More taste than tofu

As we draw closer to the end of Feet Week (a week has ten days, right?) we trod through weirder and weirder country in the search for something soft underfoot.

Vegetarian Shoes requires no description at all, but since I have an article to write, a little redundancy can be forgiven. This British company, based in a single shop in Brighton, proudly offers quality footwear in a wide variety of styles for both men and women, with a professional guarantee that at no point did anything sold, from laces and velcro to tongue and sole, have a pulse.

From owner, creator and designer Robin Webb:

I had started to teach myself to make shoes four years earlier after leaving Art College. I was inspired to hear that in parts of Africa, car tyres were recycled into soles. This got me thinking and soon I was making shoes out of anything I could lay my hands on, but being veggie I didn't want to use leather.

Then I made an exciting discovery, -a synthetic Microfibre material used for yachting upholstery. It looked and felt like supple leather, but was 'breathable', unlike other plastics. After some experimenting, I realised that this was what I had been looking for, and Vegetarian Shoes was born.

I'll admit, there's really nothing too strange about anything they offer... even their vegan leather is pretty main stream these days in terms of alternatives to traditional fabrics... it just makes me wonder what past lives my Chuck Taylors had, as I can't find a "vegetarian friendly product" sticker anywhere on them.

You won't believe it's not leather.
Or you may, I don't know.

A definite must-see for anyone looking for handmade products of an excellent quality, especially for outdoor and nature wear.