Sustainable Shoes
Conventional Shoes
❌Avoid conventional shoes made with toxic dyes, glues, and unsustainable materials.
They are made with toxic and polluting materials such as nylon, synthetic, or other plastic-derived materials.
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:
-
🌵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
-
🌳 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.
✅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!
AllBirds Men's Tree Dashers
🌍 The brand's most technical shoe yet, the Tree Dasher reimagines the traditional running shoe with natural materials engineered for serious performance.
Run confidently knowing we logged thousands of miles with 50+ amateur and pro athletes over a year-long testing period.
🍃 They knitted a unique one-piece upper made from FSC® Certified eucalyptus trees for a perfect fit that’s flexible, lightweight, and breathable in every step
-
Durable And Breathable Tree Material
-
Supportive Dual-Density Sugarcane Midsole
-
Designed For Maximum Energy Return
🍃 They added our signature ZQ Merino wool along the heel counter to center, support, and lock your foot in place.
Designed with a new outsole geometry, our sole brings together SweetFoam™ and natural rubber traction pads for increased pronation control and stability.
-
Renewable Materials
-
Machine Washable
-
Minimizes Odor
-
Flexibly Conforms To Your Movements
AllBirds Men Boat Shoes
🌍 These Men's trees Skippers are silky-smooth boat shoes made with responsibly sourced eucalyptus tree fiber that fits naturally into any situation.
🍃 Their proprietary knit feels silky smooth, breathable, and pleasantly cool thanks to eucalyptus tree fiber responsibly sourced from FSC® Certified forests.
🍃 Expertly cushioned, our proprietary foam with an S-curve tread makes the lightest sole possible and mimics the anatomical flexibility of your feet.
🍃 They layered castor bean oil, which emits less carbon than petroleum-based foam, and ZQ Merino wool for a cushiony, moisture-wicking, and odor-reducing insole.
🍃 CARE: Pull out the insoles and laces. Slip your shoes into a delicates bag and toss them in the washing machine—gentle cycle with cold water with your favorite organic detergent. When they’re done, shake off any excess water and let them air dry.
Handy tips: Don’t put them in the dryer. And don’t worry, they’ll go back to their original shape in no time. You can hand wash your laces and insoles on their own.
-
Renewable Materials
-
Machine Washable
-
Minimizes Odor
-
Flexibly Conforms To Your Movements
Seasense Natural Men Flip Flops
🌱UK's Top Rated Flip Flops, and the World's Favourite Eco-Friendly Flip Flops.
Seasense flip-flops are created by a marine biologist who spends 99% of his time in flip-flops. For the last 15 years, he worked throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America, and has been campaigning about the dangers of plastic pollution.
With a deep passion for our oceans and with a desire to deliver what the flip-flop industry was missing, In 2020 he founded Sea Sense to provide a planet-friendly alternative.
🌱All Seasense flip-flops focus on comfort, Durability, and Planet Friendliness.
Innovative flip flops with a perfect fit conforming to your feet' contours, delivering targeted support. Crafted with exceptional durability, and comfort of natural rubber.
🌱 Seasense flip-flops already collected the equivalent of more than 2 million ocean-bound plastic bottles and provided a vital wage to over 500 plastic collectors. 500 ocean-bound plastic bottles collected for every pair sold
MATERIAL: 100% natural, biodegradable, and vegan rubber.
Koio Regenerative Made in Italy
🌱The quest for the perfect white sneaker ends right here, with the Capri in Triple White. It's handcrafted in Italy from full-grain leather and set on a durable rubber sole. Keep them box-fresh or let them get scuffed up—you'll love them either way.
WG Gold & Silver-certified leather: This sneaker is made from leathers that are Gold and Silver-certified by the Leather Working Group (LWG), meaning they’re responsibly tanned in facilities that safely and carefully manage emissions, energy and water consumption, and waste.
FSC®-certified natural rubber: 50% of this sneaker’s sole is Forest Stewardship Council®-certified (FSC®) natural rubber.
💖This certification ensures the rubber is sourced from a forest that’s responsibly managed to prevent deforestation.
Recycled materials: 40% of this sneaker’s sole is recycled rubber. It also has an OrthoLite® Hybrid insole made with recycled foam and rubber from previous production processes.
MATERIAL:
-
Constructed from regenerative leather (Cow)
-
Lined with LWG Silver-certified leather (Cow)
-
Set on an FSC®-certified natural (50%), recycled (40%), and conventional (10%) rubber sole
-
Tightly stitched for water resistance
-
Threaded with waxed cotton laces
-
Finished with hand-painted edges
MADE IN: Italy designed in New York
Rothy's The Ravello Loafer
🌿Inspired by coastal getaways, this sophisticated loafer in beige features a sleek design, ultra-cushy insoles, and durable outsoles. Comfort you can wear all day—from morning espresso to evening Aperol spritz.
-
Soft, flexible upper in beige.
-
Extra-cushy insoles in beige keep you light on your feet.
-
Sturdy rubber outsoles in tan with welted details for added traction.
-
Fully machine washable, so they’re like new again and again.
✅ In 2022, Rothy’s factory workshop achieved LEED Gold certification, and Rothy’s factory offices achieved LEED Platinum.
✅ In 2023, Rothy’s factory aims to be TRUE-certified for zero waste.
✅ Rothy’s has purchased 1,356,434.34 kilograms of yarn, which is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, as certified by the SCS Recycled Content certification.
INGREDIENTS: 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, as certified by the SCS Recycled Content certification.
MADE IN: designed in their San Francisco design studio, made in Dongguan, China, where they own and operate our factory.
