15 Best Affordable And Ethical Dress Shoes For Men

By Alex Assoune Apr 01, 2024

The best formal shoes for men are eco-friendly, cruelty-free, and ethically made from natural, organic, or recycled fabrics. They use sustainable materials with reduced water and carbon footprint.

Many eco-responsible footwear companies make affordable, sustainable, comfortable men's dress shoes that are better for people in supply chains, animals, and the planet.

More and more shoe brands add stylish, organic, vegan, and budget-friendly options to their collections. They offer timeless, classic shoes that help you dress up and create fabulous formal outfits.

Check out our selection below of the best footwear brands that make affordable and ethical dress shoes for men with high standards.

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1. Etsy Oxford Shoes

Category: Shoes, oxfords, boots, sneakers, slippers
For: Women, men, children
From: NYC, New York, United States
Values: Natural, vintage, independent sellers
Prices: $10-$130

Etsy is an American e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage fashion items, homeware, and craft supplies. It offers a wide range of durable, affordable, and sustainable dress shoes for men.

Many independent sellers list stylish, eco-friendly, and comfy footwear made from cruelty-free fabrics like cork on Etsy. The marketplace is very active and widely recognized as the most trusted vintage store.

SHOP ETSY

2. Vegetarian Shoes

Category: Shoes, boots, brogues, loafers, sneakers, sandals
For: Women, men
From: Brighton, United Kingdom
Values: Natural, vegan, recycled
Prices: $40-$160

Vegetarian Shoes is a British footwear brand that first started in 1990. It creates ethical, quality, durable dress shoes for men and women in Europe.

Its sustainable formal shoes are lightweight, breathable, and high-quality with a simple, classic look. They are also long-lasting and very comfortable with thick insoles.

The footwear brand uses a portfolio of biodegradable, plant-based, natural, and synthetic materials made in Europe, including organic cotton, cork, hemp, polyurethane, polyester, and Pinatex leather made from pineapple fibers.

Vegetarian Shoes is still a small business but now sends shoes worldwide. A growing number of stores carry a selected range of Vegetarian Shoes.

SHOP VEGETARIAN SHOES

3. Matt And Nat Loafers

Category: Clothing, shoes, boots, sneakers, flats, heels
For: Women, men
From: Montreal, Canada
Values: Natural, vegan, recycled, inclusive
Prices: $90-$150

Matt And Nat is a designer brand that makes high-quality vegan leather dress shoes for men and women. All its products are cruelty-free, fashion-forward, and made with recycled or biodegradable materials.

The designer brand's values include social responsibility, excellence, inclusiveness, integrity, learning, authenticity, and love. It aims to protect nature and appreciate the humanity, creativity, and positivity in all of us.

Matt And Nat uses eco-friendly fabrics like recycled nylon, cork, rubber, and polyurethane. Its dress shoes are chic, elegant, classic, comfy, durable, and timeless.

SHOP MATT AND NAT

4. Will's Vegan Store Slim Soles

Category: Shoes, flats, sandals, boots, sneakers
For: Women, men, children
From: London, United Kingdom
Values: Natural, vegan, carbon-neutral
Prices: $70-$100

Will's Vegan Store is a vegan company founded in 2012 by Will Green. The brand places itself at the forefront of vegan clothing, footwear, and sustainable fashion.

It offers affordable and ethical dress shoes for men and women. It only uses vegan materials from the uppers and linings to the glue. Will's Vegan Store is a PETA Approved Vegan shoe company.

Its eco-friendly and sustainable materials include vegan leather created with bio oil sourced from organic cereal crops grown in Northern Europe.

Will's Vegan Store manufactures its products in Italy and Portugal. It encourages you to make positive choices and adopt a sustainable, ethical, and cruelty-free lifestyle.

The ethical brand makes classic and elegant dress shoes for men. They are comfortable, carbon-neutral and Oeko-Tex certified, and meet European REACH regulations.

