Reima (children’s vegan snow boots from Finland)

Reima (Finland) makes ‘barefoot shoes’ all from eco-friendly vegan materials. And nice sneakers and winter snow boots (this is Finland, for goodness sake!) The shoes have good water-resistance and wide toes for extra room plus flexible soles, all designed to support normal growth of a child’s feet.

Happy Little Soles is the UK supplier (along with other European brands).

Why choose vegan boots for children?

You would think that considering the vegan footwear industry for adults has taken off, that for children it would follow closely behind. In fact, there are few vegan brands of shoes for children.

Firstly, let your children go barefoot where safe to do so (unless diabetic) to make sure their feet get air and room to grow. And take them to a shoe shop to get their feet measured, to avoid the hassle of returns, when shopping online.

Most leather is not a by-product of the meat industry (which for some parents is an issue in itself). Most brands source leather from the Far East, where there are few animal welfare laws (and often not many for humans in factories either – the tanning industry is also very polluting and carcinogenic – can cause cancer).

Quality vegan shoes are usually made from Microfiber, which is easy to clean with a damp cloth.