Update 4 October 2020 [still the same as of 21 November 2020]:
As expected, Adidas did not update the information on their websites. It's probably safe to assume that this is not incompetence or negligence but intentional (?).
Update 3 September 2020:
Contrary to the information on all the Adidas websites and contrary to the reassurance given by quite a number of Adidas customer service agents (in a variety of countries, online as well as on the phone) that this shoe has an all synthetic upper, the Adidas Busenitz Pro G48060 is in fact made with animal-source suede!
I have received an email by the Adidas customer service in Germany - in broken German, by someone who is clearly not a native speaker - saying that the "article G48060 contains suede".
The incorrect information on the Adidas website is still online.
There are strong doubts that this shoe is really leather-free. Someone who works at Adidas (a skater) has told someone who has told me that this shoe is made from animal-source suede.
I have contacted Adidas customer service again by phone, but they confirmed that the info on the website is surely (!) correct. But they also said that they are just reading it off the website and have no other info. However, I got an email address, and have now written to Adidas. Maybe the riddle will be solved soon.
I'm now assuming that this shoe is very likely not leather-free.
Update 3 March 2020:
A reader of this blog post has contacted me to express his doubts over whether these shoes are REALLY leather-free: "I'm not convinced they are synthetic. Adidas confirmed to me they were too but I have just cut a tiny slice off and old pair I have (after the stitch) and when burned it smoulders and actually smells like hair. My shoes are from around 2016/17 so maybe they have changed but my product number is the same."
As I've stated below the material DOES look very much like real suede. All I can say is what Adidas have stated (see below). I have not skated these shoes, and I cannot guarantee that they are really leather-free. I hope they are.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've discovered that Adidas have some leather-free skate shoes. Or rather, one that looks promising.
The Adidas "Busenitz Pro" (Dennis Busenitz pro model) in the colourway "Core Black / Cloud White / Gold Metallic" has an all synthetic upper and is leather-free.
The product code of this colourway is "G48060". You can search for this code on the Adidas website of any country, and you'll find this exact shoe (I think).
Note that ONLY this colourway is leather-free (as far as I could find out).
Adidas does not really seem to have a "proper" customer service. I contacted them on Twitter and they wrote: "Great choice on the Adidas Busenitz, Yes the shoes do have a Durable textile and synthetic upper resists blowouts and gives you precise control for flicking your board."
---
Adidas Busenitz Pro, colourway "Core Black / Cloud White / Gold Metallic", "G48060"
Update 13 January 2020:
Today I contacted the Adidas customer service on Facebook - this time in German. The customer service again confirmed (in broken German) that the information on the Adidas website is correct and that the upper is synthetic.
However, today I also received a pair of this shoe that I had bought on eBay (second hand but unused). And the upper does look scary. I have quite a bit of experience with vegan skate shoes and used to work at a vegan shoe company ... so I have done my fair share of "feeling up" "suede" to check if it's vegan or to check what vegan suede feels like, ... or can feel like. This shoe's upper seems to actually be made up of three (or at least two) types of suede. The white Adidas stripes clearly seem synthetic. The mid-shoe black suede, beneath the stripes also relatively clearly seems synthetic. The toe-piece already is a little scary, but I can convince myself that it's a very good suede imitation that's not actual suede but synthetic. The most suede-y suede however is the black suede heel piece - it has the rough look of real animal-source suede. So, I checked the American Adidas website again and contacted customer service via a chat window (the German website doesn't have this option). Confirming my preconceived notions about Germany lacking all sense of customer service, while the United States know what this is ... the American Adidas customer service was quite helpful.
Again, they confirmed that:
"This shoe is not leather.
[But I kept prodding. I asked about the heel section which looks very much like real (animal-source) suede, and if for sure the entire upper was synthetic.]
Yes, none of the material used by [!] leather. It is like the billiard cloth."
Update 14 January 2020:
I emailed a major skate and street wear mailorder in Germany and they were friendly enough to check this shoe's material for me, and again they confirmed that the upper is all synthetic.
---
The tongue of the "Busenitz Pro" is quite long, and it is actually meant to be cut off if you are inclined to do so. See here:
Another model with an all synthetic upper is the "Pace VS" in the colourway "Collegiate Royal / Cloud White / Core Black", product code "F34611".
