Now, more than ever, the sneaker is our friend. With a weekly routine that could consist of any mixture of working out, commuting to the office, and then walking the same six-block neighborhood radius, comfort and ease rule just about every sartorial decision we make — and sneakers check off each of those boxes (with added bonus points for personal-style expression, too). But when it comes to sustainability, our favorite supportive shoe isn’t always as eco-friendly.
Many sneakers can be heavy on non-biodegradable synthetics, which ultimately contributes to the pile-up of plastic that’s seeping into every surface on the planet (even the atmosphere). Luckily, there’s a growing host of footwear brands working to come up with a more sustainable solution: styles with all the bounce, comfort, and swag that we look for in the perfect white tennis shoe or comfortable running shoe, without all of the waste and environmental degradation that’s commonly associated with sneakers. Think instead: sustainable sneakers with recycled and vegan materials, and sustainable sneaker brands with planet-friendly and circularity initiatives.
If you’re in the market for a new pair of sustainable sneakers, then you’ve come to the right page. Do the planet (and your feet) a favor by shopping trendy sneaker styles from one of our favorite eco-conscious-kick creators ahead — from Nisolo and Veja to Saye and Reformation.
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Nisolo Everyday Sneaker
With a serious focus on social and environmental responsibility, Nisolo has become the No. 1-ranked Re/Make brand. You can even find a scorecard for each of its products, showing its global impact. Scoring an A- for people and an A for the planet, Nisolo’s minimalist walking shoe is made with vegetable-tanned leather that’s carbon-neutral and made by fairly paid workers.
Shop Nisolo
Nisolo Everyday Sneaker, $, available at Nisolo
Adidas Stan Smith Shoes
The elder states-shoe of sport is upping its eco-friendly cred with the recent relaunch of its classic tennis sneakers. The new iteration is free of virgin polyester, and its upper is constructed from the brand’s proprietary recycled fabric Primegreen.
Shop Adidas
Adidas Stan Smith Shoes, $, available at Adidas
Veja Condor Low-Top Running Sneakers
Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion launched this sneaker brand in 2008, and its now-ubiquitous “V” logo’d trainers are made with materials like organic cotton, recycled polyester, and natural rubber. Thanks to the brand’s sky-high sustainable standards, it took four years to perfect the Condor, a high-performance running shoe that’s made with 47% natural and recycled materials.
Shop Farfetch
VEJA Condor Low-Top Running Sneakers, $, available at Farfetch
Thousand Fell Women’s Court Stone Sneakers
These zero-waste sneakers saved 4,820 hours of light energy, avoided 10.5 miles of driving emissions, and used nearly six recycled bottles. This skater-esque sneaker is also 100% vegan and uses food waste like coconut husk and sugar cane instead of plastic. Thousand Fell even claims its recycled rubber insoles and aloe vera-coated liners are so comfortable that you can wear the shoes sockless.
Shop Thousand Fell
Thousand Fell Women’s Court Stone Sneakers, $, available at Thousand Fell
Everlane The ReLeather Tennis Shoe
Everlane’s sustainable mini-line, ReLeather Sneakers, consists of two classic styles: the Trainer and the Court, a skate-inspired shoe designed for daily wear. With a Leather Working Group-approved hide constituting the shoe’s upper and a sole made from a blend of natural and recycled rubber that’s 94.6% free of virgin plastic, it’s a chic, environmentally friendly choice.
Shop Everlane
Everlane The ReLeather® Tennis Shoe, $, available at Everlane
Converse Renew Chuck 70 Canvas Sneakers
Through its Renew imprint, this forever-cool sneaker brand has experimented with a host of fabrications. It uses cotton-canvas scraps from its own manufacturing excess and repurposed denim sourced from European vintage purveyor Beyond Retro to make these patch-worked, earth-hued classic Chuck Taylors.
Shop Converse
Converse Chuck 70 Canvas Sneakers, $, available at Converse
Outdoor Voices Women’s Salomon Aero Glide
Outdoor Voices has a longstanding focus on sustainability. Though it’s best known for its activewear, the brand also makes eco-friendly shoes. These sneakers are plush, comfortable, and breathable for long runs, partly thanks to the recycled-EVA sock liner and mesh upper. They’ve even been compared to cult-favorite Hoka sneakers by customers.
Shop Outdoor Voices
Outdoor Voices Women’s Salomon Aero Glide Running Sneakers, $, available at Outdoor Voices
Saye Vegan Modelo ’89 Sneakers
For every pair of Saye sneakers sold, the brand plants two trees. But the sustainability efforts don’t end there. Using sustainable materials for its shoes, this pair of retro-style sneakers is made from vegan corn leather and 100% bamboo. The insole is also a recycled material, and the laces are created from organic cotton.
Shop Madewell
Saye Vegan Modelo ’89 Sneakers, $, available at Madewell
Toms Alpargata Resident Slip-On Sneaker
Since day one, Toms has been dedicated to using vegan and sustainable materials like recycled polyester, natural hemp, and organic cotton for its shoes. While people recognize the brand for its effortless slip-ons, it also makes easy-to-wear sneakers. This knit style is a prime example. It matches any attire and is sustainable. (The shoe is partially made out of a recycled polyester-blend fabric made from plastic bottles.)
Shop Nordstrom
TOMS Alpargata Resident Slip-On Sneaker, $, available at Nordstrom
Reebok [Ree]cycled Zig Dynamica 4 Women’s Shoes
Check out Reebok’s [Ree]cycled (cute) landing page for activewear made from recycled fabrics — the assortment includes these throwback trainers reminiscent of the brand’s ’80s heyday. Not only do the sneakers boast vintage appeal, but they’re made from leather and textiles with a minimum of 50% recycled content. It’s a running start for the behemoth exercise brand — we hope it’s in it for the marathon.
