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Price range: $350 – $2,600 (varies if custom made)Įthos: Slow fashion, custom made, artisan, handcrafted, sustainable materials, ethical supply chainĭone by Matea is a slow artisan shoe brand that creates dreamy, fun and beautiful styles while staying committed to slow, sustainable and ethical processes. Shoe range: Slides, sandals, heels, boots and custom designs “Creating unique handcrafted shoes for unique people.” The Complete List of Sustainable Shoe Brands: Including Allbirds, ALOHAS, Deux Mains, Cariuma, SAOLA, Gorman, Cocobelle, Jibs, VEJA, and many more. A truly sustainable footwear economy will not happen overnight yet if one of the most polluting industries in the world has the capacity to make sustainability fashionable, then we surely have hope for the future. In 2011, environmental organisation Greenpeace found manufacturing facilities in China linked to Nike, Adidas and Puma were responsible for releasing huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the Yangtze and Pearl River deltas.Ĭonventional chrome-tanned leather production is problematic with the raw material extraction and tanning stages of leather shoes contributing to over 50% of its ecological impact along with the notoriously unscrupulous working conditions of tanneries in developing countries such as Bangladesh, where most employees aren’t expected to live beyond the age of 50.Īlthough entering unchartered territory, many ethical brands are putting their best foot forward as they challenge the sartorial status quo that has been crippling our natural world for decades.
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Textile treatment and dying is responsible for 20% of global industrial water pollution with vast quantities of harmful by-products bleeding in to the natural environment. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) found in most uppers and outsoles not only pollutes ecosystems but is listed as carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation. After an ephemeral existence, a pair of shoes is either incinerated or thrown into landfill, with synthetic materials such as ethylene vinyl acetate (universally found in the shock-absorbent midsole of trainers) taking up to 1,000 years to break down. Shoes these days are not made to last and are invariably an eclectic mix of components (plastics, leather, petroleum, textiles) which are glued and moulded together making them near impossible to recycle. (5) Along with a colossal carbon footprint, the industry is infamously known for its ruthless extraction of raw, non-renewable materials and production of hazardous and non-recyclable waste. The booming footwear industry is responsible for 1.4% of global GHG emissions, that’s equivalent to 700 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions. With 24.2 billion pairs of shoes manufactured in 2018 alone, and the industry’s global revenue predicted to hit $500 billion by 2027, what is the true cost of our burgeoning footwear addiction? Sustainable shoes by AllBirds Some facts for eco-friendly shoe brands: What’s in a Shoe? Rather than emerging from enchanted faraway places, shoes are a product of a global capitalist industry which relentlessly feeds a devastating portfolio of human rights violations and ecological crises. Yet behind the smoke and mirrors lies a deeply complex and unsustainable world.
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With Manolo Blahnik acknowledging the Sex and the City series played a monumental role in his career, and Kanye West’s Yeezy sneakers recently selling for a record $1.8 million, there is no doubt shoes still carry powerful magical symbolism.
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On a fundamental level, shoes allow human beings to navigate the world’s myriad of natural and urban spaces enabling us to move through life’s vast experiences and realise our physical potential.Ĭlassic fairy-tales depict shoes as liberating entities, appearing as figures of transformation and hope for the likes of Cinderella and Dorothy. Which Footwear Brands Make Recycled Shoes?įor centuries, shoes have carried huge cultural, religious and political significance from the Ancient Greeks using ritual shoes as gifts for the afterlife, to shoe-throwing as a form of modern-day political protest.Are Recycled Shoes Really More Sustainable?.Sustainable Certifications in the Footwear Industry.
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The Definition of a Sustainable Product.Waste: The Footwear Industry’s Colossal Problem.Hell for Leather: Bangladesh’s Toxic Tanneries.Pain for Profit: Factory Conditions in the Footwear Industry.The Ethics of Footwear: Humanitarian Concerns.Our List of Sustainable Footwear Brands.Some facts for eco-friendly shoe brands: What’s in a Shoe?.