ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Going green with your footwear makes sense!  Making "green" choices can have far-reaching benefits. Reusing and recycling footwear saves energy in manufacture and also in landfill. It can also save you money. However, re-using shoes is not for everyone, so ecobites have compiled a list of ethical and green footwear retailers.

TEN TOP SHOE TIPS

1. Shoes will last longer if given a day's rest after wearing to allow moisture to evaporate, so have at least two pairs for each season.

2. Keep your shoes on shoe trees when not in use so that they keep their shape and don't suffer cracking.

3. Use a hard brush to remove mud: never scrape shoes with a knife.

4. Repair damaged shoes as soon as they need it. Delaying repair is a false economy. A cobbler / shoe repairer can easily and inexpensively repair most worn down shoes.

5. To deodorize shoes, sprinkle baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) inside them. Leave for a day or two, then shake out and air.

6. To waterproof footwear the old-fashioned way, melt equal quantities of beeswax and mutton suet (or use organic coconut oil). Rub over the top and soles while still liquid and wipe off the excess.

7. To remove mildew on leather, rub vigorously with non-petroleum jelly.

8. To soften leather, rub with lemon juice or castor oil. Olive oil helps to prevent the leather from cracking and drying.

9. Where a shoe pinches over a toe or joint, press a very hot damp cloth over the spot, and leave for a few minutes so that it expands and softens the leather.

10.Cleaning: Wipe dirt from shoes in-between wearings with a soft cotton rag, old cotton or woollen sock or damp cloth, and they will be easier to clean.
Place shoes to be shined and all materials on top of several layers of newspapers before you begin, to avoid spills and accidents. Remove shoelaces from shoes before cleaning or polishing.Old woollen socks ready for retirement can be reused for applying eco-friendly shoe polish.The inside of a banana peal is a great non-toxic alternative to shoe polish.
A line of quality plant-based leather care - Made by the Tapir Wachsfarben Co. with high quality ingredients (totally non-petroleum, non-crude-oil, some ingredients organically grown). In the production and in the final product there is no destruction of the natural oil based carbon structure.
http://www.sinanco.com/alt/shoe-care.html A similar eco friendly product - Livos Snado, a leather polish made from natural waxes, plant oils, and pigments.

WHICH IS THE "GREENEST" SHOE CHOICE?

Shoes are difficult. They have short life spans in general, especially in wealthier countries, because they are a fashion item -  wealthy people in wealthy nations throw away millions of shoes every year. Environmentalism on the shoe frontier involves not only choosing which items to buy, but cleaning up places where materials are manufactured, such as tanneries; reducing the use of toxic materials, such as vinyl; and finding a way to keep shoes out of the waste stream. There are interesting efforts to keep shoes out of landfills, including recycling programs and efforts toward biodegradability. Shoe reuse is of course a good idea, but there is also a concern about piles of donated shoes eventually migrating to poorer nations, where they become someone else's landfill problem.

Shoes are usually a mix of many materials: 40 materials in a typical shoe. Pollutants derived from the making of a shoe could include dioxin, volatile organic compounds, solvents, chromium, hide waste effluent, and isocyanates. If you purchase synthetic shoes, you avoid the chromium and hide waste effluent, and reduce the market for animal hides. But it is likely that you are then increasing the market for vinyl, and contributing to the production of dioxin. Are pollutants affiliated with the tanning industry worse per shoe than dioxins from vinyl? Maybe so. But I cannot confirm this slight guess with any data, so let's move on to harm-reduction techniques.

Very simply, I would suggest looking about for shoes that are marketed as "green" or "environmentally friendly," and then examining the claims for substantiation.  Europe now has an eco-label scheme with a shoe category, but when I checked there was no way to buy the shoes direct from the dealers. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals provides a "cruelty-free" clothing list; obviously the shoes therein are leather-free, and most of the materials are listed, so it may be possible to avoid vinyl. It looks as if hemp is making footie inroads. Used shoes may be an option, too, and needless to say will be much cheaper than eco-shoes -- and I don't think they carry the same political weight as secondhand fur.

The second aspect of our shoe carefulness is to rein in any inner Imelda Marcos and limit our new shoe purchases. We should also dispose of our unwanted shoes carefully, perhaps giving them to the Nike Reuse a Shoe program if feasible, or passing them on to a thrift store.
Source: www.grist.org

PURCHASING SHOE TIPS

Making "green" choices when you shop can have far-reaching benefits...

Packaging. While some packaging is clearly used as protection, some is nothing other than wasteful. Let manufacturers know you disapprove of excess packaging by writing to them. As companies vie for the green consumer's spending money, in some countries there are labelling schemes to help evaluate claims such as 'recyclable' or 'made from recycled materials'.

If  buying environmentally friendly shoes from a store take your string to avoid packaging. Shoe stores used to tie boxes with string so that the customer could simply carry the boxes out holding the string. Reuse the shoe boxes and any paper at home or give to a local kinder for a further use as children's craft supplies.

1. Sizes may vary among shoe brands and styles. Do not select shoes by the size marked inside the shoe. Judge the shoe by how it fits on your foot.

2. Select a shoe that conforms as nearly as possible to the shape of your foot.

3. Have your feet measured regularly. The size of your feet change as you grow older.

4. Have both feet measured. Most people have one foot larger than the other one. Fit to the largest foot.

5. Fit at the end of the day when your feet are largest.

6. Stand during the fitting and check that there is adequate space (3/8" to 1/2") for your longest toe at the end of each shoe.

