Sustainable Shoes 

The conventional footwear industry is a dirty business, it produces more than 20 billion pairs of shoes a year.

Conventional Shoes

❌Avoid conventional shoes made with toxic dyes, glues, and polluting materials. They are made with toxic and synthetic materials such as nylon, synthetic, or other petroleum-derived materials. 

Conventional midsoles and insoles are environmentally harmful made petroleum-based foam. 

​Greenwashing Shoes

Greenwashing is when a brand pretends to be clean, green when it is not. It is a marketing tactic designed to mislead customers into buying their products. 

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

PVC: most vegan leathers today are currently 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. 

Sustainable Shoes

The best organic shoes are made with natural and sustainable material

✅ 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. 

  • 🍍Pineapple leather: made with leaf fiber leather Piñatex®inatex

  • 🍏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 LeatherDESSERTO 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 leatherFruit Leather created by Koen Meerkerk and Hugo de Boon crafted from natural mangos 

  • 🍄 Mushroom leatherMylo

  • 🌳 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.

  • 🌿 Organic Textile: organic hemp or organic cotton 

  • 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

  • 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 tat is mire comfortable, cushioning, light , durable and of course way more safer, sustainable, and eco-friendly.

✅ On this page, you will find the best organic and sustainable shoes on the market

My number one sustainable shoe brand recommendation is AllBirds

💖 Shop with my links to support my research!