Crocs Pledges To Go Completely Vegan by the End of 2021

|Updated Jul 26, 2021
Instagram / @crocs

Over recent years, the shoe brand Crocs has gained a cult-like following, but now the loved shoe company is promising to go completely vegan by the end of 2021. The company announced that it will commit itself to remove all animal products from its collections in an effort to enhance the company’s overall sustainability. The decision to go vegan comes alongside the company sustainability campaign that is attempting to cut its emissions and become a net-zero company by 2030.

The brand’s signature material, Croslite, is fully vegan, but Crocs occasionally feature leather in some styles. Crocs, Inc determined that in order to cut its already low carbon footprint, it needed to remove the animal-derived material from those designs. Currently, the carbon footprint for the Classic Clogs is 3.94 kg of CO2e, but the brand is aiming to lower it even further by innovating its Croslite material. Croslite is derived from nearly 45 percent recycled materials, making it one of the more sustainable mass-production materials on the market.

“Taking action to reduce our environmental footprint by implementing more sustainable practice across our entire business is the right thing to do for Crocs,” Crocs CEO Andrew Rees said. “As a company, we are deeply committed to accountability, and we’re confident that we have the right team, the right innovations, and the right partners to help us achieve our net-zero ambitions by 2030.”

The company is dedicating itself to the environment by improving its sustainability practices both in manufacturing and packaging. The company sold 85 percent of its Crocs products without boxes in 2020, and after the distribution’s success, the brand began developing other ways to reduce packaging and moreover minimize its carbon footprint.

Crocs, Inc. also prioritizes recyclability within its company model, working to keep its shoes out of the trash by promoting repurposing efforts and recycling programs. Beyond solely sourcing recyclable materials, the company also works to donate its used products as well as transition its manufacturing plants to renewable energy.

The shoe company is far from the first to drop animal products. Many companies across the market have dropped leather and even begun working to innovate their polyurethane-based vegan leathers. Alongside Crocs, brands such as Reebok started researching plant-based materials, leading to the company’s debut of a shoe made with a corn-based sole. Last year, Reebok revealed its Forever Floatride GROW sneakers using castor beans, eucalyptus trees, algae, and rubber trees.

Earlier this year, Nike teamed up with Piñatex to release its plant-based Air Force 1. The iconic shoe was released with redesigned vegan versions of Air Max 90, Air Zoom Type, and Air Max 95 as a part of Nike’s Happy Pineapple summer collection.

“This summer has just gotten sweeter. Nike merges their innovative silhouettes with juicy hues and clever details paying homage to a summertime staple—the pineapple,” Piñatex wrote in an Instagram post. “Piñatex has been used on the brand’s iconic models in key parts of the shoe together with other sustainable materials such as cork.”

Biotechnology company Bolt Threads developed vegan leather from fast-growing mycelium named Mylo. The company partnered with several fashion giants in its Mylo Consortium including Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, and more. The vegan leather trend is spreading rapidly across the fashion industry, pushing more companies like Crocs to reduce emissions, improve sustainability, and leave animal products out of the fashion industry.

Sandra Oh and 20 Others It Might Surprise You to Learn Are Plant-Based

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1. Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney is no stranger to a meat-free life as he's been vegetarian for 45 years. He initially went vegetarian in 1975 with his first wife Linda McCartney and began his advocacy for animal rights.


Jason Bahr

2. Sia

If you find yourself constantly singing along to the song The Greatest, then you're already a Sia fan. Sia tweeted that she is "fully vegan now" back in 2014 and stays true to her word


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3. Sandra Oh

Way back at the start of Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh took the cast out for a plant-based lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. In her effort to inspire contemporaries to eat vegan, the TV star is known to invite her friends for vegan meals that are delicious. She adopted the vegan lifestyle years ago and continues to quietly live a cruelty-free life.


4. Gisele Bündchen

Giselle revealed that when she was at the peak of her modeling career, her diet consisted of "cigarettes, wine, and mocha Frappuccinos," according to an interview in People Magazine. Now 39 and the mother of two children, Gisele eats a "mostly" plant-based diet to nourish her body and stay fueled.


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5. Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin has made a bigger commitment to plant-based eating since he was first told by doctors that he was pre-diabetic and needed to change his diet. That was decades ago. But, over the last few years, he's been vocal about the benefits not only to his health but also the impact plant-based eating has on the environment.


