This category looks at how the brand treats their people, both within the immediate business and within their supply chain. Important considerations are workers rights, payments, health and safety, gender equality.
Here we look at how the brand considers and looks after the planet. Important considerations are carbon footprints, waste reduction, circularity, manufacturing processes, and materials.
We’ve made materials a category of it’s own. Naturally, footwear is a physical product which takes raw materials to create- so choosing sustainable materials goes a long way towards being a sustainable brand.
Sustainable brands should already be doing things like mapping their supply chain, auditing their supply chain, and understanding what goes into making their footwear. By communicating and reporting these findings with their customers, brands can build trust and credibility.
Having independent 3rd party certifications go a long way towards building trust and proving that a brand is sustainable. It’s easy for a brand to make claims, but can they be backed by industry certifications?
Wildling uses sustainable materials such as organic cotton, wool, and hemp. Their minimal shoes are handmade in Portugal in compliance with fair working conditions and environmental standards. Wildling is B Corp certified, and is the first German minimal shoe company to have gained the certification. In terms of sourcing and transparency, they are working to trace the entire process from source material to the finished product. They can already do this with their regional suppliers such as Nordwolle (for sheep’s wool).
Wildling has a Repair Center which enables them to service warranty repairs. Repairing well-worn footwear ensures fewer resources are used for production and less waste is generated. Currently catering for warranty repairs, their Repair Center will expand beyond to all repairs in the future.
We asked Anna, Founder and Company Lead at Wildling Shoes, what she believes the footwear industry as a whole needs to do to become more sustainable:
For the footwear industry as a whole to become more sustainable, we need to stop looking at the challenges from the point of view as an individual brand. I believe that the days that companies tried to solve problems alone, behind closed doors - mainly to achieve some market advantage - are over. We need to understand that we are all part of a larger system and that together we can address and solve pressing challenges much more quickly and effectively. Wildling's dream is to create a regenerative ecosystem of sourcing, production and circularity, together with many other players in the footwear industry.
Anna Yona - Founder and Company Lead at Wilding Shoes
Icebug uses sustainable materials such as wool, recycled wool, and recycled plastics. Their leather is sourced from Gold Rated sources by the Leather Working Group. Transparency on all their products is amazing, where you can see the footprint of each shoe and see the entire supply chain of it also.
Icebug is a certified B Corp – this means that they meet extremely tough sustainability standards. They use sea freight instead of air freight, halving the total CO2 emissions per pair of their shoes. Icebug is continually seeking to improve the lives of their factory workers in Vietnam- they work with FairWear, have funded a living wage pilot, and offered business development and saving opportunities to make living wages even more possible.
Icebug aims to halve their average CO2 footprint to 6kg by 2030. Meanwhile, they also compensate for their footprint by 200%. They use an internal price of $100/ton of CO2 emissions and invest that into projects that have a positive impact for climate and society.
Let's see what James, CFO at Icebug, had to say when asked: How do you balance sustainability with other business priorities such as cost, innovation, and market demands?
We do not separate sustainability from the rest of the business. It is fully integrated and led by our CEO who is also our Chief Impact Officer. There is no separate sustainability strategy, sustainability operations and sustainability tactics, there is just strategy, operations and tactics. We start with what we bring to the world – is it fulfilling a real human need or are we pushing products that nobody needs? From there we move to producing it in the fairest way we can and then we sell it to people who are enabled to get outdoors every day, despite weather conditions. Continuously we try to make as much impact as we can, either through spreading solutions that work and have impact now, encouraging healthy, sustainable lifestyles and donating 1% of sales to environmental/social organizations through 1% for the planet.
James Varkey
- Chief Financial Officer at Icebug AB
VEJA makes our list due to its commitment to using fair trade and organic materials, ensuring that its sneakers are produced ethically and transparently. The brand purchases their organic cotton and rubber directly from producers in Brazil and Peru. They pre-finance and pay 50% above the market price - backing up their pillar of Fair Trade. VEJA also holds B Corp certification, which reinforces its dedication to social and environmental accountability. Their factories respect ILO rules, as well as ensuring workers have fair pay and appropriate living standards.
The brand focuses on reducing its environmental impact and maintains transparency throughout its production process, from raw materials to finished products. To reduce their CO2 emissions, VEJA uses more ecological leather which uses 35% less energy and 40% less water during the tanning process. They’ve also reduced the presence of leather in their overall collection, since the majority of their emissions came from leather.
We asked VEJA if they partake in any repair projects. Here's what Daniel, Social and Environmental Projects Manager at VEJA had to say:
A: We at VEJA believe the most ecological sneakers are the ones you already wear. We launched our “Clean, Repair, Collect” project in June 2020 to offer customers the option to clean and repair their shoes, extending their lifespan, or to collect them for recycling if they cannot be repaired. VEJA now has 8 cobbler stations across Europe, and over 30,000 pairs have been repaired to date at these stations.
Daniel Schmitt -
Social and Environmental Projects Manager at Veja
FRANKIE4 has emphasized responsible practices in their operations, focusing on ethical sourcing, sustainability, and community impact. They're a B Corp-certified company, committed to minimizing their environmental footprint, particularly through responsible leather sourcing, recycled and recyclable packaging, and their shoe recycling programs. FRANKIE4 are members of the Leather Working Group (LWG), and 90% of their leathers come from LWG Gold Rated tanneries, with the rest coming from LWG Silver Rated tanneries.
