Vagabond Shoemakers is one of the leading shoe brands in Europe and for many good reasons. The brand was first born in Varberg, Sweden in 1973 and since then has been making high quality shoes to last years on end.

Vagabond prides themselves on the quality shoes they craft. Each shoe is made with precision, thoughtfulness, and style in mind. They also follow each shoe design carefully through design, production, transportation, and distribution. Choosing the best people to work with across the board ensures that Vagabond makes responsible choices when it comes to manufacturing factories and more.

“…the vision has been to be a global fashion brand within shoes, for the fashion and quality driven consumer.”

Vagabond Website

We got a pair of these beautiful boots for the holidays and we would wear them every day if we could. You can tell these were made with excellency and Vagabond even included a slip with the name of who made our pair. Not only does this make Vagabond a more personal brand, it shows that they are aware of who is crafting their shoes and that they are proud to have them as part of the team. This is something we value because fast fashion is at an all time high right now and providing such transparency is like breath of fresh air.

Vagabond has their own shoe factory located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. There, 220 people work on samples, accessories, and their men’s collection. They also carefully select other shoe factories to produce their shoes, and always with their own staff present.

On their website, Vagabond lists their top sustainability priorities, which are:

• Material
• Transparency / Knowledge sharing
• Emissions to air
• Clean water
• Process Chemicals
• Our own workplaces
• Production working conditions

Some sustainability accomplishments by Vagabond include 100% sustainable textile materials, LWG rated tanneries, regular staff sustainability trainings, efficient chemical control, and their recycling program. You can also view their recent sustainability reports on their website (linked here).

“Only buy what you really love. And when you don’t want to use your shoes anymore, leave them for someone else to use or for material recycling.”

Anna Fahle Björcke, Head of Communications

A really valuable thing Vagabond has started is their Shoe Bring Back program. All of Vagabond’s concept stores now offer the program, accepting used and wearable shoes to recycle into new material. This initiative was created to have consumers participate in closing the loop of buy, wear, throw away. Instead, the loop can now be buy, wear, recycle, wear again. We think this is a great program and when our pair shows too much wear (which won’t be for years), we hope to participate!