How to Find Cheap Vegan Shoes

It's sometimes difficult to find a decent pair of shoes that are not exorbitantly expensive as a vegan. Often, vegan shoe retailers are also conscious of the living and working conditions of the manufacturer's employees in addition to their stance against animal cruelty. This means avoiding companies that underpay their workers or that are located in areas known to tolerate child labor. Although that's a great attitude to have, it means the end product is sometimes a bit more expensive. Fortunately, there's some easy ways to find cheap vegan shoes.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Money
• Internet access

1. The quickest way to find cheap vegan shoes is usually online at the big discount sites. There are a number of sites you can try, but the large retailers like overstock, zappos or shoes.com usually have a broad selection across many price ranges. You can also try vegan shoe retailers directly, and checking their sale or clearance section, but their main stock is usually quite pricey.

2. If the big sites don't have what you're looking for, or you would rather go with something more community-oriented (but still online), the next best bet is the online auction houses. Ebay doesn't have a specific section for vegan shoes, but you can try a search. If that doesn't turn up anything, try "man-made." That doesn't guarantee that the shoe is vegan, but then again neither does calling it "vegan." You still just have to take their word for it.

3. Slightly more hassle but more community oriented is the classifieds. Check the sections in online and print vegan, vegetarian, and alternative lifestyle newspapers and magazines. Sometimes people are selling off some of their stuff at garage sales, and stores advertise there too sometimes. Also check vegan forums on sites like craigslist, sometimes just asking if people have items they want to sell will result in a good buy.

4. The last step requires more legwork. Go out and scour discount shoe stores, garage sales and flea markets. These shoes will almost never be marked as vegan, but they will often be labeled "all man-made materials." Again, this doesn't guarantee they're vegan, but it might be the best you can do.

5. Bring cash, and don't be afraid to haggle! It's usually expected when you're dealing with an individual, but even stores will sometimes give a discount if you just ask. Just be respectful and friendly, and be prepared to walk away if the price isn't right for you.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't automatically reject shoes because they look like leather, try to find something on the shoe that says exactly what it's made of, including the top and sole.
• Don't get frustrated if all the shoes you find are unappealing; there are attractive vegan shoes out there!
• Just because a shoe looks vegan doesn't mean that it is. If you're unsure, try going to the manufacturer's website; sometimes you can find more detailed information there. If not, you can always send an email and ask!