SHOP WILL'S VEGAN STORE

5. NAE Vegan Shoes

Category: Shoes, blutchers, boots, sandals, heels, flats, sneakers
For: Women, men
From: Amadora, Portugal
Values: Organic, vegan, recycled
Prices: $60-$160

NAE Vegan Shoes makes sustainable footwear in Portugal. It creates ethical, vegan, affordable dress shoes for men and women with innovative, comfortable, water-resistant, durable materials.

The shoe company makes its ethical footwear with GRS-certified recycled materials from plastic bottles. It also uses cork, organic cotton, pineapple leather, and polyurethane.

NAE Vegan Shoes is a 100% vegan brand that doesn't use any animal-derived materials in production. It offers high-quality shoes with increased responsibility towards the environment.

Its vegan dress shoes are Oeko-Tex certified, hypoallergenic, antimicrobial, and carefully made in Portugal with sustainable materials and manufacturing processes in a fair work environment.

SHOP NAE VEGAN SHOES

6. Eco Vegan Shoes

Category: Shoes, boots, sandals, pumps, flats, sneakers
For: Women, men
From: Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Values: Natural, vegan
Prices: $40-$160

Eco Vegan Shoes is an ethical footwear company based in the Netherlands. It makes sustainable dress shoes for men and women and combines cool, modern, stylish with compassion, durability, and high comfort.

Eco Vegan Shoes creates ethical footwear approved by The Vegan Society and PETA, Bluesign-certified and made in Portugal by workers who receive fair pay, decent employment terms, and safe work conditions.

The ethical shoes brand finds a balance between sustainable resources, biodegradable materials, and durability to offer great comfort and support.

SHOP ECO VEGAN SHOES

7. Ahimsa Men's Dress Shoes

Category: Shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, mules, flats
For: Women, men
From: Franca, São Paulo, Brazil
Values: Natural, vegan
Prices: $70-$120

Ahimsa is an ethical shoe company founded in 2013. It creates affordable and sustainable dress shoes for men and women lovingly handmade in a small factory in Franca in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

Ahimsa offers elegant dress shoes, boots, mules, loafers, and moccasins that are versatile, traditional, and timeless. It uses vegan leather for softness, resistance, and durability.

Ahimsa makes high-quality shoes from alternative materials with long-lasting durability to show the world that you can be in fashion without cruelty.

SHOP AHIMSA

8. Native Shoes

Category: Sneakers, flats, boots, scandals
For: Women, Men, children
From: Vancouver, Canada
Values: Natural, recycled, vegan, innovation, activism
Prices: $100-$170

Native Shoes is an ethical fashion company founded in 2009 that crafts 100% animal-free footwear. It sells dress shoes, sandals, boots, and sneakers for men, women, and children.

Its ethical dress shoes are seamless, lightweight, and ultra-breathable. They feature improved and innovative technology that's ergonomic with a lighter footprint on the planet.

The footwear brand aims to design products and experiences that create a lighter, healthier, happier world. It plans to have each pair of shoes 100% lifecycle managed by 2023.

To make its shoes, Native Shoes uses natural rubber, as well as recycled polyester, molded ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), and polyurethane.

SHOP NATIVE SHOES

9. ekn Chelsea Boots

Category: Sneakers, shoes, flats, sandals, boots, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Frankfurt, Germany
Values: Organic, recycled, vegan
Prices: $90-$140

ekn is an ethical footwear brand of eco-friendly and ethically made shoes. It offers sustainable dress shoes for men and women made from recycled vegan leather, microfiber, and EVA.

ekn is committed to making high-quality, stylish, sustainable shoes to protect people and the environment. It produces its footwear in limited quantities to ensure minimal impact.

ekn footwear offers elegant dress shoes made with attention to detail and high standards in sustainability and ethics. Its designs are classic, comfortable, and made from organic or recycled fabrics.

SHOP EKN FOOTWEAR

10. Ecoalf Black Moccasins

Category: Clothing, shoes, sneakers, flats
For: Women, men, children
From: Madrid, Spain
Values: Natural, recycled, vegan, B Corp, give back
Prices: $50-$110

Ecoalf is an ethical fashion brand founded in 2009 by Javier Goyeneche. It creates sustainable dress shoes for men and women from recycled materials such as recycled polyester, regenerated nylon, recycled rubber to reduce its environmental impact.

