Eco-Friendly Shoes: How They Are Helping The Environment

We all like being a part of something good where everyone can do something, big or small, to help make a difference. Even some big brand names are doing what they can to help the environment and lessen their carbon footprint making eco-friendly shoes, here’s how…

ECOALF

You may have already heard of these guys, they are a Spanish company that makes footwear, clothing and accessories.

They are a sustainable, Certified B company who say they are, “sticking to excellence in their craft by creating luxury and comfort with their durable lightweight designs”.

So how do they achieve this?

To achieve this they use recycled materials such as cotton, wool, fishing nets, PET bottles and tires, and coffee grounds.

They also use materials of low environmental impact.

ECOALF is phasing out the use of real leather because of the chromium used in the tanning process and its negative impact on the environment.

But our favourite bit is that the ECOALF Foundation has gotten together with 28 fishing ports to up-cycle the oceans and hopes to grow this movement.

Everyday fishermen deposit the garbage they’ve found in their nets into a recycling bin that is hauled away and separated out every fifteen days at a recycling plant.

Technology, waste management, and fabric and materials manufacturers all come together in the environmental circle. It’s this kind of care, quality and environmental consciousness that has won them a globe of loyal customers.

ECOALF 2017. Upcycling The Oceans Spain. ECOALF

Nike

You’ve definitely heard of these guys. Nike has been doing amazing things for the environment the last couple of years. They have found a way to make a new material they called “flyleather” that looks and feels like real leather.

Flyleather is created by binding 50% or more of recycled leather fibers with an environmentally sustainable water-powered process.

Flyleather is five times more abrasion resistant and 40% lighter than real leather.

Made with recycled leather that would have been discarded, Flyleather is keeping more waste out of landfills. Water usage is reduced by 90% diminishing their overall environmental footprint.

It might surprise you to find out that as much as 75% of all Nike products contain some recycled material. Nike Grind and Nike Air are also sustainable, ecological products from Nike.

NIKE,INC. STORIES 2018. news.nike.com

Adidas

Adidas has also been busy doing their bit, reusing plastic bottles and debris cleaned up from the ocean. Plastic waste they’ve collected from the Maldives is reclaimed and used to make laces, webbing and lining for the heels of their shoes.

Plastic waste is filling up our oceans fast with more plastic than fish predicted by the year 2050. (source)

One pair of Adidas shoes uses eleven reused plastic bottles and they are 95% recycled plastic.

Harris, Briony 04/03/2018. Tree pulp and ocean plastic: reducing their environmental footprint. World Economic Forum

Allbirds

Allbirds comfy casual shoes company started on the simple mission to make a sustainable pair of shoes with all natural fibers and materials leaving little to no carbon footprint.

Their simple, stylish designs are made with soft breathable merino wool Allbirds Has Made Wool Cool in New Zealand, check out the video below to see what we mean.

They also make the insoles of their “skippers” shoes with the castor bean oil and the laces with 100% recycled polyester. The shoes eyelets are done with a bio-based plastic.

Allbirds has created a textile using spun eucalyptus tree pulp knitted into a soft mesh fabric and their latest innovation is shoe soles made out of sustainably grown Brazillian sugar cane called “SweetFoam”. Nice!

Allbirds plans to use SweetFoam in all of its shoes but right now it’s only available in the flip flop version, “Sugar Zeffers”. 

LuKpat, Alyssa 08/06/2018. World’s Most Sustainable Shoes? Allbirds Creates Sugar-Based Soles To Limit Fossil Fuel Rubber.

FYE – For Your Earth

FYE stands for “For Your Earth” and they are an Australian shoe company making sports and casual shoes from recycled material.

The upper part of their shoes is made out of reclaimed plastic bottles and polyester waste materials. The soles are half recycled and half new rubber.

FYE also uses non-toxic, water based glue and the laces are organic cotton.

All their colors come from organic dyes and natural pigments. As such, FYE is helping the environment with every sale of shoes.

They are minimizing waste by reusing materials and keeping them from ending up in a landfill.

They are recycling and being a part of the circular economics. FYE is on the road to sustainable consumption and has a very positive economic footprint.

FYE shoes Australia, 2014. Striving For Sustainability by Using Recycled Materials… FYE

All in all we think it’s encouraging to know that there are companies out there trying to do their part.

But are they doing enough? Let us know what you think in the comments below.