Insecta is a Fully Vegan Brand

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Brand Highlights

In our view, Insecta is a leader in the eco-vegan footwear space. They put a lot of effort into ensuring their products are as eco-friendly as possible, while being transparent about where there are opportunities for improvement, which is both rare and demonstrative of their leadership in this space.

About Insecta Vegan Shoes

"We want to demystify the idea that an environmentally friendly product cannot be beautiful. Ecosexy is the term we coined to describe the union of ethics and aesthetics. We make products with visual, social and environmental impact."
Barbara Mattivy - Co-Founder and CEO, Insecta

Is Insecta an intentionally vegan brand?

Insecta is an intentionally vegan brand, rather than one that uses vegan materials out of convenience, or for other reasons - in the words of the brand, "We do not sacrifice any sentient being for aesthetic purposes - nor for any other purpose."

What materials are used to make Insecta shoes?

Insecta shoes use beehive-patterned insoles, which are made from the company's fabric scraps. The uppers of each shoe are either made of up-cycled vintage clothing, recycled plastic bottles, reused laminate, or recycled cotton. The soles are made of recycled rubber. On the website, Insecta gives a breakdown of the materials used for each shoe, within that product's description.

Are Insecta shoes eco-friendly/sustainable?

From an environmentally-friendly materials standpoint, Insecta makes great use of upcycled, recycled and 'deadstock' fabrics and materials. From a carbon footprint, water usage, chemical usage, and general natural resource usage standpoint, Insecta shoes vary from model to model, although they do an excellent job of tracing and communicating those impacts within each shoe's product description, and they seem to generally be quite a bit more environmentally-friendly than most shoes. The brand also claims to source 95% of its fabrics locally, which would further add to the 'eco-savings,' as they would not have to travel as great a distance to enter production. It's worth noting that in the area of transparency, Insecta goes above and beyond the vast majority of brands - each shoe also has a description of how the materials used to make it fall short of being 'perfect,' in an eco-friendly sense (for example, they note that recycled rubber still uses a lot of energy). Insecta has also twice been recognized by B Lab in the "Best For The World: Environment" category.

Does Insecta use green shipping methods?

It's unclear from their website if Insecta uses net-zero or negative emissions shipping partners, either domestically or internationally. We’ve asked them for clarification, and are currently awaiting reply.

Does Insecta use eco-friendly packaging?

It's unclear from their website if Insecta uses recycled, recyclable, compostable, or other forms of eco-friendly and sustainable packaging. We’ve asked them for details regarding the materials they use for packaging, and are currently awaiting reply.

Is Insecta a charitable company?

We’ve asked the Insecta team about any charitable initiatives they're involved with (if any), and are currently awaiting reply, as there is no such information available on their website.

Where can I buy Insecta shoes?

Insecta shoes can be purchased from their website, from their social channels, as well as from various retailers around the globe, including retailers in Brazil, Canada, Spain, Germany, France, and Israel. For a complete list of current retailers, please visit Insecta's Stores page.

How should I dispose of my worn out Insecta shoes?

Insecta has a pretty robust shoe thrifting & recycling program. When a customer no longer wants their shoes, or can no longer use them, they can contact the company who will determine the fair state of the shoes, and either thrift them (which may involve repairing them) or recycle them. The customer is then given credit for their shoes, to be used for other Insecta products, the amount of which is determined on a scale based on the condition of the returned shoes.

Do Insecta shoes ever go on sale?

Yes - when visiting their website, we noticed various models on sale, mostly in the area of 40% off.

Are Insecta shoes ethically made?

Insecta makes their shoes in Brazil, and according to them, "We work with outsourced factories, which are our partners in this endeavor to make shoes as sustainable as possible. And to ensure that all these people are working properly, with pay, vacation, working conditions and all rights up to date, we do periodic audits and have responsible people always in touch with the factories to make sure everything is right there." While it's difficult for us as an outside, non-certifying 3rd party to verify whether or not Insecta ensures its factories enforce all international and local labour laws, regulations and fair working standards to provide a safe and fair working environment for their workers, they are a Certified B Corp, which provides a level of transparency as to their labour ethics. Within their B Corp profile, their highest labour section scores come in compensation-related categories, with their lowest scores coming in occupational health and safety-related categories.

Does Insecta promote ‘slow fashion’ or a ‘circular economy’?

Insecta appears to incorporate several elements of a circular economy/slow fashion model, such as having a robust shoe thrifting and recycling program, primarily using recycled and up-cycled materials, making timeless styles, being highly transparent about their sustainability efforts and areas to improve upon, and paying their employees well.

Insecta Product Range

Insecta makes unisex adult and children's dress shoes, casual shoes, boots, sandals and slippers with a slightly eclectic vibe. Their footwear comes in four main styles: "printed", "vegan leather", "vintage" and "solid." Many of their designs are "one-offs," as they use up-cycled materials with specific patterns.