The Nike Air Max 90 is an excellent model to make as vegan, since it can be used for running, and it’s got classic style.  The upper is made of synthetic leather and mesh.  It comes in black/black or grey/white.  Personally I am hating the black colorway, it looks like a pair of old man shoes.  But as NiceKicks put it, wear it if you work somewhere that makes you wear black shoes.

I don’t think these are widely available on the web.  Don’t be fooled!  There is a black/black leather version of this, and it looks exactly the same.

For more pics of the grey.  For more pics of the black.

I don’t know anything about performance running shoes, but I chanced upon an interesting blog post from a vegan runner who was extolling the virtues of the Vegan Asics Gel Kayano. See the Running Girl’s Blog Here. From what she says, they are really good. They got like, gel and stuff, memory foam… man there is more technology than a space shuttle in this thing. Anyway, the models pictured above are the Gel Kayano 16. These replaced the older version, the Gel Kayano 15. If you do a little comparison shopping, you will see that the 15′s are still available but less expensive.

Womens and Mens Gel Kayano 16 available on Endless.

I think it is really important for clothing companies to disclose certain types of information about their products; really basic stuff they should know about their suppliers and manufacturers, such as whether they use child labor or what types of materials they’re .  Although I can understand why some companies would not WANT to disclose potentially incriminating information, there is no excuse for being uninformed about a simple question – do your shoes have animal products in them?

I got a surprising answer when I asked New Balance whether their shoes were vegan.  Some of them are constructed with a synthetic upper, so I just emailed them to ask whether there were other animals being used, in the glue perhaps.  Below is the email exchange:

Nice – A  classic running shoe made of hemp canvas!  The toe and the heel caps, as well as the midfoot use a tight weave canvas while the rest just looks like plain ol’ canvas.  Four colors are currently available: brown/tan/green, green/tan, stone grey/navy, or black/stone grey.   For more pictures, check out Sneaker Freaker or Nice Kicks.

A little while ago they were only available online in Germany (wtf?), but now you can order two of the colors on Shoebuy.  Funny though, the black/stone grey one is more expensive than the brown/tan/green one, and the latter is “canvas” while the former is “vegan.”  Weird.  According to other blogs, they are all vegan.

So the release of this shoe begs several questions.  Is this a sign of things to come?  Are we going to see more vegan releases from major brands?  Or is this just a niche market they’re testing?  I don’t see what companies like Saucony have to lose in offering a retro shoe made without animals.  They already have the design, and the materials shouldn’t be more expensive.  Plus, it reaches a new market.  Win-win!

Thanks for reading!  Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions!

UPDATE :

Ladies can pick up a pair here at Amazon, or at Zappos. Guys can also get some at Zappos.