Hi - after hearing about shoes coming apart and flying over the handlebars I decided to be proactive and to replace shoes before landing on my head.  Last time around I used Yamaha shoes on DT360, now i am into the DT1E and thought i would see if others are going with OEM or is there a better / cheaper aftermarket brand

thanks
Martin

OEM are asbestos if they're NOS . There are Yamaha ones available but not consistent in avilability not here in the UK. These are organic compound same as Vesrha ,EBC and the like. 
you can buy Vesrha from KDI restoration at a very Princly sum.

While most brakes no longer contains asbestos, asbestos is still allowed by the EPA in limited use for brake shoes and other "aftermarket" automotive friction products. 

So chances are new brake shoes could still contain asbestos...  especially non-OEM...  if it really bothers someone, check with manufacturer and see.  

The awareness and rules surrounding asbestos use started in the 1960's...  I'm not sure that Yamaha shoes ever contained asbestos, but they could.  Certainly by the 1980's most brake shoes were advertised as "asbestos free"... 

I've not tried Vesrah but I know that some of the EBC shoes for the Yamaha's (125's and 175's) are too small and braking performance sucks.  Yamaha still sells new manufacture shoes so any dealer or someplace like CMSNL should be able to supply them.  Yes, the online parts listings are often not updated and say "Not available" but they are superceded and do exist new.

Smart move to replace the shoes on something this old. 

I have either EBC or SBS shoes on the 360A I have now, but got OEM for the '68 project. I have Vesrah pads on a '78 XS650 (with dual discs) that I like very much. 

I know it isn't an enduro, but this shot is of the rear wheel from that bike. I chose to pull the wheels to replace the tires before riding it. Removed the backing plate from the hub, results as shown.  The seller swore to me the brakes were fine.

 

I thought asbestos maybe still available Mark.
It's banned here and the EU.
However, you can buy NOS shoes from CMSNL which is inthe Netherlands.
Yes EBC shoes tend to be small as I found out on my DT3.

 Anything is better than not changing out these 50 yr old shoes from my dt1e