Footwear Insight

The New Vegan Footwear Demand for animal-free footwear is growing, and brands are betting on new materials to make the category their sustainability vanguards. BY JENNIFER ERNST BEAUDRY PHOTOS BY FRANK JAMES V e gan footwear is on the rise. According to retail technology and analytics firm Edited, the number of new animal-product- free footwear options has grown dramatically in the U.S, making up 32 percent of new styles in January, versus only 16 percent of new looks the year before. That growth tracks with what consumers are demanding. According to a survey of American consumers commissioned by Footwear Insight from Mesh01, 60 percent of respondents said that it was either "very" or "somewhat" impor- tant that the shoes they buy be completely free of animal byproducts. And 48 percent of respondents said they would be willing to pay more for vegan-friendly styles. Of course, non-leather footwear is nothing new. The increased availability of performance synthetic textiles and more sophisticated manu- facturing techniques have fueled growth in non-leather footwear for decades across almost all categories — as, certainly, have the lower prices of many synthetics when compared with leathers and suedes. But creating truly vegan styles means more than just not using leather. Calling a product vegan means digging into the supply chain and manufacturing processes to ensure that the adhesives, glues, and all the footwearinsight.com March/April 2019 ~ Footwear Insight • 19 components are animal-free too, a more daunting challenge. But as demand grows, more and more brands have been dipping a toe into the animal-free market. And to that end, we asked brands active in the vegan space — both newly and longstanding — what trends they're seeing in the field. Here, they sound off on consumer motivation, growth potential and the materials the matter. How Big Is Vegan Now? "There's no question vegan is growing and will become a bigger and bigger part of our range; the demand is definitely there," says Galahad Clark, founder of UK natural motion line Vivobarefoot. Clark says younger consumers especially are demanding animal-free products. And Zachary Osness, VP of global sales and merchandising for insole and footwear maker Sole, agrees. "In the last few years, we have seen a significant uptick in the number of consumers and retailers asking for vegan-friendly options," he says. But what might surprise you is how much business some brands are already doing in the space. Magnus Wedhammar, GM and VP for Goleta, CA-based Sanuk, says the "vast major- ity" of its Spring '19 line is certified vegan. Sydney Simas, VP of sales & marketing for comfort brand Arcopedico, estimates that 80 percent of the brand's business today is animal-free. Even OluKai, a brand that made its name with its range of luxe leather flip-flops, has had vegan products in the line since its founding and is approximately 25 percent vegan-friendly today, says senior footwear designer Juliana Sanfelici. What's Driving Consumers? The general consumer interest in leading vegetarian and vegan lifestyles is critical. It's the reason Citrus Heights, CA-based brand Bearpaw piloted a small test program in 2018 that it is rolling out more widely for Fall/Winter 2019. "The population of vegans and vegetarians is growing, so we wanted to offer cozy and comfortable Bearpaw products for them to wear," Aaron Brown, VP of product and sourcing, says of offering three of the brand's top-selling boot styles in microsuede and acrylic shearling. "We believe we're in the midst of a shift to more mindful consumerism,

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