MattXD

Seconded for the Ethical Wares boots. I've had two pairs now. It's slightly annoying that they don't have a rubber toe cap, as the front of the boot was the only thing to wear out on my first pair, but they're the only non-leather boots I've found.

Ok so for anyone that's interested, the company is Ethical Wares (Ethical Wares: Home - Vegan footwear, non leather belts, fair trade clothing, tibetan handicrafts, animal friendly cosmetics, ethical goods - Ethical Wares). If you email Mike ([email protected]) he's the chap I've been corresponding with, and so should know what you're after. Still waiting to hear back about the price, but seems pretty reasonable from what he's suggested. When I get a pair, I'll put up a photo.

These boots are CE compliant, so seems all good. Interesting that it's common to not wear them when climbing. Presumably that would invalidate insurance policies?

Wow, this seems to have stimulated a lot of interesting comments then. It's been a few days since I've checked it, so apologies for summarising/replying in one go. If someone can demonstrate how you fit climbing spikes on to clogs, screw it, I'll give them ago. Sustainability at its finest. On a more serious note: Dave D - good point about animal derived glues in rubber boots. I have to admit this isn't something I've thought about before, and makes finding a specifically vegan/vegetarian boot all the more important. I've been vegan for nine years now, and it's something I feel very strongly about. Pedroski - I live in Brighton myself. I went into Vegetarian Shoes earlier this week to ask them about the posibility of making me a one-off pair, but them seem really un-interested unfortunately. And anyway, presumably they'd have to get them independently tested/verified, which would be really expensive. HOWEVER, in really good news, I've just spoken to another ethical footware manufacturer who said it's something they've thought about, and have even produced some samples, which looked great. They sent me over a picture and the design spec and it all looks spot on. I'm going to persue them about getting a pair made. Would anyone else (Dryadude?) be interested in getting some made at the same time - might be cheaper if there are a couple of orders at once? Let me know.

Not that this is the area to discuss this, but leather supports meat production in a financial sense. And anyway, I oppose wearing animal skin for the same reason I'd oppose wearing human skin. Have just come across these gaters (Personal Protective Chainsaw Gaiters | Chainsaw Safety Protection PPE - Buy online from HobUK) which I could wear with a pair of non-leather saftey boots (with steel toe caps). Does anyone have any experience with them?

Ok, I've been looking for a while now to no avail. Does anybody know of any non-leather lace up chainsaw boots? I’ve been using the rubber welly-type boots for ground work for the last three years and am starting to get fed up with them. Also, I’m looking to take CS38 and CS39 in the future and can’t use them for that. I’ve heard rumours that there are a couple of pairs out there. Can anyone confirm or deny? Thanks.

I agree with alex_m on this. I've been asked to cover my tattoos up at work before, whilst working on a nature reserve, and felt that it somehow impled that I was less capable of doing my job with them on display (I should point out that they are in no way vulgar or offensive). I think the more people cover up tattoos at work, the more this notion is reinforced. My 14mm hollow ear tunnles have never raised an issue.