Vegan shoes (those that are made without involving any animal in the process) are rapidly making themselves known in the footwear industry. Instead of harming animals, these supposedly Earth-friendly pieces of footwear rely on faux leathers which are made from PVC or polyurethane. This gives them that leather-like feel. However, what you might not know is that some of these materials (PVC included) use highly toxic plastics which can harm the environment both on a short- and long-term basis. Thankfully, there is a newer and more environment-friendly form of sneakers that will certainly fulfill every vegan’s dream: MoEa.

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MoEa has an interesting concept by using both vegan and recycled plastic materials. Indeed, these shoes are made from a mix of bio-based materials and recycled soles – drastically reducing the carbon footprint made during production.

MoEa shoes come in six different ‘flavors.’ Each flavor is available in two options: one being completely colored and the other one being generally white with a few touches of the flavor’s color.

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The materials used have their own pretty interesting stories and origins: unwanted grapes from Italy’s wine industry (violet), hard corn from America (marfil), cacti found in the Mexican desert (dark green), excess apples from Italy’s juice industry (red), and the waste of pineapple leaves from the Philippines (ochre).

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You might be wondering what the sixth flavor is. Well, you’ll figure it out easily if you like mixing fruit shakes. Rather than going to another country to source more plant or fruit-based waste materials, the sixth flavor instead combines all the previously mentioned 5 colors into a modest but stylish shoe.

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The sneakers are designed to be 100% environment-friendly products. This is why apart from the plant-based leathers, the insoles are produced using recycled wood fiber while the inner lining is made from 75% recycled bamboo.

On the other hand, the soles are made from 40% recycled materials and 60% natural rubber. Water-based glue is used to attach them to the body of the shoes

Lastly, the shoes are laced with organic cotton laces.  And – yes – the shoebox is made from recycled material, as well!

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The coolest thing about MoEa shoes is that the recycling process doesn’t stop once they are delivered to your doorstep. Once these sneakers have run their course, you can send them back to the company for free and you’ll get a discount code. Your old pair of shoes then gets shredded and the materials will be used to make new ones.

If you love the environment as much as you love good footwear, you can check out MoEa on Kickstarter. It currently has funding of US$86,893 – way more than its initial US$11,793 goal. MoEa has a brilliant and promising concept so it is really not a surprise that it hit such numbers.

Author

Carlos wrestles gators, and by gators, we mean words. He also loves good design, good books, and good coffee.