7. Make sure the ball of your foot fits comfortably into the widest part (ball pocket) of the shoe.

8. Don't purchase shoes that feel tight, expecting them to stretch to fit.

9. Your heel should fit comfortably in the shoe with minimum amount of slippage.

10. Walk in the shoe to make sure it fits and feels right. (Fashionable shoes CAN be comfortable and healthy!)

Source: The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society

RETHINK FOOTWEAR - - REUSE + RECYCLE  Recycling your closet saves you money and offers a "new-to-you" wardrobe that has already paid its environmental debt.

How can you stay environmentally friendly while you're out shopping for new season fashions? Well, you might want to think about "recycling" and "reusing."

1. Donate or sell your old and unwanted clothes, footwear and accessories. You can make some extra money or earn credit for new recycled fashions at resale shops.

2. Shop at  vintage shops, online, neighborhood flea markets, yard sales and estate sales.Shopping at vintage and consignment stores is already growing at a pace of 5 percent per year, according to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops.

3. Swap till you drop. Host a clothing and footwear swap at your home or office.

Have everyone go through their closets and bring in gently-worn items they've outgrown, grown tired of or maybe never even worn.

Sort through and have everyone who contributed to the cache of clothes and footwear select new items. It's a great way to refresh your wardrobe with clothing that's already paid its carbon debt.

It's also a fun way to get together. Friends can vote on who looks best in outfits or items that more than one person covets.

4. Leftovers.Take any leftovers to a local Goodwill or donation site.

5. Recycle. Soles for Souls who donate shoes to disaster driven regions and third world nations. Not like that is a perfect solution yet, but better than filling up the landfill. http://www.soles4souls.org/

Nike is doing some impressive stuff in the new millenium with their shoe recycling program (they grind up old shoes and make them into tracks for underfunded high schools).

Some people find charity shops liberating and exciting places to dig for treasure - others have a horror of being seen wearing hand-me-downs. The following is a list of "green shoes" that are less toxic for the environment and healthier for the life of the shoe. Or you may choose a lower impact shoe that is a better case of style over substance. However, there are now many wonderful designs, the best green choice for you may be to choose a great quality shoe that will last or even shoes made of recycled materials, such as sneakers with recycled rubber soles.

Taryn Rose
Artisans in Italy make Taryn Rose shoes the old-fashioned way with a focus on vegetable-tanned leather. By hand. In fact, as much as three hours of hand stitching go into a single pair. The soft buttery leathers are hand chosen for fit and comfort.
http://www.tarynrose.com/

Birkenstock has been employing eco-friendly practices since long before the recent "green shoes" movement. Their boxes are made from 90% recycled paper, the actual production process of their sandals and shoes creates little waste, and Birkenstock sandals themselves can be repaired - and that's just the tip of the eco iceberg at Birkenstock. In addition to their ubiquitous sandals - which are available for kids, women and men - Birkenstock also offers clogs and shoes, which range in price from $75 to $200 (U.S.)www.birkenstock.com

Simple Shoes.The important thing is the commitment to making the product 100% sustainable. Finding materials and processes that make products sustainable is a method Simple Shoes call Green Toe. It isn't a magic formula, or a cure. It is a compass that, Simple Shoes hope, points to a bright green future.
http://www.simpleshoes.com/

Keen is another brand that is working towards 100% sustainability for their products, and has made lessening their environmental footprint one of their company's core issues. Some of the steps they've taken include using recycled polyester webbing, water-soluble glues, natural cotton for canvas, and shoeboxes made from biodegradable materials that collapse for recycling. Most noted for their original "Newport" toe-protecting sandals Keen makes footwear for women, men and kids, and offers everything from hip canvas sneakers to pretty ballerina flats. Prices range from about $40 to $130. Hybrid footwear products for adventurous, active individuals, regardless of where their adventures might take them. www.keenfootwear.com

ETHICAL PURCHASES
An increasing number of retailers and direct mail companies are offering footwear made by people in developing countries, often in co-operatives, who will directly benefit from your purchases. In many cases middlemen have been eliminated from the buying and selling chain so that more profit ends up with the makers of the products.

El Naturalista
Paying fair prices to producers, promoting traditional skills, operating with transparency, recycling materials when possible, and promoting the use of natural materials and dyes. These are just a few of the many socially-responsible goals that the people at El Naturalista are working to achieve. Along the way, they've made some of the most unique and funky eco shoes available. Available in men's and women's styles, El Naturalista offers boots, shoes and sandals, with prices ranging from $150 to $200.
http://www.elnaturalista.com/index.php/en

No Sweat is the pioneer of fair trade fashion and footwear, setting an empowered, unionized workforce as the gold standard for fair trade clothing.
http://www.nosweatapparel.com/

ETHLETIC sneakers set benchmarks for both environmental and social standards: The latex for the sole is responsibly harvested as well as Fairly Traded, AND the production takes place in a unit covered by a Fair Trade agreement, ensuring a unique and sustainable footprint.
http://www.ethletic.com/

Beyond Skin is an exclusive, eco friendly footwear label creating beautiful, stylish shoes that are produced in a manner that is non-exploitative to humans, animals and wherever possible the wider environment.
http://www.beyondskin.co.uk/html/home.php

http://www.earth.us/

GreatGreenShoes is a shopping blog devoted to animal free shoes suitable for vegans, vegetarians and everyone who prefers a quality alternative to leather. We love funky to preppy, crunchy to sexy, sporty to practical, ecofriendly and fair trade.
http://greatgreenshoes.com/

Sandals made with 60% recycled content by weight. 
http://www.vezsandals.com/project100local.html

BUY ONE - GIVE ONE
For every shoe you buy,Toms happily give one away to a child who doesn’t have shoes.
http://www.tomsshoes.com/