Rawganique Vegan Handmade Sneakers
🌳 Handmade organic hemp high top sneakers. Wn 5 - 10 I Mn 7 - 13. Breathability for healthy feet. Waterproof using our natural wax. We use low-impact biodegradable fiber-reactive dyes and the brown varies with each dye batch (sometimes lighter and sometimes darker).
🌱Hemp Zippered High-Top Sneaker. These handmade High Top Organic Hemp Sneakers feature a handy zipper so you don't have to lace up - just zip in and out and you're gone on your way, one eco-friendly footstep at a time.
🌱
-
Vegan. Leather-free. 100% natural plant-fiber canvas.
-
Breathable
-
Footbed lining and shoe upper is 100% hemp
-
Hemp fiber wicks away moisture keeping feet dry
-
Sweatshop-free. Hand-made by longterm shoe artisans in Europe.
-
Biodegradable. Eco-friendly.
-
100% hemp shoe laces
-
Natural is unbleached, dye-free
-
Black & brown low-impact, biodegradable eco-dyes
-
Elastic-free
-
Hypoallergenic
-
Free from forever chemicals like PFAS
-
No dispersed dyes
MATERIAL: Vegan. Leather-free. 100% natural plant-fiber canvas.
AllBirds Slippers Wool Dwellers - Heathered Grey (Grey Sole).
.png)
💖 Incredible soft and comfortable and low carbon footprint. Made with superfine New Zealand Merino wool, which they developed into our very own material with a premium Italian mill.
-
Renewable Materials
-
Machine Washable
-
Minimizes Odor
-
Flexibly Conforms To Your Movements
💖 It’s soft and itch-free on the inside, durable on the outside, and ethically sourced to ZQ Merino’s high standards for a cozy fit that treads light on the planet.
Contoured and delightfully bouncy, our Brazilian sugarcane midsole is called SweetFoam™
💖 The layered castor bean oil, which emits less carbon than petroleum-based foam, and ZQ Merino wool for a cushiony, moisture-wicking, and odor-reducing insole.
The laces are made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester. One old plastic bottle becomes one pair of shoelaces.
💖 Carbon-neutral thanks to sustainable practices, like using natural materials and buying offsets.
MATERIAL: 🌳 ZQ Merino to ensure their wool is held to high farming standards, land management, and animal welfare.
🌳One recycled plastic bottle equals one pair of Allbirds laces.
🌳The packaging is made from 90% recycled cardboard
Koio Vegan Sneakers Made in Italy
🌱The Vegan 01 is the first sneaker from Pale Blue Dot, Koio's brand of planet-saving vegan sneakers.
💖Ethically made from apple leather in a Wind colorway, it's set on a partially recycled rubber sole for all day comfort and has organic cotton laces—because organic is better for the planet and all of us humans.
-
Made in Portugal
-
Constructed from Apple leather
-
Lined with soft recycled material
-
Set on a partially recycled rubber sole
-
Threaded with organic cotton laces
-
Fitted with a natural latex and cork insole
✅ Vegan Apple Leather: with 22% coming from waste!
✅ USDA Certified Biobased: The upper leather of this sneaker is USDA Certified Biobased and
✅ 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.
MATERIAL: Apple leather in a Wind colorway, partially recycled rubber soles, organic cotton laces.
MADE IN: Made in Portugal. Designed in New York
Po Zu Men VIM GREY
🌍 High-top lace-up boot in water resistant rubberised canvas featuring a distinctive overlay toe-cup and heel-counter in Fair Trade Rubber. High grip heavy cleated sole
-
Padded collar and tongue in natural latex foam
-
Featuring a highly comfortable Foot-Mattress™in natural latex foam and coconut fibre that moulds to your foot and provides superb air circulation (removable, allows for orthotics placement).
-
All rubber sections (including sole) are made of locally-sourced Fair Trade rubber, certified by the Fair Rubber Association.
-
100% Vegan.
-
Solvent-free.
-
Made in Sri Lanka.
🍃MATERIAL: Upper-Rubberised 100% Organic Cotton Canvas - GOTS Certified and Natural Fair Trade Rubber
Lining- 100% Organic Cotton Canvas - GOTS Certified
Footbed- 100% Organic Cotton Canvas - GOTS Certified
Foot-Mattress- 5mm cushioning foam insole made from 60% Coconut Husk & 40% Natural Latex
Sole-100% Fair Trade Rubber
Sole Assembly-Vulcanised and Side Stitched
Rawganique 100% Organic Cotton Quilted Slippers Glue-Free
🌳 Handmade 100% organic cotton house slippers with 100% organic cotton twill uppers & 100% organic cotton fleece footbed and 100% organic hemp stiff canvas sole. Wn 5-10 I Mn 7-13. Washable on gentle / handwash cycle.
🌱Allow one size for shrinkage if you plan on machine washing these. Dry on low and remove before dry - monitor regularly for any signs of shrinkage and remove promptly. Each washing machine and dryer is unique and some run too hot for natural fibers. Best to minimize washing to preserve the integrity and durability of these unique organic cotton slippers.
🌱These Organic Cotton Slippers feature a thick soft sole with organic cotton fleece footbed and hemp canvas sole. Plenty of padding for warmth & comfort under foot for a 100% natural organic sandal. Super breathable! No icky feel of synthetics against your skin. Glue-free Vegan Handmade Organic Cotton House Slippers. Hand-crafted from start to finish in our European atelier: they grow, weave, knit & sew each pair for true purity & environmental sustainability.
MATERIAL: 100% Organic cotton uppers & footbed, European hemp canvas sole