Demand is likely to rise in Europe, given an estimated 44 million Muslims now live on the continent, while in the US and Canada, innovative products are being released and suppliers are becoming more established.    

At a time when footwear companies are moving to tap high-quality and high-added value segments and niche markets, such as vegan shoes, attention is now turning to the sales potential being offered for sales of footwear that is halal-certified in wealthy non-Muslim majority markets such as Europe and North America. 

Sales of footwear marketed as being halal has certainly been picking up in Europe and North America. For instance, New York-based Wear Halal sells shoes it says are made from “100% halal cow, sheep and goatskin,” noting that it “does not use pigskin to reduce the product price” of its shoes. It also argues that “using high-quality halal raw materials are the key to comfort and satisfaction.” Meanwhile, the Sweden-based Arabian Shopping Zone sells products such as “genuine halal leather shoes and khuffs” (prayer slippers) as “indoor carpet footwear.”