ON Shoes: The Ethical Step

Lauren Breuer
De Eth'Stu

ON Shoes have come up and presented themselves as an ethical brand. I have been ON the look out for a cruelty free fitness oriented sneaker brand, so, I asked them the following questions and was pleasantly surprised with their claims. 

As you can see they are a brand that stands behind their values as a whole, and although they are not 100% cruelty-free at the moment, they are willingly making strides in that direction. 

They have confirmed that their shoes are all made of synthetic materials, the adhesives used are

ETHICALLY EXPOSED

not tested or derived from animals, and they use natural/plant-based dyes. That is amazing to say the least. Not many companies can hop on board with those claims. 

Although they still use mulesed wool in some of their apparel, they informed me that they are making strides to obtain ethically sourced wool instead. Even though this isn’t ideal, they still are in a much better stance than most companies. What I like is that they acknowledge their current state and are transparent with their processes. It is much appreciated and respected. 

Thank you ON for paving the way and showing everyone that comfort and strength can be ethical and cruelty-free. I am looking forward to hearing more about your jounrey to being 100% cruelty free. 

ON Information: 

“On does not source raw materials from any endangered or threatened species, as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in its red list. On does not use any real leather, suede or nubuck. Our footwear models are made with synthetic materials. Although we ensure that we do not actively use any animal products in the glues, some might contain traces of animal products. We are working towards only using vegan materials, including glues and adhesives. The materials used to create our running shoes are listed below: – Upper: Polyester (e.g. single or sandwich mesh), Polyurethane (e.g. tongue) – Strobel Construction: Recycled PET – Speedboard: Polypropylene (PP) or Pebax – Midsole: Ethylenvinylacetat

(EVA) – Outsole: Rubber Our Apparel models are mostly made out of synthetic materials. A small percentage of apparel is made out of cotton and wool. We are currently working towards using 100% BCI or GOTS certified organic cotton as well as 100% mulesing-free wool.”

  • Dyes: Plant Based 
  • Testing: No Animal Testing 
  • Shoe Material: Synthetic 
  • Apparel Material: Synthetic and Mulesed Wool and Cotton (Moving towards not using mulesed wool) 
  • Adhesives: No animal products/by-products or testing

Animal Testing Stance: “We do not tolerate animal testing for any of our products. Only plant-based dyes and adhesives, and no animal-tested chemicals.”

Vegan Stance: No animal products are used in footwear, only partially for apparel. Therefore their shoes are vegan (and cruelty-free), but their apparel is not.