One of the joys of autumn is to start wearing boots again. Sadly most shoe designers use leather that’s harmful to the environment. The leather production process contributes to many environmental problems including global warming, land devastation, pollution, and water contamination as per PETA. Most leather is chrome-tanned with waste considered hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But you don’t have to be an environmentalist or vegan to fall in love with the new fall collection by Olsenhaus. The designer surely redefines what either one looks like. Her sexy and sustainable designs have a modern and sleek silhouette accentuated with her bold choice of colors.
Olsenhaus is a 100% cruelty-free shoe design company that uses only non-animal materials with the environment in mind. Instead sustainable and renewable plant-based fibers are used such as ultra suede, organic cotton, canvas, nylon, velvet linen, cork and a synthetic eco-lining. The benefit of using alternative materials is also their consistency in size, shape, and thickness. This results into the use of the entire piece whereas with leather a lot of the unused material goes to waste. At Olsenhaus no leather, fur, wool, or silk is ever used. Everything is 100% vegan with 100% coolness. Another eye-opening fact from the company’s website is that the energy needed to produce a leather hide is 20 times bigger than the creation of a synthetic material.
The 2012 fall styles feature a variety of heights ranging from comfortable flat heel boots to dressy high heel boots. Colors include single hues like camel, rust, and grey as well as two-tone designs like black & burgundy or black & silver. I prefer the more timeless designs that will take you through many future seasons and reduce waste through reuse. My favorite is the “shift” boot made of ultra suede & faux leather for that reason. The cute ankle boot comes in multiple fall colors such as black, black & burgundy, or black and grey. You can easily wear it to the office or out at night. It’s a stylish way to walk the talk of going green.