If fashion is taking an increasingly eco-responsible turn, the movement still seems to be in the minority when it comes to shoes. It must be said that alternatives are still rare, and reserved for limited series or brands that are not yet mainstream.

The first observation, when you try to wear responsible and sustainable shoes, is that it is not easy. If the eco-responsible alternative has gained ground for sneakers and other city sneakers - much less for real sports shoes, very technical - ankle boots, sandals, and other city shoes, they remain more difficult to find. You have to track down the labels, go to the brands' websites to understand their sourcing and manufacturing policy.

Shoes, a complex product

There are two main reasons why it is more complicated to find an eco-friendly shoe than a t-shirt or a pair of jeans.

• A shoe is a complex assembly of elements and materials, and can include up to 40 different components, sometimes without information on the origin or the assembly conditions.
• A shoe must be robust, must withstand time, weather (rain), elements (mud, asphalt), shocks and repeated friction related to steps. Suffice to say that it needs materials that are also robust. Leather and its imitations, such as PET, remain difficult to replace to achieve this goal. However, these are materials with a high carbon footprint... The equation is therefore difficult to solve. And yet some are working on it.

More sustainable materials

Obviously, the first thing we think about when defining a sustainable shoe is the material(s) it is made of. These must be more ecological. What are the alternatives?

LWG Certified Leather

More and more brands are turning to leathers from European tanneries, located in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany, certified by LWG. The Leather Working Group is made up of the main stakeholders in the leather industry : brands, suppliers, retailers, NGOs and other associations who work together to agree on a common environmental protocol . The objective is to align the industry with a certain number of environmental and societal obligations and to promote sustainable management and business practices, in connection with environmental protection . Not only are the hides treated without chrome and toxic products, but there is a sourcing, water and waste management policy, in addition to a societal policy towards employees.

Vegetable tanned leather

Tanning, the step of transforming a still putrescible skin into leather, a rot-proof and resistant material, uses chromium sulfates in more than 80% of tanneries, especially those located in India or Bangladesh. Vegetable-tanned leather is leather of animal origin whose tanning is carried out with plant extracts (wood, bark, roots, leaves). However, it takes longer: from 10 days to 8 weeks.

Vegetable leathers or alter-leather

Plant-based leathers are derived from pineapple leaves (Pinatex®), mushrooms (Muskin®) or apples (Appleskin®). Some brands now offer entire ranges of vegan shoes, and some major brands, such as Carel, have created at least one model

In upcycled leather

It is still very rare, but some brands use recycled or upcycled leather, from scraps, dormant stocks or skins not used by other brands.

Recycled plastics

So-called vegan shoes are mostly made from virgin PVC, so not at all eco-friendly. You have to be careful that this plastic is at least recycled, which is increasingly happening, like the trendy Lemon Jelly rain boots. We can also now find, notably at the AllBirds brand, a material like EVA (the material used in almost all shoe soles) made from sugar cane, also used for plastic beach sandals

Recycled soles

Some shoe soles are now made from car tires. Just as water bottles make excellent sweaters, tires, after transformation, make solid soles. The soles of Bobbies shoes are made of 70% recycled rubber and 30% natural hevea and come from an environmentally committed factory.

European manufacturing

It is not enough for materials to be more eco-friendly to make responsible shoes. It is also interesting that they are manufactured in short circuits, and not in Southeast Asia. Many brands are now paying attention to sourcing and are once again having their products manufactured in former European shoe flagships, with long-recognized know-how: Portugal, Spain, Italy, when it is not in Romans-sur-Isère, a mecca of shoes in France (Kélian, Charles Jourdan) until 20 years ago. Some young shoots, such as Madame Pied, Un si Beau Pas or 1083, have given new impetus to this historic capital of French shoes.

Some examples of eco-responsible brands:

Not all of their models are always, or they do not necessarily meet all of the specifications with part of the shoe not yet eco-responsible, or manufacturing outside Europe (often in the Maghreb), but these brands have made great efforts and stand out from shoes massively produced in Asia, or with classic and toxic leathers.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of brands that are very close to eco-responsible and sustainable footwear. They are mostly French and offer fashionable models: Bobbies, Jules & Jenn, M. Moustache, Craie, Sabots YouYou, Carel, Kleman, Etre Amis, the Portuguese Minuit sur Terre or NAE (No Animal Exploitation), obviously the English Stella Mc Cartney (partly owned by LVMH), the American Allbirds with B Corp certified shoes, WRAP and SMETA.

As we can see, alternatives exist, and young brands – as for clothing – are starting to promote them, even if everything is not perfect. Indeed, the product is complex and it is still difficult to meet all aspects of the specifications, at a cost acceptable to the consumer what's more!