Shop Reebok
Reebok Zig Dynamica 4 Women’s Shoes, $, available at Reebok
Reformation Harlow Leather Sneaker
Everyone is stepping into the eco-conscious space, and it’s about time. Reformation is one of the brands leading the pack, as the label has put sustainable practices at the forefront of its business model. The Harlows are created from past Reformation products and are crafted in Brazil from soft cow leather that’s tanned without using harmful materials. After a year of releasing its fully recyclable sneaker, the shoe is still a must-have item as colorways and sizes consistently sell out.
Shop Reformation
Reformation Harlow Leather Sneaker, $, available at Reformation
On Running Cloudrunner Sneakers
On Running is a super-innovative brand that’s created the likes of a not-yet-buyable sneaker made from carbon emissions and a subscription-only zero-waste sneaker. But if you’re looking for an already-available pair of sneakers, we suggest the Cloudrunners, which are created from 35% recycled materials, including polyester and polyurethane.
Shop On Running
On Running Cloudrunner Sneakers, $, available at On Running
Good News Juice High Top Sneaker
This London-based brand is known for its cheerful collection of chunky-soled street sneakers, all of which feature a recycled rubber outsole and an insole made from recycled rubber and castor bean oil. The fabrics used in its eye-catching uppers are made from organic cotton and biodegradable wool. Although this high-top style is a different take on the brand’s usual cotton variations, the shoe is still sustainable.
Shop Urban Outfitters
Good News Juice High Top Sneaker, $, available at Urban Outfitters
Greats The Royale Knit Sneaker
This direct-to-consumer shoe imprint turns out just a few impeccably designed styles — one of which, the Royale, is available with a knit upper woven from discarded plastic bottles. (Seven of them, to be exact.)
Shop Greats
GREATS The Royale Knit Sneaker, $, available at GREATS
Sorel Women’s Kinetic Breakthru Day Lace Sneaker
Another sustainable running sneaker to keep your eyes on are Sorel’s Breakthru style. Each part of the sneaker is made from eco-friendly materials, including on the upper, footbed, and midsole. The midsole is partly composed of Bloom — an algae-biomass material.
Shop Sorel
SOREL Women’s Kinetic Breakthru Day Lace Sneaker, $, available at SOREL
Allbirds Women’s Tree Dasher 2 Running Shoe
Every material that goes into an Allbirds shoe — whether it’s the brand’s lightweight Runner, polished Tree Breezer, or high-impact Dasher — is sustainable, renewable, and/or recycled. Natural materials like merino wool (from humanely raised sheep), tree-based Tencel lyocell, and rainwater-fed sugarcane co-exist with recycled synthetics like plastic and nylon to create a shoe that’s sublimely comfortable and eco-friendly.
Shop Allbirds
Allbirds Women’s Tree Dasher 2 Running Shoe, $, available at Allbirds
Nike Air Force 1 ’07 Next Nature
Introducing your staple Nike shoe, but with an eco-friendly revamp. It’s made with at least 20% recycled material from post-consumer and post-manufactured waste, so you can freely buy more. And it doesn’t comprise the crisp white aesthetic, durability, and support it’s known for.
Shop Nike
Nike Nike Air Force 1 ’07 Next Nature, $, available at Nike
Axel Arigato Clean 360 Laceless Sneaker
If you absolutely despise laces, you’ll get a kick out of this. (No pun intended.) Axel Arigato’s Clean 360 Laceless is a reinvention of the classic Clean 360. Everything from the shoe to the dust bag is made from recycled materials like rubber and polyester — the packaging is also FSC-certified. On top of that, the Swedish brand has a product footprint section for each shoe where you can follow the supply chain.
Shop Axel Arigato
Axel Arigato Clean 360 Laceless Sneaker, $, available at Axel Arigato
Saucony Jazz Court RFG
Earlier this year, the heritage sneaker brand introduced a low-impact version of its iconic Jazz Court tennis shoe, manufactured with renewable fabrics like cotton, jute, wool, rubber, wood, gardenia, and beet. (It also made sure to use wool that was humanely harvested.) Even better, it ships in an ink-free, 100% recycled shoebox without excess interior stuffing.
Shop Saucony
Saucony Jazz Court RFG, $, available at Saucony
Cariuma OCA Low Canvas Sneakers
This Brazilian sneaker brand was founded in 2018 by two friends who wanted to create stylish footwear without the needless waste they’d witnessed working in the accessories industry. Cariuma’s street-friendly kicks are available in cotton canvas or a breathable knit made from super-renewable bamboo and come with cushy insoles made from cork and mamona oil.
Shop Cariuma
Cariuma OCA Low Sneaker, $, available at Cariuma
Chloé Nama Blanket-Stitch Recycled-Mesh Trainers
Invest in a pair of colorful sporty sneakers that are not only designer-friendly but eco-friendly, too. Chloé’s Nama trainers are created from a blend of materials with 40% recycled debris, such as nylon, polyester, cotton, yarns, and rubber. Every inch of the shoe has a thoughtful, eco-friendly touch. For instance, the sole is assembled with water-based glue, which has fewer chemicals than regular glue, and the leather is sustainably manufactured through the Leather Working Group.
Shop Matches Fashion
Chloé Nama Blanket-Stitch Recycled-Mesh Trainers, $, available at MatchesFashion
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