The new generations are imposing their aesthetic criteria, but also ethical criteria and the main fashion brands have had to make an often traumatic change in their marketing strategies. The rules of the past no longer work because new buyers impose other ways of understanding life and fashion. In this sense, the mode of production of a garment and the materials and energy used in it are increasingly decisive issues in a consumer’s purchase decision.

It is in this context where some innovative proposals arise such as vegan shoes, a new concept in a growing sector such as sports or casual footwear. Top-level brands are already including different sneakers in their catalog that try to reduce their impact on the environment by offering products with the ‘vegan’ label. Some of these firms differentiate some products from others in said catalog, arguing that each article is aimed at a specific type of audience.

However, this type of differentiation is somewhat ambiguous for many consumers who, in some cases, do not understand why some products are manufactured using a more ‘ethical’ method of production and others not. It is in this context where firms that are exclusively dedicated to manufacturing vegan sneakers arise in a way that solves the aforementioned problem: they do not have to justify that some products use animal skin and others do not.

But the ‘problem’ for this class of emerging brands is stiff competition: it is clear that vegan is in fashion and more and more footwear companies specialize in this type of production in such a way that seducing the consumer becomes more difficult. This is where design comes in, which, as has always happened in fashion, differentiates one product from another.

Therefore, vegan footwear must address these two aspects to achieve a space in the market: to interest the conscious consumer with an ethical mode of production, but also to offer an aesthetically interesting and quality product, which can be used daily like any other shoe.