The pairs you shop now are the pairs you’ll wear always.
Words by Halie Lesavage
Courtesy of Neous
Whatever you’re shopping for today—activewear, denim, holiday gifts—there’s a brand promising to make the same item in a better, more sustainable way. Options for a fresh pair of winter boots or preppy brogues are no exception.
The best sustainable shoe brands we’ve found craft beautiful footwear for wearing now and years to come, with the bonus of responsible practices behind every seam. Like eco-friendly efforts across the fashion world, no two footwear brands share the exact same definition of sustainability. Some have recyclable or upcycled materials baked into the foundations of their designs; others are tiptoeing toward better processes by launching preorder models to avoid overproduction or offsetting the carbon emissions from creating their shoes.
While there’s room for even more green innovation in footwear, the efforts shoe brands have in place are a promising (and responsible) start—without sacrificing style. Ahead, find the 10 best sustainable shoe brands that’ll help you dress a little more eco-consciously from head to toe.
1. Neous
A pillar of shopping more sustainably is shopping less to begin with. NEOUS, a footwear and handbag brand based in Italy, focuses on modern, minimal designs that won’t lose their sheen with new trend cycles. The real eco-friendly aspects at NEOUS emerge in its design process. All leathers are by-products from other industries, and other textiles incorporate organic cotton and recycled fabrics—and NEOUS is committed to upping its use of these materials for its boots and bags each season. One special element of its footwear is also its most sustainable: By crafting nearly 80 percent of all products by hand, NEOUS cuts down on emissions.
2. Nomasei
After design stints at Dior, Chloé, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and more, friends Paule Tenaillon and Marine Braquet decided to start their own shoe brand founded on sustainable principles. That brand is Nomasei, where a combination of family-owned facilities, plastic-free packaging, and slow production processes (among many other commitments they’ve shared) combine into jaunty boots and retro loafers that are more responsible and downright chic. The brand isn’t stopping its efforts where they started: Right now, Nomasei is finishing up a renovation to its factory that will reduce energy consumption and amp up water regulation behind every shoe made.
3. Reformation
Reformation was founded with eco-minded practices woven into its dresses, denim, and sweaters. But the brand wasn’t satisfied with the sustainability element of its first foray into shoes. Flash-forward to May 2021: Reformation relaunched footwear, this time with fewer emissions, fewer virgin plastics, and far more traceable leather.
4. Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney—the woman and the designer label—prioritized environmental activism before it took on the contours of a fashion trend. In 2001, Stella McCartney released its first footwear and apparel without leathers, fur, or animal skins, and kept adding new green practices from there. In the present, you can find everything from towering reemergence boots made with PVC-free glitter to chunky hiking boots with sustainable wooden soles.
5. St. Agni
For a dose of sustainability in your resort wardrobe, St. Agni is the shoe brand to shop. The Australian label already uses environmentally conscious materials for its woven sandals and mules, and has global certifications for green production, but it’s taking efforts a large step further. St. Agni is working to become fully traceable—meaning every material it uses in the supply chain can be followed back to its original source, ensuring it’s as sustainable as it sounds every step of the way. For a full look, the label also carries breezy dresses and tailored separates made with the same ethics.
6. Piferi
Piferi launched only in 2020, but it’s already making an impact on party heel collections everywhere. What you see are feminine heels in baby-pink satins and patent black; what’s actually in front of you are bio-based corn compounds and post-consumer waste, materials with lower emissions than a typical shoe. Now you know: A reduced environmental impact can be downright pretty.
7. Ma’am
Ma’am shoes are for the woman who sees her shoes as an exclamation point to a bold outfit. What this line’s candy-colored sandals and low heels offer in comfort and sunburst energy, they match in eco-mindedness. Ma’am built its sustainability program around local production, working with an ethically managed factory in Los Angeles and cutting freight shipping to reduce emissions. Supporting women also factors into Ma’am’s sustainability manifesto. Each season, the brand promotes an organization dedicated to women’s empowerment, like I Am a Voter and Baby2Baby.
8. Koio
In the long-term, direct-to-consumer label Koio wants to become luxury’s first regenerative footwear brand. In the short term, it’s sourcing leather from regenerative farms and double-stitching each shoe for years of wear. All that growth happening behind the scenes: What you shop is an effortless loafer, Chelsea boot, or sneaker that can complete outfits for days.
9. Veja
From street style to the Duchess of Sussex’s royal tour wardrobe, you’ve likely seen Veja sneakers in heavy rotation. Their popularity is about so much more than their signature, laid-back low-tops. Veja was founded with sustainability at the forefront, always producing its shoes with vegan materials and the safest working conditions for employees. Don’t just take our word for it: Before you buy, you’re invited to browse Veja’s 15-chapter rundown of every eco-minded practice it uses.
10. Rothy’s
The most comfortable option in our ranking of the best sustainable shoes also includes some of the most impressive commitments. In addition to weaving every shoe from recycled marine plastic and knitting each pair with patterns that reduce fabric waste, Rothy’s is working to make its brand fully circular. Translation? Its products will soon be fully recyclable themselves, so worn-out pairs won’t end up in a landfill when it’s time for an update. And you’ll want to keep a pair close by for commuting or chilling at home. From ballet flats to driving loafers, Rothy’s shoes are all soft to the touch and free of blister-inducing seams.
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This article originally appeared on harpersbazaar.com
