Best Foot Forward

John Fluevog Founder & Owner, John Fluevog Shoes fluevog.com

by Lindsey Lewis

Conscious living is key for shoe mastermind John Fluevog. Despite being a raging success in an industry generally against putting the future ahead of current trends, this born-and-bred Vancouverite does just that.

“I think my overall theme would be buy better, buy less,” says John. Quality materials and repairable, re-soleable shoes go a long way to ensuring longevity; they also help customers save money in the long run and keep barely worn footwear out of landfills.

John’s Veggie Vogs shoe line is crafted without leather, and the company is using increasingly more vegetable-tanned leathers in other lines. Meanwhile, his Angel soles are made of natural, biodegradable tree latex.

John makes sure his company is as environmentally sustainable as possible, too; he and his staff are always searching for fresh approaches to old ways of doing things. John firmly believes that as people begin to learn about the toll common business practices take on the environment, they need to begin changing their ways.

“When I was growing up, I just didn’t know,” he explains. “But as we all start to know, we have a moral obligation to do the best we can individually.”
For John Fluevog shoes, this includes a Gastown headquarters with desks made from scaffolding, tables from fallen old-growth oak trees, and recycled carpets. All this, and style still reigns supreme. Fluevog headquarters looks chic and arty, not hippie.

And, according to John, customers can pull out their Fluevogs “a year from now, put them on, and feel cool in them.”