Ecoalf offers elegant dress shoes ethically made with natural, vegan, and extremely light materials. They are comfortable and timeless and an important piece in men's fashion.

Ecoalf is Bluesign and Oeko-Tex-certified. It makes its products under the REACH regulation. Many third-party organizations verify Ecoalf suppliers' compliance with the highest social standards, such as BSCI, SA 8000, and SMETA.

SHOP ECOALF

11. Feelgrounds Chelsea Boots

Category: Shoes, sneakers, sandals, boots, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Larnaca, Cyprus
Values: Recycled, vegan, minimalist
Prices: $70-$140

Feelgrounds is an ethical shoe brand that makes 100% vegan dress shoes for men and women. Its minimalist shoes make no compromise between functionality, elegance, and style.

Feelgrounds provides the most natural walking experience with the best-fitting shoes for a large variety of feet. Its mission is to make barefoot shoes popular and widespread.

Feelgrounds offers eco-friendly, sustainable dress shoes that are super soft, zero-drop, breathable, flexible, lightweight, and have a thin sole as well as a wide toe box.

SHOP FEELGROUNDS

12. Lems Shoes Men's Drifters

Category: Clothing, shoes, sneakers, boots, accessories
For: Women, men
From: Boulder, Colorado, United States
Values: Natural, recycled, vegan, minimalist, give back
Prices: $70-$90

Lems Shoes is a footwear brand from Colorado specializing in minimalist footwear that mimics the natural shape of the human foot and is designed using the bare minimum.

Lems Shoes makes eco-friendly, vegan, comfortable dress shoes for men and women from natural and recycled materials. Its minimalist shoes are lightweight, comfy, elegant, and flexible, with a wide toe-box and thin soles.

Lems Shoes partners with Soles4Souls to put unwanted shoes and clothing to good use, breaking the cycle of poverty, creating jobs, and reducing waste.

SHOP LEMS SHOES

13. Ahinsa Ankle Boots

Category: Shoes, boots, sneakers, sandals, flip flops, flats
For: Women, men
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Values: Natural, minimalist, vegan
Prices: $120-$200

Ahinsa is a vegan barefoot shoe brand that makes minimalist, ethical dress shoes for men. It offers 100% cruelty-free shoes with many health and rehabilitation benefits.

Ahinsa's unique minimalist shoes are ideal for dressing up in an elegant outfit. They are lightweight, breathable, comfortable, and made from high-end, vegan materials.

SHOP AHINSA

14. 8000Kicks Chelsea Boots

Category: Shoes, boots, sneakers
For: Women, men
From: Mira De Aire, Portugal
Values: Organic, vegan, minimalist
Prices: $100-$150

8000Kicks is a sustainable footwear brand that makes eco-friendly, ethical, and comfortable dress shoes for women and men. They are minimalist yet stylish and elegant enough to fit special occasions.

8000Kicks designs and manufactures shoes with durable hemp fibers that generate less CO2 and are 100% vegan and animal friendly. It uses a premium hemp fabric that is strong, flexible, splashproof, and dustproof.

SHOP 8000KICKS

15. Sanuk Black Loafers

Category: Shoes, sneakers, sandals, slippers, flip flops
For: Women, men, children
From: Goleta, California, United States
Values: Organic, recycled, give back
Prices: $40-$60

Sanuk is a sustainable footwear brand owned by the Deckers Outdoor Corporation. It makes affordable, comfortable, and durable dress shoes for men and women. They are lightweight and breathable to help you look great and feel good.

Sanuk finds it necessary to protect people and preserve the environment for future generations to come. It's committed to reducing its overall environmental footprint and works with principles around labor standards and responsible environmental practices.

SHOP SANUK

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About the Author: Alex Assoune

Alex Assoune (MS) is a global health and environmental advocate. He founded Panaprium to inspire others with conscious living, ethical, and sustainable fashion. Alex has worked in many countries to address social and environmental issues. He speaks three languages and holds two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from SIGMA and IFPEN schools.

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