Footwear Brand Debuts Vegan Shoes Made From Pineapple, Corn, and Cork

Today, vegan footwear brand Scoots launched its first shoe style made from pineapples, corn, and cork. The slip-on shoe will come in four colors—paprika, chocolate, charcoal, and oatmeal—and feature an upper made from pineapple- and corn-based leather brand Piñatex along with a cotton canvas lining and a cork and natural rubber sole. Made by artisan shoemakers in Portugal, the shoe will use a strobel construction technique typically used in athletic sneakers to give it enhanced comfort and flexibility. “I believe there is an important distinction to be made between vegan shoes and plant-based shoes: While vegan shoes do not use animal products, they use polyurethane (PU), thermo-polyurethane (TPU), and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), which are all synthetic materials that require harsh chemicals to manufacture and take centuries to break down in landfills,” Scoots founder Dave Costello told VegNews. “Replacing synthetic materials with plant-based materials means less waste and a better future.” Costello said Scoots’ shoes, while fully vegan, are 95 percent plant-based but he is striving to bring them to 100 percent by the end of this year. Scoots will be available exclusively through Kickstarter followed by a full-scale launch of an e-commerce store by the end of this year.