I'm not sure if there are other leather-free colourways.
I don't really like the look of it, and it doesn't look (functionally) very much like a "core" skate shoe.
On the American Adidas website there is also a pro model by Blondey McCoy called "SUPERSTAR 80S X BLONDEY SHOES". The colourway is "Cloud White / Core Black / Gum". Yes, the upper is see-through clear plastic. The product code is "EF1028".
I don't like it (and the 80s sucked). But it's not leather.
A reader of this blog post has contacted me to express his doubts over whether these shoes are REALLY leather-free: "I'm not convinced they are synthetic. Adidas confirmed to me they were too but I have just cut a tiny slice off and old pair I have (after the stitch) and when burned it smoulders and actually smells like hair. My shoes are from around 2016/17 so maybe they have changed but my product number is the same."
As I've stated below the material DOES look very much like real suede. All I can say is what Adidas have stated (see below). I have not skated these shoes, and I cannot guarantee that they are really leather-free. I hope they are.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've discovered that Adidas have some leather-free skate shoes. Or rather, one that looks promising.
The Adidas "Busenitz Pro" (Dennis Busenitz pro model) in the colourway "Core Black / Cloud White / Gold Metallic" has an all synthetic upper and is leather-free.
The product code of this colourway is "G48060". You can search for this code on the Adidas website of any country, and you'll find this exact shoe (I think).
Note that ONLY this colourway is leather-free (as far as I could find out).
Adidas does not really seem to have a "proper" customer service. I contacted them on Twitter and they wrote: "Great choice on the Adidas Busenitz, Yes the shoes do have a Durable textile and synthetic upper resists blowouts and gives you precise control for flicking your board."
---
Adidas Busenitz Pro, colourway "Core Black / Cloud White / Gold Metallic", "G48060"
Update 13 January 2020:
Today I contacted the Adidas customer service on Facebook - this time in German. The customer service again confirmed (in broken German) that the information on the Adidas website is correct and that the upper is synthetic.
However, today I also received a pair of this shoe that I had bought on eBay (second hand but unused). And the upper does look scary. I have quite a bit of experience with vegan skate shoes and used to work at a vegan shoe company ... so I have done my fair share of "feeling up" "suede" to check if it's vegan or to check what vegan suede feels like, ... or can feel like. This shoe's upper seems to actually be made up of three (or at least two) types of suede. The white Adidas stripes clearly seem synthetic. The mid-shoe black suede, beneath the stripes also relatively clearly seems synthetic. The toe-piece already is a little scary, but I can convince myself that it's a very good suede imitation that's not actual suede but synthetic. The most suede-y suede however is the black suede heel piece - it has the rough look of real animal-source suede. So, I checked the American Adidas website again and contacted customer service via a chat window (the German website doesn't have this option). Confirming my preconceived notions about Germany lacking all sense of customer service, while the United States know what this is ... the American Adidas customer service was quite helpful.
Again, they confirmed that:
"This shoe is not leather.
[But I kept prodding. I asked about the heel section which looks very much like real (animal-source) suede, and if for sure the entire upper was synthetic.]
Yes, none of the material used by [!] leather. It is like the billiard cloth."
Update 14 January 2020:
I emailed a major skate and street wear mailorder in Germany and they were friendly enough to check this shoe's material for me, and again they confirmed that the upper is all synthetic.
---
The tongue of the "Busenitz Pro" is quite long, and it is actually meant to be cut off if you are inclined to do so. See here:
Another model with an all synthetic upper is the "Pace VS" in the colourway "Collegiate Royal / Cloud White / Core Black", product code "F34611".
I'm not sure if there are other leather-free colourways.
I don't really like the look of it, and it doesn't look (functionally) very much like a "core" skate shoe.
On the American Adidas website there is also a pro model by Blondey McCoy called "SUPERSTAR 80S X BLONDEY SHOES". The colourway is "Cloud White / Core Black / Gum". Yes, the upper is see-through clear plastic. The product code is "EF1028".
I don't like it (and the 80s sucked). But it's not leather.
