Your Guide to Sustainable Shoes
As my grandmother says: Spend money on good shoes and good beds - because if you’re not in one, you’re in the other!
It’s important to have comfortable and practical footwear. But when it comes to finding shoes sustainably and ethically made… barefoot seems like the best option to be honest.
Shoes are one of the most complex products to make. They are made up of several different types of materials (think of the laces, the tips of the laces, the soles, the inner, the bit underfoot, the lining etc.), each with difficult supply chains to trace back, and different ways to recycle.
But: shoes are kinda crucial! Unless you live on a tropical island somewhere.
With this in mind, this is a guide to better shoes. Shoes created by people who are working hard to change the shoe industry for the better. Shoes that are made fairly or with sustainable materials that will go back into they system after you’re finished with them.
These are not perfect shoe companies - I haven’t found any who are.
You’ll find my own personal review by the ones that I’ve worn myself (some of the shoes have been gifted to me to trial, others I have purchased).
Image by Nectar Photography
Allbirds
Type: Unisex Sneakers/Runners/Loafers/Jandals
Cost: $60 - $255
Main Materials: Merino/Sugarcane/TENCEL
Made in: Italy
Returns: Can return within 30 days, worn shoes donated to people in need
Kate’s Review: I wear my Tree Dashers most mornings. They are incredibly comfortable, easy to pack when you travel (they squish down) and easy to wash too. I wouldn’t recommend running further than 5km in them, and if you are a regular runner, I don’t think these would be good for you. As a morning dog walker, biker, and bus-taker, they are a crucial part of making my life easy.
Image by Nectar Photography
Cano Shoe
Type: Unisex Boots/Mules/Sandals/Loafers
Cost: $150 - $430
Main Materials: By-product leather/natural rubber
Made in: Mexico
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 21 days
Kate’s Review: They’re flipping awesome. I wear the JOSELIN SLIPPER BLACK regularly throughout summer, and the BENITO NATURAL BLACK (pictured above) often in Autumn/Spring. They aren’t ideal shoes for a rainy Auckland in winter, but with little invisible black socks, I get a lot of wear out of them during most seasons. I had a problem with sizing, so I’d recommend measuring your foot 3 times to make sure, and sizing down if anything.
Code ETHICALLYKATE is 10% off.
Collective Canvas
Type: Unisex Sneakers/Loafers
Cost: $130
Main Materials: Organic cotton/natural latex rubber
Made in: Dongguan, China
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 14 days
Kate’s Review: Move over Converse! Collective Canvas are taking over. They don’t give me any bother on days when I’m out and about, walking from bus stations and hosting events, for up to 14 hours a day. I travelled with them all around the country, and much to my surprise I’ve only had to clean them once too.
Saola
Type: Unisex Sneakers/Loafers
Cost: $95 - $140
Main Materials: Recycled materials (plastics)/natural cork
Made in: Hanoi, Vietnam
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 30 days
Secondhand Footwear
Type: Anything you could ever imagine!
Cost: Could be free, could be $8, could be $1000
Main Materials: Anything that exists in the shoe world, but technically it’s already recycled by you purchasing it secondhand
Made in: Worldwide!
Returns: Don’t return them, pass them on to someone new that will love them.
Secondhand footwear is hands down the most ethical route to go down - reutilising what we’ve already created is great for the budget and for the earth!
Po-Zu
Type: Unisex Sneakers/Boots
Cost: $55 - $319
Main Materials: Natural rubber/Pinatex/Cork/Linen
Made in: Sri Lanka
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 14 days
Kate’s Review: Po-Zu were my first sustainable shoes I have ever loved. The heels pictured above must be 4-5 years old; I own two pairs of heels, so these are usually it for all special occasions! The cork soles of their shoes allow your foot to melt into them and form a base that is incredibly supportive. The natural materials they use are probably why they are my least smelly shoes too.
Vivo Barefoot
Type: Unisex Sneakers/Runners/Boots
Cost: $160 - $430
Main Materials: Free range leather/eco canvas
Made in: China
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 100 days
Veja
Type: Unisex Sneakers
Cost: $189 - $235
Main Materials: Leather/Canvas
Made in: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 28 days
Etiko
Type: Unisex Sneakers/Jandals
Cost: $23 - $140
Main Materials: Fair trade organic cotton/hemp/rubber
Made in: Sri Lanka
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 30 days
Indosole
Type: Unisex Slides/jandals
Cost: $48 - $65
Main Materials: Recycled tyre rubber
Made in: Bali
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 30 days
Kate’s review: My dog destroyed my pair of Indosole’s that were gifted to me as a PR gift - and I purchased another pair immediately because they’re the best jandals/thongs (whatever you want to call them) I have ever owned. Sturdier than any others I’ve experienced, the Indosole flip flop has slight arch support and the straps don’t rub in any places on my foot.
McKinlays
Type: Unisex Boots
Cost: $219 - $430
Main Materials: Leather
Made in: Dunedin, NZ
Returns: Unknown
Kate’s review: After my previous boots (worn 400+ times and resoled once) began to look too shabby for work attire, I invested in these and will never regret it. They’re sturdy, easy to clean, and comfortable for 16 hour days on my feet. Although I wouldn’t recommend them as fast walking shoes, I have successfully walked 5km in them between the bus stop and home. These boots are the one pair of shoes I take with me when I travel.
Soul Shoes
Type: Unisex Sandals/Boots
Cost: $95 - $229
Main Materials: Leather
Made in: Raglan, NZ
Returns: Case by case
Merry People
Type: Unisex Gumboots
Cost: $76 - $152
Main Materials: Natural rubber
Made in: China
Returns: Can return unworn shoes within 90 days
Kate’s review: You know those items you get because you like them, and then wear so much you wonder what the heck you wore beforehand? These boots are just like that. They are completely waterproof and excellent on my bike. I get compliments on them every time I leave the house (maybe because they’re BRIGHT ORANGE) so people feel they need to mention them, hah. I thought they may make my feet sweat too much and get wrinkly after a full day wearing them, but I haven’t found that to be the case.
Georgia’s review: I cannot speak highly enough of these boots. So far I’ve worn them to work (teaching in schools), to university, horse riding, dog walks on the beach, social events, to the markets - the list goes on and on! They are so much more structured and comfortable than I ever expected and are the type of shoe you can wear all day and night very happily. They certainly attract a lot of attention and every time I wear them out I end up telling someone about Merry People. These are one of the best additions to my wardrobe that I’ve ever had.
