These are heady days for sellers of shoes and vibrators. Apparently a film starring four sex and fashion-obsessed women is hijacking our multiplexes as I write (there, that's the mandatory mention of Sex and the City out of the way) and sales of the aforementioned will duly soar.

This is obviously excellent news for Christian Louboutin and the myriad footwear designers who have sprung up since the series so sweetly made Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo household names way back in the mists of time and convinced a generation of women that having a shoe fetish was, like, you know, zany and individual. But what I want to know is whether, in the updated version, the Gang of Four will bravely tread where they didn't before and go eco. Given that sustainable tends to mean some sexual activity or other that can be self-administered, it seems unlikely, especially since ethical shoes are one of the hardest products to get right. Stella McCartney's non-leather footwear hits the fashion spot, but use plastics and sundry other chemicals; other brands that meet all the ethical criteria fall down woefully on the design. Check out beyondskin.com or visit Te Casan for Natalie Portman's vegan shoes the next time you're in New York. Frankly, I doubt that Carrie would wear these, except possibly to have a pedicure in (and anyway, what does she know?), but they're cute enough to meet the exacting requirements of divas in the Times fashion department. Vegan sandals, £95, by Cri de Coeur (fashion-conscience.com)

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