Are Adidas Vegan Shoes? Stan Smith Mylo, Superstar, Continental, Samba

are-adidas-shoes-vegan

If your new year’s resolution includes prioritizing sustainability and Adidas are your go-to shoes, you would certainly ask “Are Adidas shoes vegan?”

Well, the answer is yes and no.

Some models are still not vegan, but here’s some fantastic vegan news…

Adidas is going to not use any animal fur in any of their products any longer.

They have also decided to completely veganize some of their absolute best classics and most popular shoes like the Stan Smiths, the Superstars, the Top Tens, the Continentals, the Sambas…

So, if you love Adidas and have trouble getting sneakers that are completely vegan, then this is great news for you.

Related: Best Sustainable Running Shoes – Eco-Friendly, Vegan, Fair Trade Shoes

Are Adidas Shoes Vegan?

Again, some Adidas shoes are still not vegan, but below are some great classics that Adidas has already made vegan…

Adidas Stan Smith Mylo

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So, Adidas is developing vegan leather shoes made out of underground roots of mushrooms called the Adidas Stan Smith Mylo which is part of the company’s broader plan to really embrace sustainability.

Adidas are launching this mushroom-made vegan leather shoe and this comes after they launched the vegan Stan Smith in 2020. The Stan Smith sold out very quickly and was very successful.

Adidas partnered with Bolt Threads which is the company that created the mycelium product that’s used in the shoe.

With the Stan Smith Mylo, Adidas is raising the bar with this purely biologically made shoe. They’re using kind of this fast-growing root system within mushrooms to create the Mylo.

But Adidas is kind of going even beyond just that product itself with their sustainability goals for 2021.

The company has also promised that 60% of its products will be using recyclables in their products in 2021.

They’re also going to create 17 million shoes from waste that is found in oceans through a partnership they have that stores up plastic that they find in oceans.

Related: Are Adidas Ultra Boosts Good For Running?

Vegan Clean Classics

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I’m going to talk about two Adidas Clean Classic collections, the Vegan Stan Smith and the Vegan Top Ten.

At first glance, you think it’s a Stan Smith and it’s a Top Ten, but then you dig a little bit deeper and you can actually appreciate more about the products.

First of all, they’re not leather. The upper is actually made from recycled polyester with a PU coat to give it that kind of weather protection.

The liner is actually made from 100% recycled polyester and both of them have the same style of liner.

As you move your way down to the outsole and the midsole of the shoe, it’s made from 90% rubber and 10% rubber content.

Related: Adidas Superstar vs Nike Air Force 1s

vegan-adidas-top-ten

While the UltraBoost 20 Prime Blue is basically made from ocean plastics and just recycled materials, the Stan Smith and Top Ten are actually Prime Green sneakers. That means there’s actually 70% recycled materials on the upper of these shoes, which is fantastic.

Here’s what’s written inside the tongue…

“The truth is this shoe alone will not save the planet. However, we challenged our creation process to find more sustainable solutions. Consider this a commitment. A commitment for continuous innovation in the field of sustainability.”

The insole is actually made from recycled materials and it says…

“Redesigned to reduce material waste. Upper contains minimum 70% recycled materials. Outsole uses rubber from rubber trees. A 10% waste rubber content and it’s vegan. Prime Green made with recycled materials.”

The Vegan Stan Smiths and Top Tens are nice alternatives for somebody that’s looking for something that has a little bit more impact on their feet and I think that Adidas is doing a good job creating a lot of really cool things.

Related: Adidas vs Puma

Adidas Parley

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I’ve been following the Parley for the ocean stuff for years, but it’s really cool that they’re looking to do recycled polyester and recycled knit materials and everything else.

So, we’re glad that big box brands like Adidas does have more like environmentally friendly options out there that you can buy.

Related: Running Shoe Size Comparison Between Brands (Nike, Adidas, Hoka, New Balance, Saucony)

What does this mean for Adidas investors?

Some studies have shown that over half of consumers have prioritized sustainability in their lifestyles making key lifestyle choices to address climate change.

So, this is kind of a movement that brands simply can’t afford to ignore and Adidas took this on in 2020 when they launched a sustainability bond that was five times over subscribed and brought in over 600 million dollars.

They used that money to procure the product needed and the materials needed to create the shoe that we’re talking about.

Related: Are Adidas NMDs Good For Running?

What about other brands?

This is kind of a movement that brands simply can’t ignore moving forward.

It’s going to be interesting to see how other brands incorporate sustainability into their financial practices as we head into 2021 as well because we’re again hearing from Gen Z and Millennials that they’re willing to pay premiums for sustainable products.

Just like they did with Adidas, Bolt Threads is a biotech startup that has partnered with other brands as well like Stella Mccartney, Lululemon and a lot of other luxury fashion brands.

So, we can expect those brands to launch similar products heading into the new year, but I also want to point out that these lab-grown products aren’t really that new.

DopeKicks created a hemp-based shoe the sole of which uses entirely materials that are taken from landfills.

It’s a fully biodegradable shoe, so this is something that is kind of getting embraced by consumers and we’re going to have to see how brands respond.

Related: Adidas Ultra Boost ST VS Ultra Boost

Vegan vs Quality

It feels really good to know that something that I care so passionately about is now becoming more mainstream.

But for all the advances veganism has made, a lot of people still think that buying something vegan is going to mean less quality.

If you’re not a vegan and you buy a vegan Adidas shoe and you see what great quality it is, then hopefully, that’s going to change your mind and you’ll start to buy other things that are vegan.

Impact On Environment

What impact does sustainable fashion have overall on our environment? Why is it so critical at this moment?

We’re hearing that 40 million tons of textile waste are sitting in landfills every year and most of that can’t be recycled.

So, the options are for this trash to just keep piling up or for it to get incinerated, and both of those are of course not good options.

So, companies have kind of two routes that they can go down to address this. They can either create more sustainable products like we’re seeing with Adidas or they can focus on circulation.

This is something interesting that we saw a lot in 2020 with brands like Ann Taylor offering these subscription rental services where you could pay a monthly fee, get a certain amount of clothes, and then ship it back at the end of the month when you didn’t want it anymore.

 I just want to wrap this up with what the designer of the Adidas vegan shoes has to say:

“Since the ’70s, Adidas Superstar shoes have played a major role in the shaping of our culture. These shoes are vegan and entirely eliminate the use of animal products. And while the look and feel of them honor the past, where they’re going is forward. With your help, that is. Someone’s got to make them move”.

So, thank you Adidas for producing vegan products, thank you for helping animals, and thank you for making the planet a better place to live.

So, are Adidas shoes vegan? Now you know the answer and you can go to sleep peacefully 🙂

About Eric Barber

Eric Barber is a happy father of two little angels, a husband, and a runner. He eats, sleeps, and dreams anything foot related: running shoes, walking shoes, sneakers, you name it. It all started when Eric was a shoe store specialist watching and fitting people's feet day in and day out.

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