How does one make vegan shoes exactly...

They make it without using byproducts of slaughtered animals. I admire Natalie Portman... she's smart and kind to animals and can actually act.

Polyurethane (PU) a polymer- is how that company makes their shoes. The same stuff used to make foam core, topcoat for cars, varnish for hardwood floors, tires etc. PU sound appropriate because it doesn't breathe so it's gonna smell.

To answer your question - most companies make vegan shoes by using chemicals. Vegan clothier try to use organic fabrics but sometimes also resort to using fabrics made of chemicals - fabric like polar fleece and rayon. Saves animals - harmful to the environment.

The red shoes are sooo cute! Surely Natalie Portman wouldn't put her name on shoes made out of nasty chemicals? I'll have to wait and see what the company says the shoes are made of...

Yes, but the farming of cows is bad for the environment too. I mean, it's even worse for the environment than car pollution is. I don't wear leather because of the animals, but even if I were looking at it from the environmental angle, I'd still go with vegan shoes.

Awesome! Those red shoes look amazing!

And I love Natalie's style...

I love those red shoes!

I didn't know Nat was into design. Of all the young celebrities that had design aspirations, Natalie Portman wouldn't have made the top of my list. This should be interesting. Oh and does she look fantastic in that pic or what?

This is great!

Ha!!!

yeah . . .the only shoes i pay $200-plus bucks on are Louboutins, and Stella McCartney's . . .

I eat hambugers . . .

When you live here in LA, the whole Vegan thing is more of a trend than it is about saving the Earth and animals . . .

it's so cliche to be Vegan here.

She is always adorable..the perfection..and oh..the shoes..cuuuuute!!!

She always looks adorable, and so do these shoes. I'm interested in seeing the rest!

Trendy or not trendy, it's good to care about the environment and animals. It's just as stupid to NOT be vegan just for the sake of not looking cliche as it is to BE vegan simply to be like everyone else.

cute!!

Completely agreed, Foxie!

i never would have guessed natalie would do this, but it's for a good cause so i'll give props to her. it's just too bad my college debt won't allow me to purchase anything above $50. lol.

Agreed Foxie. Who cares if it's a cliche? Who even thinks like that? Every little bit helps. I think these shoes are great.

Very cool and I expect "generic" vegan shoes to pop up extremely soon now. And I'm sure they'll be added to the major lines as well.

The red shoes looks basis and boring though.

is there a way to see the whole collection? loving the red patent mary janes!

I love those red shoes. $ 200.00, is cheaper than other high end designers. I wish they were cheaper.

I love those red shoes. $ 200.00, is cheaper than other high end designers. I wish they were cheaper.

it's so hard to find decent vegan shoes - i have high hopes if natalie is involved!

Those red shoes are soooooo pretttyy! And cruelty free!

lovely shoes!

Yay! This is awesome!

Yay! I've been trying to buy less leather goods! As far as the environmental impact goes, I am trying to make sure I only buy things that I will wear for sure for a long time, and then donate them when I'm done with them. If an item gets a ton of wear, and you keep it for a long time, you can lessen the environmental impact that way.

Asia-I don't get it...you refuse to do something that would be good for the environment and animals because it's trendy, regardless of the good it could do for the world? Like if it were trendy to donate money to rape victims in LA you would refuse to do it? I don't get it, please explain this to me so I can be cool too!!! Btw...Stella McCartney is known for making animal-friendly clothing, perhaps you are too cool to wear her stuff also!

I love those red shoes; hopefully all the others are as good or better!

LOVE her! and i LOVE those shoes!!!! sign me up too

About the trend thing, Natalie Portman's been a strict vegetarian for years. I also remember reading an interview a few years ago where she said she had a hard time finding vegan shoes, this being one of the reasons why she had a lot of Stella McCartney shoes.
Vegan might be trendy at the moment, but at least Natalie Portman's been advocating the same thing for quite a while - trendy or not.

I love Natali Portman can't wait to see her designs but the price is my soft spot lol.

I really admire her. The shoes are a little too expensive but they look very cute, at least these red mary janes.

I am so excited about this! Natalie Portman is cool, those shoes are gorgeous, and although $200 is a bit more than I can afford, I would be willing to pay it for a pair of truly comfortable fabulous shoes that would become a staple.

I mean, when I think about it, I've already spent much more than that for many, many pairs of cheap uncomfortable shoes. Better to splurge a bit for quality.

shoe fanatic blog:

http://shoelala.wordpress.com/