brighton on 25th Oct 2011 11:26
one thing about converse is that they are owned by nike..one of the most unethical and despicable corporations on the face of the earth..so it depends. if you are an ethical vegan do you want to support a company like nike, regardless?
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Mark on 20th Sep 2011 08:22
I spoke to Converse - apparently "most" of their shoes are vegan but some are not and they couldn't tell me which ones.
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Rachel Doyle, Dublin on 13th Sep 2011 21:24
Thanks for the great info about these products. Does anyone know anything about Converse???
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Stephen Lukas, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on 17th Jul 2011 20:16
Thanks for this information. As a new vegan (former vegetarian) - and a long-time runner I've only just thought to ask the question about what's in my shoes! (Not sure what took me so long, but as someone who makes every effort to purchase consciously - and who loves to run - it's a pretty important question. Thanks again. Stephen L.
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Luke on 27th Jun 2011 10:49
Thanks so much for this helpful resource! I've been wrecking my knees with low-quality vegan shoes, so it's great to find some high-tech options!
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Peter Simpson, Milton Keynes on 6th Apr 2011 00:43
A significant vote of confidence for vegans by many of the running shoe companies. Vegan running shoes are almost mainstream! A great effort by John Bateson, matching his Reading Half Marathon time.
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