Your (Carbon) Footprint Looks Better in Eco-Friendly Sneakers

A growing number of sneaker brands are now offering sustainable and eco-friendly products to their customers who wish to reduce their impact on their environment without sacrificing their comfort, budget, and performance.

Whether it’s through the use of certified fair-trade, plastic recuperates from oceans, or plant-based materials – the latter comprising eucalyptus, algae, natural rubber, and castor beans – companies show ingenuity to improve their carbon footprint. Indeed, according to Environmental Leader, when using synthetic materials, the production of one pair of sneakers generates between 11.3 and 16.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide.

Other incentives accompany the sale of eco-friendly kicks. For example, Inkkas‘ vows to plant a tree for every pair of shoes purchased. As for Reebok, its Nano X1 Vegan sneakers are animal-free USDA Certified Biobased made partly of plant-based and recycled materials. Allbirds offers products made from 100% natural materials in boxes made from 90% recycled cardboard. Adidas’s new collection Adidas x Parley is using plastic salvaged from the ocean to create its sneakers. As for Puma, the company also focuses on positive social impact by hiring – and ethically paying – employees from Haiti, Honduras, and Taiwan. Vegan shoes are also on the menu with Zen Running Club which pairs up with The Vegetarian Society to ensure its materials are completely animal-free. Waste from pineapple farms is transformed into a plant-based leather alternative called Piñatex used by Sauchony for its unisex sneakers. As we can see, there are plenty of options to choose from to run in an eco-friendlier fashion!