Product Review: El Naturalista Viandante Shoes
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 04.15.08
El Naturalista recently introduced the Viandante collection for men, featuring hand-stitched vegetable-tanned leather, outsoles crafted from 100 percent natural rubber, and anatomically designed insoles made from recycled cork.
Treated with river stones to temper the hide naturally, the leather sports a textured grain that gives it both resilience and flexibility. The recycled cork insoles are designed to fit the contours of the foot, allowing your weight to be distributed over the entire sole as you walk, absorbing impacts and protecting your sensitive spots. Meanwhile, the 100 percent rubber forming the outsoles bends with ease, while remaining more hardy than its non-biodegradable synthetic counterparts.
We managed to test-drive a pair of Viandante shoes in the most grueling of walking environments: New York City. Here's what our reviewer had to say:
Although a little stiff in the beginning, after a week of breaking them in, the shoes were very snug and comfortable.I was very surprised at how they held up in the rain, especially after an unexpected storm. (And I didn't do anything to treat them, yet there was no discoloration.) They appeared to be very waterproof, more so than my regular sneakers, and my socks didn't get wet at all.
Starting at approximately $170 a pair (at Boulder Running Company), the shoes are available in a variety of colors, including orange, red, gray, and black. ::El Naturalista
What I don't understand is how, being environmentally conscious, people can buy leather products. In my head, buying vegan and being environmentally conscious go hand in hand.
From the El Naturalista website: "Progress, if it is to be synonymous to devastation, makes no sense to us. Life inspires life and that´s why El Naturalista develops footwear to walk through it."
Perpetuating the cruel exploitation of animals to produce leather certainly seems like devastation to me. I think there is a typo in the second sentence. I believe it is meant to read:
"Life inspires leather, and that's why El Naturalista develops footwear to walk all over it."
Building a company that is connected to nature does not give a company license to ransack it.
Really nice shoes, and a great story, but the prices I see are 134 Euros and 163 Euros, which thanks to our increasingly worthless currency, equates to $212 and $257, and that's before shipping and import duties. I have a big psychological barrier to paying $300 for a pair of shoes.
it bumms me out that they are leather. Though i really appreciate the veg dye and natural rubber the leather has to go.
Just wanted to make a note about the leather/vegan comment. We really need to look at all sides of the issue. Buying "vegan" isnt always better for the environment. For example, it is better to buy real leather than pleather or fake leather. Synthetic materials to replace leather/furs are often made with unsafe chemicals, petroleum based products, etc.
I am NOT an expert on the matter, but I have never understood why some vegans would rush out to buy the latest trend fake fur coats which use up a lot of oil to make them and would take hundreds of years to biodegrade... but then would chastise me for buying a used fur coat to keep warm in scandinavia. Seems smarter to me to re-use something that is biodegradeable than to rush out and buy something that isnt sustainable or environmentally friendly.
Good point Kelly...
Bottom Line I have these shoes, I agree that they are price but they are indestructible. I went every were and every day with them and they are still in excellent shape....
To bad It is not more developed in US....
although I think Amason has some now...
My purchase was in France.....