NAE (No Animal Exploitation) makes gorgeous sandals, sneakers, flats, heels, and boots for women, men, and unisex.
Paula and Alex Pérez founded NAE Vegan Shoes in 2008 out of a desire to see more quality shoes without animal fabrics like leather. Based in the mecha of shoe production, Portugal, the couple created a vegan shoe brand without compromising style and performance.
Price
NAE’s footwear prices start at €60 for the low-top unisex sneakers up to €154 for the women’s knee-high boots.
Animal rights
NAE is a vegan-forward company—meaning that they’re not trying to hide that they’re a business that seeks to avoid animal suffering as much as is practical.
There’s no subtly about their values. Paula, the founder, is a vegan. The name, No Animal Exploitation Vegan Shoes makes it clear that NAE is a cruelty-free brand.
As a vegan customer, you don’t need to wonder if some of the range isn’t vegan or if they use animal-derived glues. And if that wasn’t enough, NAE has PETA-Approved Vegan certification.
Human rights
NAE takes a very transparent and ethical approach to shoe manufacturing, ensuring that its workers are treated fairly and that the materials used are environmentally friendly.
Trofal, a long-established Portuguese shoe manufacturer, has been a NAE partner from day one and was one of the first producers to get the ISO 9001 Certificate. Both NAE and Trofal hold the same values of quality slow fashion regarding human rights in shoe-making.
Materials
We love it when a shoe brand is proud of its materials, and NAE is a shining example—creating a prominent path to view the #naematerials page.
Let’s look at the materials NAE uses to make their shoes.
AppleSkin
AppleSkin is a bio-based leather alternative made from apple residue, a waste product from the apple juice industry. This material is ethically made in Italy and is an excellent choice for the environment. It saves 5.28 kg of CO2 for every kg of apple residue used instead of raw chemical materials.
Piñatex
Piñatex is a natural fabric made from pineapple leaf fibers. The leaves – which are usually discarded – are taken from pineapple harvests and processed to make this incredibly durable fabric, with any unused fibers then redistributed to the fields as fertilizer.
Sourcing Piñatex is an earth-friendly process, and the company responsible is working with pineapple farmers to add a whole new income stream to their businesses.
Organic cotton
Organic cotton is environmentally friendly, as it does not use pesticides or genetically modified seeds, and it is harvested from regularly rotated fields. It also uses 80% rainwater, making it much less of a drain on energy and resources. With the world’s water supplies under threat, organic cotton is a fantastic way to dress responsibly.
Cork
Cork is an excellent sustainable resource harvested from the bark of cork oak trees. This process does not damage the tree; cork oaks can be harvested every 9-12 years. Best of all, using cork in shoes positively impacts the planet. For example, cork farming has a negative carbon footprint, which helps offset the emissions from other industries.
PET
PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, is a type of plastic that can be recycled into new products. RPET, or recycled PET, is made by breaking down old bottles and food containers and turning them into new products. It’s crucial to reduce, reuse, and recycle to help conserve natural resources. That’s why NAE uses recyclable materials to make hoes.
Vegan leather
NAE’s vegan leather is made from a mix of microfibres, including a mixture of cotton, polyester, and nylon (recycled whenever possible).
This high-quality material looks and feels like real leather, but without ethical concerns. Choosing vegan leather helps to save billions of animals each year and means you don’t need to compromise on style.
Corn
We’re excited that NAE is using Steam Bioeco, a new eco-friendly microfiber made partially from corn. This biofiber is 100% biodegradable and offers superior breathability, absorption, and drying properties compared to traditional synthetic materials. Plus, it requires less energy and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing.
Product line
NAE has a wide range of shoes for women and men, from casual and dressy to sportswear.
The women’s range includes:
- Low top sneakers
- High top sneakers
- Ankle boots
- Knee-high boots
- Chelsea boots
- Slip-on loafers
- Sandals
The men’s range includes:
- Low top sneakers
- High top sneakers
- Lace-up boots
- Chelsea boots
- Slip-on loafers
- Sandals
NAE also offers a unisex sneaker style. However, they don’t offer a kids vegan shoe range.
Payment and shipping
NAE is an online store based in Portugal that ships worldwide. You can pay for your order with Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, American Express, or MB Way. Standard delivery is free if your order is over €50; otherwise, it’s a flat rate of €4.90.
NAE also has a wholesale business, so you could contact your local shoe shops to see if they could stock the brand. Be sure to Google “NAE shoes {my city}” to check availability first.
Returns and exchanges
NAE offers free exchanges and returns within 100 days of purchase for all orders within the European Union. The returned item must be in excellent condition and with no sign of use so that we can proceed to exchange it or refund its total purchase price.
For orders placed outside of the European Union, you can return or exchange your NAE shoes within 100 days of purchase; however, the customer will pay the return shipping costs.
Customer service
NAE is available Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm, 2pm to 6pm GMT. You can contact them via email, phone, or Whatsapp.
What could be better?
If you’re looking for vegan shoes that are stylish and affordable, NAE is an excellent option. However, there are a few things that could be improved.
For example, non-EU customers must pay postage fees for returns and exchanges. Eventually, it would be fantastic if NAE offered free returns for all customers, regardless of location.
It would also be great to see international currencies on their online store to reduce foreign transaction fees.
Overall, NAE is an excellent company with a lot of potentials. With a few tweaks, they could be one of the best vegan shoe brands on the market!