More Eco-Friendly Shoes...

I've been telling a lot of people lately about how it's actually not THAT hard to go eco-friendly, and even cruelty-free altogether (no animal skins or furs), with shoes and accessories. (Seriously y'all, it's Easy Being Green!) So I thought I'd share some resources that make it easy-peasy to find eco-friendly shoes - and a few of my favorite recent eco-friendly finds.

Zappos
Best shoe site ever. So of course they make it easy!
http://www.zappos.com/vegetarian.zhtml.

"For those who have tried, finding non-leather shoes can be a daunting, almost impossible, task. Specifically for those kind individuals, here's a collection of vegetarian shoes for secure, cruelty-free peace of mind. With advances in synthetic manufacturing, non-leather materials are now virtually identical to their genuine counterparts, but with none of the guilt."

You can even leave your email on that page to be notified when new vegetarian products are added. Genius! (That's also REALLY smart marketing right there.)

Zappos also has a kick-ass e-commerce feature which allows you to show product results based on categories of your choosing. I chose womens, eco-friendly, shoes and received 476 results - http://www.zappos.com/womens-eco-friendly-shoes~g! The only problem is what flies as "eco-friendly" isn't always cruelty-free. Zappos does do a great job however of describing their products well and detailing what all parts of the shoes (upper, sole, etc.) are made of - and I appreciate that.

I'm really diggin' Timberland's new "Earthkeepers" collection, but they're not leather and suede free unfortunately. Timberland would totally have my vote if they were using recycled leather like they are recycled PET (plastic bottles). I would have no problem buying shoes that reclaimed leather from old shoes instead of using new leather, for what it's worth.

They have a fun ad campaign running for this line, too:



Both shoes retail on Zappos for $194 - see each online by clicking on the images above.

The Timberland Earthkeepers Granby ($174) (pictured below) would also be flawless if not made from suede.


Now here's a cool winter boot from The North Face which is cruelty-free and made from recycled raw materials!

The Nuptse Knee High (pictured at right) retails for $170 at Zappos - http://www.zappos.com/the-north-face-womens-nuptse-knee-high-demitasse-brown-paisley-pastel-orange.

According to the site, the sole's are pretty high-tech, too:

"Durable TNF Winter Grip ™ rubber outsole with Ice Pick™ temperature-sensitive rubber snowflake lugs. Ice Pick™ rubber hardens when the temperature falls below freezing to provide ultimate biting traction".

Keep reading for more shoe finds later in the week!

Cary Academy Holiday Shoppe Recap

Last weekend, I had the chance to head out to Cary Academy's Holiday Shoppe - their annual fundraiser shopping event. There were TONS of vendors, but I managed to try and pick up a business card or web address for my favorites.

Here is a quick recap, in no particular order... including my random commentary.

White Pear Shop
{whitepearshop.com}

These candles, soaps, etc. smelled SO good. And when I say "SO good", I mean I had buyers remorse when I got home for NOT buying every candle they had!



The Minky Momma
{theminkymomma.com}


You know how sometimes at events and vendor shows, the vendors/salespeople can jump all over you in too aggressive of a fashion?

Not this girl! She was super nice and didn't make me want to rush off ;-)

My dear E. Riley is on her way to being a new mommy - she can totally expect a gift from The Minky Momma!




Fancy Paints
{fancypaints.com}

Ceramics. They even do parties! They got me with the puppy treat jars - "All good dogs run with the pack...Go Pack!"

Here is their store: http://www.shop.fancypaints.com/
Here is the info about their parties: http://fancypaints.com/


Zass Design
{ZassDesign.com}

There is nothing on these gals' site yet, but they have a VERY cool concept. Basically, they are graphic designs who take print collateral (magazines, etc.) and make it into jewelry! Like, REALLY CUTE earrings, and more. I'll update if I see more online from them soon!

http://zassdesign.com/


Sweet Tea Shirts
{SweeTeaShirts.com}

Notice the absence of a second "T" in the web address! Funny Southern sayings... on cute tees. That pretty much describes it.





T&J Wood Art
{TandJWoodArt.com}

A really unique way to display your wine bottles AND wine glasses... can hold the glasses upside down (no dust on the inside) or right-side up.







Lithic Designs
{LithicDesigns.com}

Of course, I would've preferred to show you one of their Wolfpack offerings, but they didn't have a good picture on their website to showcase that. These are prints done on pieces of stone!

VERY cool. Would look great in offices, living rooms, cabinets, etc.



Ella Vickers
{EllaVickers.com}

One of the coolest vendors all day, by far. Based out of Wilmington, NC, this vendor takes old sails and turns them into bags, etc. So it's eco-friendly, nautical, and beachy - all in one!

The bags are a bit on the expensive side, but if they're cut by hand and sew on a machine (or by hand), I'm sure each bag takes quite some time to make. And I'm even more confident that they aren't produced in overseas sweatshops. I'm ok with paying a premium for that.







Bone Appétit Bakery
{GotTreats.com}

I've been following these folks on twitter for a while, so it was cool to see them out at a local event. (I'm sure they do lots of events, but this was the first retail event I have noticed them at.)

How did they know that my family spoils our four-legged babies at Christmas, too?? ;-) Must be something about us "dog people".



In addition to a lot of great independents, they had what I think was a Reader's Digest mini-book store. They prices... were fantastic. They started around 30-40% off retail and even had discounts on their own prices. I bought a $16.00 book for just over $4.00. And yes, it was brand new.

Whew, this post took me FOREVER to draft/link/format/write... but I hope you find something to love!