Leather On Shoes Question?

I am an animal rights actavist and was recently horrified to find that the pair of Kswiss shoes I own, aparently have leather on them somewhere. I am not sure where but acording to there website there is a small part of leather on the upper part of the shoe. I have however heard that most shoes are not really made of leather and that they just call it that. How do I really know that it is leather on them and not just some sort of fabric. I mean come on they cost like $50 I highly doubt shoes with leather would be that cheap. But then again I obviously do not buy leather things so I wouldnt really know.





Also. Does anyone know where I can buy fahionable shoes that are unleather. Both athletic and dress. My son plans to start at a private school this year which requires him to have black dress shoes, I am not sure where I can get really nice ones that are non leather, there has got to be someplace. Thank you.

Leather On Shoes Question?
You can use the hot needle test to check for animal content. You need a needle (I'd advise a safety pin) and a lighter or match. Heat the tip of the pin to glowing red hot (the safety pin takes longer to burn your fingers%26lt;G%26gt;) and *gently* touch the suspect material. Smell the wisp of smoke and if it smells like animal it is! Burnt plastic or vegetable smells are what you want%26lt;g%26gt;. Do the test in an inconspicuous spot and don't even think of trying it in the store%26lt;VBG%26gt;!





Leather shoes tend to be cheaper than the 'all man made' ones! It's much more costly to buy the ones made especially for the veggie market! Do a web-search for "vegan shoe" and/or "vegetarian shoe" to find sites that sell them. I'm a cheapskate and find shoes at K-mart, Target and Payless that say 'all man made'. And I test them even with that label since the one time I saw some at uncle Wally's the label was a lie; they were leather!





Edit:





The hot needle test will always work. I *clearly* state to NOT do it in the store! Do it in the parking lot or when you get home. If you find they're made of leather, take them back. Also, I've found 'safe' shoes that tested for leather using the test, the dyes and whatnot don't change the results. FYI, the hot needle test has been used by antique dealers for decades as a method to detect fake tortoise shell, turquoise and leather. IT WORKS!
Reply:When buying shoes in a store, your best friend is the label that says "all man made materials." If the label is not there, assume animals are in it.





Also, you don't have to miss out on style; most everything has a substitute. I searched the Internet for vegan Doc Martins, and I found them. Just like regular docs, these babies have lasted me over 5 years and you can't tell the difference. Whenever people complain about vegetarians who wear leather shoes, I almost feel guilty because people probably think I am one of them.


:)





you had a good answer above with http://mooshoes.com


Yo can also try http://veganstore.com and http://veganessentials.com .





I know it seems scary to order shoes over the net, but if you tend to be the same size in most shoes, you will have no problem. If you buy them in stores, just look for the label.
Reply:www.mooshoes.com
Reply:nosweatapparel.com





If you have already bought the shoes, don't get rid of them just for that. It was a mistake and mistakes happen. If you find out that there is a bit of leather, getting rid of them would be the bigger crime. You would be needlessly adding to the ever growing mountain of waste that is filling the country. I would say just wear them until they wear out and in the future just look a little closer before you buy them.
Reply:Here is a page with some info on shoes.





http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/leather.htm
Reply:I even heard that some shoes have "non-vegan" glues in them. There may be things that until we put an end to SLAUGHTER and RAPE (as teh main culprits) well we may be on teh shoes we had before we "woke", my best advice is to NOT BUY unless you have it verified I mean try to go as long as you can on the OLD SHOE classic.... I do understand teh dilema of someone who NEEDS SHOES... I bought a pair of CONVERSE ALL STARS and a "retro" pair of NIKE shoes from the factory outlet which NIKE did VERIFY at least the salesman told me that the manager said they were VEGAN. There was also the incident where I needed a pair of WORK BOOTS and I was able to find that they had boots at some of teh vegan stores like PANGEA or RAGAZZI.... I can not comment on quality... of those companies.





www.whatisvegan.20fr.com
Reply:If it says "leather" it is leather. It may be a cheap leather (they now make a lot of cheap leather from pigs instead of cows) but it's still from an animal.





What is with that "burnt needle test"? How unrealistic is that? What are you going to do, bring a needle and match into the shoe store and smell all the shoes? I would love to see someone doing that. I really doubt that would work with sneaker leather though. It's so conditioned and dyed and treated, you would get a strong chemical smell similar to plastic.



viruses