The typical shoe has 50 components, virgin plastic, toxic glues, and is complicated to put together. All that means that the average shoe is far from eco-friendly. Fortunately, there are a number of shoemakers, large and small, who are offering plenty of eco-friendly choices.

high fashion and eco-friendly

First, let’s dispel the myth that eco-friendly shoes have to be ugly. Quite the opposite in fact. There are some selections that would make a fashionista clear out her closet. Shoemaker Terra Plana is offering up some hot heels made from vegetable tanned, non-toxic leather and a recycled memory foam lining. In addition to eco-friendly materials, these folks design the shoe to have as few pieces as possible, lightweight, and strong.

new shoes from old stuff

Old carpet padding, recycled bike inner tubes, and discarded water bottles are not what usually come to mind when you think about the materials in your shoes. But, if you’re wearing Simple Shoes, that’s just what’s between you and the street. These folks got their start in 1991. They were determined to counter the “over-hyped, over-marketed, and over-teched sneakers.” From their ethical supply chain guidelines, to their shoe boxes made from recycled paper, Simple Shoes has made it clear that they’re not green washing! And we love their tag line: Shoes for a happy planet. To the left is one of their men’s “vegan-friendly” offerings. The sneaker is made from certified organic cotton, the sole of the shoe is biodegradable, and they use water-based glue (instead of the petroleum-based glue most of the industry uses).

one shoe for me, one for you

If you haven’t heard of TOMS shoes, then perhaps you’ve been away to the jungles of Africa. Oh wait, they have TOMS shoes there too! These shoes are not only good for the planet (they are made of organic canvas and post consumer recycled plastics) but they are also great for humanity. For each shoe purchased, another TOMS gives away another pair.

big guys go green too

Of course, the big brands haven’t overlooked the chance to make some cash from eco-friendly shoe shoppers. Keds introduced their Green Label line made from organic cotton and recycled rubber last year. We’re guessing it’s not a hot seller since you can’t find it on their website unless you know what you’re looking for.

Timberland’s Earthkeepers shoes, sandals, even work boots are made from recycled PET linings, organic cotton, and leather from eco-friendly tanneries. What’s more, with their new Earthkeepers 2.0 collection, they’ve designed all the footwear to be easily disassembled and recycled when their worn out. For example, on this work boot, after you’re done with it, you’d return it to a Timberland store or mail it back to them. Then leather upper removed, cleaned and made into new footwear. In fact, 90 percent of the shoe will be recycled. Now that’s thinking things through.

wait, don’t toss those old shoes in the trash

If you’re like many American’s no doubt you have at least a few pairs of shoes that you’re not going to wear anymore. We’d like you to consider one of these shoe recycling options.

If the shoe is still good enough to wear, the best thing is to donate it to a good cause. For dress shoes, there are plenty of local organizations, such as Working Wardrobes in Southern California, collecting your old shoes. They clean them up and give them to someone who’s working on improving their life and trying to find a better job.

Other organizations collect shoes to give to the homeless, or ship them overseas to places like South America, Africa, and elsewhere. No doubt there’s a worthwhile group in your area that would love to take your usable shoes off your hands.

Of course, sometimes a shoe isn’t fit for anyone’s feet. Nike has an answer for that. Their Reuse-a-Shoe program has  recycled more than 25 million pairs of athletic shoes since 1990. At the recycling plant, old shoes become new athletic surfaces for running tracks, basketball court padding, or foam tops for tennis courts. The great thing is that they take all brands, not just their own.

A number of the staff here are into fitness. And as such, we’re always on the look out for new high performance, green fitness wear. Naturally, we want athletic shoes and apparel that has the latest technical textiles, plus we want them to be eco-friendly and stylish. Let’s see what some of the major athletic companies are doing for us eco-fitness shoppers.

sustainable materials

REI ecoSenstive Bike Jersey

Most of the major athletic apparel brands are taking steps towards sustainability. From using more organic cotton, to recycled plastic, to reducing toxins, the apparel industry is heading in the right direction, but it takes a bit of effort to find because the eco-friendly athletic wear is not yet widely available.

Fortunately, some athletic companies are making it easier for consumers to find the eco-friendly shoes and apparel.

REI created an ecoSenstive line. These shorts, tops, socks, and other items are made from sustainable sources. What we like is that for each of the types of source materials, REI describes both the benefits and the drawbacks. For example, for cotton, they explain that non-organic cotton, while only three percent of the world’s crops, uses 25 percent of the toxic chemical pesticides. While “organic cotton is renewable, biodegradable and non-toxic. The material is traceable through the supply chain.” Of course, organic cotton has its issues too. For example, supplies are limited, it’s more expensive to grow, it also uses a lot of land, which could be used to grow food instead.

Of the mainstream athletic brands, Patagonia might be the most progressive. They were well ahead of the competition when they using conventional cotton and began using only 100 percent organic cotton in 1996. Being green is not just a marketing message for them. Patagonia put it at the heart of their business. Their mission statement is “to build the best product and cause no unnecessary harm.”

Patagonia goes beyond eco-friendly production by thinking cradle-to-cradle for their products. When you buy items with a Common Threads tag, Patagonia wants them back when you’re done. They take worn out clothing and recycle them into new.

Nike has been getting quite a bit of play lately for their World Cup kits made from recycled plastic bottles. But they’re not the only ones using recycled polyester.  Most athletic apparel and shoes are not made from cotton, but man-made fibers which deliver the performance apparel that even the casual athlete wants.

One of the fastest growing performance apparel companies, Under Armour, is also getting on board with green fitness gear. Their UA Green collection is made with recycled plastic bottles. The line, while still limited, gives athletes all the benefits of advanced technical textiles (wicks away sweat, keeps you cool, offers UPF protection, and is light weight) with the advantage of being eco-friendly. According to their website, UA expects to convert over 1 million plastic bottles into athletic shirts and shorts.

To confirm the benefits of recycled plastic fabric, according to an Adidas’s life cycle assessment, they “discovered that depending on the method applied, savings of 40-85% on non-renewable energy use and global warming potential savings of 25-75% can be achieved” for recycled over virgin polyester. And to toot our own horn a bit, if these manufacturers would adopt AirDye technology, they would see even better sustainability results when it comes to creating a finished product.

consider green packaging too

The box your new shoes come in should also be a factor in the sustainability equation. While sometimes an empty shoebox can be handy, we use them to store paid bills at home, but overall, it’s basically something you’re going to discard right away. Fortunately, more and more athletic companies recognize this as well.

New Balance makes their boxes, shipping cartons, even the stuff to keep the toes molded from 100 percent recycled materials which can be recycled again. They also use non-toxic glue, ink, and varnish.

But PUMA has the best solution: Ditch the box altogether. They worked with FuseProject to create the “Clever Little Bag.” To us, this is one of those “why has’t anyone else thought of this” ideas. Eliminating the bag has no negative impact on the shoes and will save PUMA money, water, electricity, fuel, and tons of waste each year. According to their website, you’ll see the new packaging in 2011.

Clearly the move towards creating eco-friendly athletic gear is underway. After all, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to think that we only need to keep our bodies healthy–doesn’t the planet deserve the same treatment?
You can read more about each of these brand’s commitments to the environment at their websites:

• Adidas Sustainability
• Nike Responsibility
• New Balance Responsible Leadership
• Patagonia Enviromentalism
• PUMA Vision
• REI Stewardship

Is there another company whose line you think rocks in the green fitness category? We’d like to know who they are. Share comments below.