FRANKIE4’s suppliers undergo annual audits. Their workers are paid above the living wage, and conditions that comply with local labour laws in Vietnam and Brazil. They actively engage in supplier transparency and employee diversity. As a bonus, they donate all net profits from their sock sales to charity. FRANKIE4 is working toward more responsible business practices without labeling themselves as a sustainable brand.
We asked FRANKIE4 what initiatives they have implemented to promote diversity and inclusion both within their company and in their supply chain. Here's what Izzie, Director of Operations and Sustainability at FRANKIE4 had to say:
A: At FRANKIE4, we promote diversity and inclusion by fostering a workplace culture that values equal opportunity, representation, and open dialogue. We’re a female-founded brand and the majority of makers in our supply chain are women and people of color. It’s critical we use suppliers who pay a living wage or above and provide safe and healthy working environments - our suppliers are audited annually through Sedex.
Izzie Kalaja -
Director of Operations & Sustainability
R.M.Williams recently released their sustainability playbook, demonstrating great transparency and outlining their progress towards becoming more sustainable. In 2024, they became a B Corp certified company, which highlights their commitment to meeting the environmental and social needs of a company seeking to leave a positive impact on the planet.
R.M.Williams have been investing in traceability, so their claims can be made confidently. On their playbook, you can see their level of traceability for each part of their supply chain. 88% of their Tier-2 suppliers have been traced. Their leather is sourced from Leather Working Group (LWG) and Sustainable Leather Foundation tanneries. They are also pursuing 2 pilots for low-carbon, traceable hides- with a view to scale these once established.
All R.M.Williams employees are paid above the living wage for their respective country and region. Committed to circularity, 1 in every 10 boots transactions for R.M.Williams are repairs or refurbishments. They recycled 2,800 pairs of boots in 2023, and collected 880 for refurbishment and resale.
The leathers Vivobarefoot uses are from wild roaming cattle and sustainably tanned hides that minimize water and chemical use. They also use natural yarns, cork, and recycled PET, and recycled rubber.
As a B Corp certified business, the equal consideration of environmental and social impacts with economic interests is a legal requirement of the way Vivobarefoot run their business.
Vivobarefoot’s code of conduct is clear and demonstrates their commitment to sustainability through the treatment of their employees. They protect the rights of their workers and ensure living wages are paid.
To reduce their carbon footprint, Vivobarefoot opts for low impact transportations methods- sea freight instead of air freight, and rail over truck. Vivobarefoot embraces transparency and has begun to map out their partners, which can be viewed on an interactive map: https://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/partnermap
Finally, their ReVivo initiative repairs, refurbishes, and resells old footwear to keep it out of landfills.
LØCI prioritizes sustainability by using the most ecologically friendly materials in their vegan footwear. Their shoes are built head to toe with these materials- utilizing recycled ocean plastic or bio leather for the outer layer, natural cork insoles, recycled foam for the midsoles, a recycled bamboo lining, and recycled rubber in their soles.
Their manufacturing process minimizes waste and is designed to reduce environmental impact, including handmade local production in Portugal to cut down on the carbon footprint.
Cariuma’s sustainability is seen not only in their choice of materials, but also in their commitment to ethical practices. They utilize materials like organic cotton, bamboo, sugarcane, and recycled plastic. These materials are even harvested in an ethical manner- the natural rubber outsole of their shoes is sourced via “tapping” - a low intervention method to preserve the health of the tree. Their bamboo is cut from the stalk, not the root, and cut with minimal irrigation. The leather they do use is from tanneries audited by the Leather Working Group (LWG).
Cariuma plants two trees for every pair of shoes sold, contributing to reforestation efforts- so far they’ve planted 2 million trees! The brand’s factories are WRAP-certified, ensuring fair labour practices and a living wage. They use recycled packaging, minimizing waste. Finally, Cariuma is a certified B Corp- meaning they’re part of a community of companies that meaningfully balance purpose and profit.
Rothy’s uses sustainable materials such as recycled plastic bottles, natural hemp, RWS-certified merino wool, and ocean-bound marine plastic. They purchase yarn made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, as certified by the SCS Recycled Content certification. In the factory, they knit their uppers to shape- creating less than 1% upper material waste. So far, they have transformed 179 million plastic bottles into their shoes.
Their factory is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and TRUE Zero-Waste Certified. These certifications speak to the efficiency and sustainability of their factory. They further reduce their footprint by using recycled packaging, and you can bring your Rothy’s to any Rothy’s store and they will be recycled.
Rothy’s guarantees every person in their factory works in a healthy environment and is paid a living wage. They are pursuing Fair Trade Certification as a further commitment to their people.
Nisolo has the most comprehensive information available in regards to their sustainability. Everyone in their 1st tier factories earns an individual living wage, and they are pursuing this further down their supply chain. They use eco-friendly materials where possible, including recycled materials and their leathers are certified by the LWG (Leather Working Group). Among various techniques, Nisolo also uses recycled packaging, renewable energy in manufacturing, and offsets to achieve their 0% Net Carbon goal.
We loved that every product comes with a Sustainability Facts Label, which details its social and environmental impact across 200 metrics. This level of transparency not only holds the brand accountable but also empowers consumers to make informed choices. Their rating as Re/Make’s #1 brand for transparency, as well as their myriad of 3rd party certifications across the business clearly emphasizes their commitment to transparency and accountability.
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