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7. Pamela Anderson

We all remember Pamela Anderson as the curvaceous blonde in the hit series Baywatch as she played Casey Jean in the red one-piece swimsuit that brought her world-class fame. She is a life-long active animal rights advocate and teamed up with PETA to join the Animal Protection Organization.


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8. Kristen Stewart

"We shouldn't eat as much meat guys," Kristen Stewart told GQ in an interview in January. The Twilight star has made a full 180 from vampire to vegan. When she appeared on the game show "Hot Ones" she chose to skip the wings and instead compete by eating increasing spicier sauce on vegan cauliflower wings.


@jaredleto

9. Jared Leto

This award-winning actor eats a high-protein diet consisting of only plants. Leto, who has been plant-based for 20 years, says it keeps him "shredded" in an interview. Now, 48, Leto looks half his age.


@csyresmith

10. Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith switched up his diet from vegan to vegetarian, meaning that he doesn't eat meat but does eat dairy from time to time. In a recent article by Plant Based News, Smith admits he skipped meals and was not getting the proper nutrition when he was vegan, but this hasn't stopped him from espousing the plant-based life.


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11. Meghan Markle

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has never admitted to being fully vegan, but sources say, she eats a plant-based diet most days during the week. She is teaching Prince Harry vegan cooking and in a Plant-Based News article, Markle explained how she hopes to raise baby Archie on a mostly vegan diet.


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12. Serena Williams

As a professional athlete, fueling the body is a key factor to Willaim's successes. In a Bon Appetite article, she explained that she adopted a plant-based diet back in 2012, she was eating a lot "healthier" for her sister, Venus, who eats a strict vegan diet for health reasons.


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13. John Mackey

The popular grocery store, Whole Foods Market sells vegan products and nonvegan products which arises black lash from ethical vegans as CEO John Mackey follows a strict vegan diet. The successful businessman grew up in Houston Texas and told Business Insider that he would traditionally eat processed foods for dinner while watching TV with his family. Now, Mackey steers clear from the processed isle and eats a clean vegan diet and feels amazing at the age of 65.


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14. Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz, singer of the popular song, I'm Yours, committed to a vegan diet to support his friend diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mraz says he eats mostly raw food and told magazine sources his favorite vegan dish is "Chocomole, a mixture of avocados, dates, cacao, agave nectar, and coconut oil."


@leonalewis

15. Leona Lewis

Long time vegan, Leona Lewis grew up in a vegan household and continues to eat a plant-based diet. Lewis first adopted the diet at 12 when she learned about the health risks of eating animal products but told Women's Health Magazine she occasionally eats an omelet. She also mentioned her 2:30 lunch is normally a kale salad topped with dried cranberries and she loves a veggie stir-fry for dinner.


@hannahteter

16. Hannah Teter

Hannah Teter changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how "horrible" factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed as an athlete and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games.


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17. Maggie Q,

You may recognize Maggie Q as the star of the Nikita series, but in the plant-based world, she's well-known for her heroic activism. Maggie Q has followed a strict vegan diet for 19 years, making her a true veteran of the lifestyle. She made the plant-based diet transition because she felt sluggish and had low energy, she has said. The famous actress keeps in shape by eating veggies and plant-based protein and working out with a passion.


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18. Madelaine Petsch,

Winner of the first Masterchef vegan cook-off with Gordon Ramsay, Madelaine Petsch was raised vegetarian and went completely vegan at age 14. She claims that she started this diet before it was "trendy" and shot a campaign for PETA last year wearing a dress made of bok choy. Petsch says her vegan diet allows her to feel "healthier" and not "lethargic."


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19. Millie Bobbi Brown

After doing a little sleuthing on her social media platforms we think Millie Bobbi Brown qualifies as plant-based. Whether or not she is actually skipping all meat and dairy, one thing is for sure: She eats mostly salads, vegetables and grains and lives a predominantly plant-based lifestyle full of healthy foods.


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20. Chloe and Halle Bailey

The grammy-nominated sisters went vegan for a week with their mom but liked it so much they decided to stick with it. For one thing, it helps keep their "voices in shape" by eating a vegan diet and they emphasize the fact that dairy helps to limit extra mucus build-up, according to a PETA interview.


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21. Hilary Duff

Best known for her role as Lizzie Mcguire in the long-running series, Hilary Duff is a recent vegan advocate and entrepreneur. She recently launched the vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palette, "Day Dreamer" and changed her diet to plant-based last fall.