AERA Shoes are Fully Vegan

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Brand Highlights

AERA was founded in 2019 by three friends, each with deep expertise in their respective fields. Their Manifesto: "We believe that luxury is not a new pair of shoes. Luxury is clean water and fresh air.”

About AERA Vegan Shoes

Founded based on the urgent need for sustainable practices in the fashion industry, AERA is helping to re-imagine the eco system of luxury women's footwear.

Are AERA shoes eco-friendly?

AERA takes various measures to make their shoes and boots as eco-friendly as possible, without compromising their luxury aesthetic. Their primary sources of eco-friendliness are from their efforts to reduce and offset their carbon emissions and fresh water usage. In this regard, they are SGS Global Services Validated as carbon negative (currently, only carbon offsets are certifiable), and they conduct environmental impact assessments on all of their footwear, which is very rare in the fashion industry.

What materials does AERA use in its shoes?

Their outer materials are made of cotton and man-made materials such as polyester, polyurethane, poly-viscose, polystyrene and nylon. Their signature sea glass coloured lining contains bio-polyols. The lining also contains polyurethane partly obtained from renewable sources. For their soles, they use Thunit®, a unique leather-like material made in Italy.

What about AERA's use of plastic?

It should be noted that AERA does use various plastics in the production of their shoes, which unfortunately is somewhat of a necessary evil in luxury vegan footwear at the moment. AERA recognizes the sustainability challenges presented by polyurethane, polyester, synthetic rubber, recycled ABS, PVC and other plastics used in their footwear, and are partnered with Plastic Bank to empower people in countries with significant plastic pollution issues to earn a living by collecting plastic waste, turning it into currency and then having this plastic waste recycled and sold as Social Plastic®.

Are AERA's packaging materials eco-friendly?

The boxes they pack their shoes in contain 40% post-consumer recycled waste and 15% organic waste residue. The rest is FSC certified and GMO free paper, and is produced with EKOenergy, resulting in a 20% reduction in carbon footprint. Inside the box, they use 100% post-consumer waste recycled tissue paper and a 100% Global Organic Textile Standard certified cotton dust bag.

Does AERA use fair labour?

Yes, AERA footwear is made in Veneto, Italy, so their labourers are protected under the stringent labour laws of the European Union, which among other things, have strong health and safety regulations in place, and ensure fair wages and reasonable working hours. In addition, AERA is planning to create a profit-sharing scheme, so that everyone on their team becomes a partner in the company and shares in its success.

Can I trust that AERA is a sustainable and ethical brand?

AERA is B Corp certified pending, which means they meet a set of rigorous, verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

Where can I buy AERA shoes?

AERA is currently available in SoHo, New York City, at Figure Eight. Their shoes and boots can also be purchased on their website. We've contacted them to find out if their footwear is available in any other retail locations, and are awaiting reply.

Do AERA shoes ever go on sale?

We haven't yet come across any special promotions or sales for AERA shoes, but we'll make note of those that we do on our social channels and right here.

Are AERA shoes recyclable?

At the time of writing, AERA is in discussions with potential recycling partners, and are working to build a complete take-back program, whereby customers will be able to, effortlessly, ship their old AERA shoes to AERA's recycling partners. We will keep you updated on our social channels, and on this page, as to their progress with this initiative.

Types Of Shoes And Boots Made By AERA

AERA shoes are elegant and luxurious. Some of their shoes are minimalist in design, while others have bold, funky patterns. The specific types of shoes they make include: