Sustainable Sandals

The conventional footwear industry is a dirty business; it produces more than 20 billion pairs of shoes a year. About 300 million pairs of shoes end up in landfills each year, with most taking 30-40 years to decompose because they’re predominantly made up of plastic and polymers.

Conventional Shoes

Avoid conventional shoes made with toxic dyes, glues, and polluting materials. They are made with toxic tanning process and synthetic materials or other petroleum-derived materials. 

❌ Toxic leather: conventional leather tanning may contain chromium, arsenic, and other chemicals that pollute the environment and water supplies.

❌ Petroleum-based: Conventional shoes, midsoles, and insoles are environmentally harmful and made of petroleum-based foam.

❌ Chrome Tanned Leather: 90% of leather is chrome tanned. Chrome tanning is a widely used method in the leather industry, involving the treatment of animal hides with chromium salts, primarily chromium(III) sulfate. Toxic wastewater from tanneries can contaminate local ecosystems. It can lead to toxic chromium (VI) formation, which is harmful to humans and the environment.

❌ PFAS: they contain toxic PFAS that are not only harmful to you but also to the environment. They are found especially in waterproof footwear  

​Greenwashing Shoes

Avoid Greenwashing shoes made by brands that pretend to be sustainable, eco-friendly, and claim to be made with safer materials when they are not. They will use misleading marketing claims to convince you to buy their products. 

Many came with vegan leather alternatives, bringing more plastic to the world:

❌ PVC: Most vegan leathers today are made from PVC, made with petroleum. PVC is, for this reason, harmful to the environment. 

❌ PU is another synthetic vegan or faux leather. By definition, PU stands for Polyurethane, a plastic polymer derived from petroleum. Even less than PVC, PU still requires petroleum. 

❌ Toxic dyes: toxic to the workers and the environment.  

Sustainable Shoes

The best organic shoes are made with natural and sustainable materials

✅ Here is the most eco-friendly vegan leather on the market, made with renewable resources and also by-products, that is made with plant-based material that would have been wasted. 

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• 🌿 Organic Cotton: made without toxic chemicals and pesticides. It protects the soil and 💦water (71% less water used) and energy⚡️ (62% less energy), while 👩‍🌾protecting farmers who work the crop! ☁️ Biodegradable, vegan, breathable, durable, and anti-mycotic. 
• 🌿 Organic Hemp: Hemp has long fibers, which bring a big edge in durability when making fabrics. For that reason, hemp is in many ways the strongest natural fiber available. According to the Hemp Foundation, hemp can be even stronger than steel.
• 🌳 Cork: one of Portugal’s most treasured sustainable materials. This process is mindful of the trees with a goal of sustainable production every 9 years for a 150-year lifespan. Animal-free and plastic-free, each product is handcrafted in small batches by skilled Portuguese artisans.
• 🍍Piñatex (Pineapple leather): made with leaf fiber leather Piñatex®inatex Organic material, made from pineapple leaves that result from the waste of the pineapple harvest. The fibres that are not used in Piñatex are distributed as fertilizer.
• 🍏 Apple leather: also known as AppleSkin, is a bio-based material made using the leftover pomace and peel from the fruit juice and compote industry. The fabric is created by first taking the recovered apple waste and reducing it to a powder. The apple leather used in our products is made using 50% apple waste mixed with 50% PU, coated onto a cotton/polyester canvas. Ecological, breathable, waterproof, and durable fabric has been a game-changer in the industry. Apple Leather
• 🌵 Cactus Leather: DESSERTO USDA-certified cactus is grown in an organic farming system in the fertile and mineral-rich region of Zacatecas, Mexico. Cactus naturally regenerate the soil. It takes approximately only 3 leaves of cactus to create one linear meter of Desserto.
• 🥭 Mango leather:  Fruit Leather created by Koen Meerkerk and Hugo de Boon, crafted from natural mangos 
• 🍄 Mushroom leather: Mylo
• 🌿 Chrome-free vegetable-dyed leather: manufactured without chromium during the tanning process, and there are no harmful chemicals. It has a higher production cost.

Certifications 

• ✅ USDA Certified Biobased: This certification ensures that the brands are reducing their reliance on petroleum, increasing their use of renewable agricultural resources, and contributing to reducing adverse environmental impacts.
• ✅ PETA-approved vegan. This certification ensures that we are reducing reliance on petroleum, increasing the use of renewable agricultural resources, and contributing to reducing adverse environmental impacts.
• ✅ Recycled materials: 100% of this sneaker’s lining is recycled polyester. It also has a sole made with recycled rubber.
• ✅ ReCORK: Recycled Cork replaces this foam with a totally sustainable alternative that is more comfortable, cushioning, light, durable, and, of course, way safer, sustainable, and eco-friendly.
• ✅ Certified non-toxic leather: tested to be chromium-free; naturally tanned with vegetable tanning. Certified by The Leather Working Group (LWG): transparency in the leather supply chain, saving energy, water, worker health and safety, safe chemical practices, and wastewater management. 

The Best Organic Shoe Brands

👉I avoid brands that are made with toxic and controversial materials that pollute the environment, which can also include footwear!
🔎I searched for the best sustainable brands on the market, and so excited to introduce you to these approved shoe brands.

✅ On this page, you will find the best organic and sustainable shoes on the market made by responsible brands using the most natural material available.

My number one sustainable shoe brand recommendations are:

• 🌿 Saola booties are more comfortable than I was expecting! I highly recommend them! 30% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
• 🌿 Vessi  15% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
• 🌿 Origo 10% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL. It makes chrome-free vegetable-dyed leather natural leather shoes. Or 100% Vegan, made with cotton canvas. 
• 🌿 Nae Vegan Shoes  15% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
• 🌿 Nisolo  
• 🌿 Quince
• 🌿 Rothy’s
• 🌿 Juntos Organic Shoes 
• 🌿 Koio

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Shop with my links to support my research! 💖