DAY 2: ETHICAL FOOTWEAR
Welcome to day 2 of the series where we’re taking a look at footwear! Incase you missed it, the aim of the series is to introduce you to a bunch of brands doing great things for the people and the planet and to empower you to buy well when you need to. My priority in shopping is always that those who have made my clothing have been paid fairly so you will see that all of these brands mentioned here, and across the whole series mention explicitly on their website or in answer to my questioning on emails or Instagram that they pay a fair wage, a living wage or above. Feel free to dig into these brands yourself though and ask them the questions you need to ask that allow you to feel comfortable in buying.
Thinking about shoes, my collection is small: 80% of them are secondhand (I got some killer clogs off ebay for £5! WIN!) and the other 20% are new. Looking at my collection I am in need of a pair of shoes for the summer (whenever that decides to arrive) so some of what I’ve done below is the kind of research I do on a company before I make a decision to buy- then, I usually always type into a few secondhand platforms just to double-check there’s nothing in my size going on there first! I’m eyeing up some Alohas, but sitting on it for a while before I go for it to make sure I really want them/need them! If I still want them after that time I pretty much know they will be a well loved and welcomed addition to my wardrobe. That’s a little bit of how I go about the buying process! I wish I had always been this considered when spending all the money from my first job on Topshop clothes at the age of 16!
Enjoy! Let me know any other brands you may know of!
VEJA *
Who: Men, women and children
What: Shoes
Where: Based in Paris, made in Southern Brazil
Favourite pieces: Urca CWL black white, Rio Branco Flannel, V-10 leather white platine
Price: ££
VEJA is Brazilian for "look", looking beyond the sneakers, looking at how they're made.
Since 2004, they have set the price of organic and agroecological cotton in advance meaning far greater security for their cotton producers. The organic cotton producers contract can be found on their website.
Fairtrade and organic + Certified Bcorp
Veja do not put out any ads, or marketing, and they don’t work with brand ambassadors meaning they can put more money into things that matter (they said)
4 out of the 5 highest earners in the company are women
€50 000 chemical testing budget in 2019
High use of recycled materials- VEJA is the first sneaker brand to use fabric entirely made from recycled plastic bottles: B-mesh.
Who: Women
What: Clogs
Where: Based in UK, produced in Sweden and Denmark
Favourite pieces: Garnet Mid Kliva Clog, Cumin Mid Äventyr Clog
Price: ££
Natural, sustainably sourced materials and organic vegetable dyes
Each purchase supports small, family-run businesses and traditional crafts in a world where they are threatened by cheap, low-quality, mass-produced alternatives.
Fair wage paid
Wooden bases are made from Alder wood which grows naturally in controlled FSC certified forests.
Leather is sustainably sourced by a small, family-run Italian tannery and dyed using environmentally friendly methods and organic vegetable dyes.
Work hard to ensure the least amount of wastage during production
All female team
10% off your first order of full-priced clogs
Who: Women
What: Footwear
Where: Designed and produced in Spain
Favourite pieces: Marshmallow brown degrade, West black vintage boots, Marshmallow Black Leather
Price: ££
Pre-order system allows the brand to accurately anticipate demand levels prior to production, so they only produce the number of shoes they’re really going to sell.
Work with carbon offset projects
Produced in Spain- meaning close relationships and small carbon footprint
They work with suppliers certified by the Leather Working Group- the world’s largest leather sustainability program.
Fair wages paid
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Who: Men and women
What: Unisex sneakers and limited clothing
Where: Based in Barcelona, made in Portugal
Favourite pieces: Modelo ‘95 Terra, Modelo ‘89 vegan white, Modelo ‘89 leather black
Price: ££
Made in Europe
Fair wages paid and very fair working conditions with holidays and healthy shift hours.
Partnered with Eyand- meaning ecological yarns and natural dyes
They only work with suppliers from the Iberian Peninsula and Europe- to reduce carbon footprint
Plant two trees for every pair of trainers sold
High value for family and those who work within the business
Work with some recycled fabrics
Who: Men and women
What: Trainers
Where: Based in San Fran, made in Italy
Favourite pieces: Wool runners, Wool Pipers , Runner-up Mizzles
Price: £-££
Certified Bcorp
Use of recycled packaging
Lightly used allbirds get sent to those who most need them
Use a mix of recycled materials and materials from nature
Uses wool certified by the ZQ Merino label
Fair wage paid
Who: Men and Women
What: Flip flops
Where: based in the Uk, made in Sri Lanka
Favourite pieces: White flip flop, Khaki, Seashells
Price: £
100% Fair Trade sourced rubber certified by Fair Rubber.
Vegan and biodegradable rubber
Fair wage paid
Recycled range
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Who: Men and Women
What: Trainers
Where: Based and made in Spain
Favourite pieces: Classic 70s All White Grey, Old 80s all white monocolor, Retro 90’s White Ivory Bicolour
Price: ££
Vegan
Each of the sneaker collections has a social project associated with it
Their aim is to make biodegradable sneakers
High priority placed on planting trees and reforestation
Use of natural and recycled materials- they use corn waste to make their shoes instead of leather
Manufacture entirely in Spain in the hometown the founders were born
Pay a living wage with safe working conditions
Who: Men and Women
What: Trainers
Where: Italy
Favourite pieces: Futura white silver, Runny white rose, Hyper white rose
Price: £££
Uses renewable energy for 90% of its needs
Made from vegan apple skin leather
The workers who produce our shoes are paid according to European standards and the working environment is safe and healthy.
Made-to-order to reduce waste
Made in Italy
Recyclable rubber sole
recycled PET laces
Almost all the energy used by our company comes from renewable sources.
They plant trees to compensate for the CO2 produced during the life cycle of their shoes
They recycle old Womsh sneakers using them to make special floors for children’s play areas
They put investment in researching materials with low environmental impact
Their packaging is all recycled- paper used is waste from the agrifood industry
Who: Unisex
What: Slippers
Where: Produced and created in central Asia
Favourite pieces: 100% merino wool grey slippers
Price: ££
Slippers are made out of 100% merino wool
Coloured with all-natural ingredients like english walnut, apricot leaves and sainfoin flowers.
Handmade by artisans
Fair wage paid
Who: Women
What: Clothing and shoes
Where: Based and made in the UK
Favourites: Vegan Reclaimed Crossover Sandal, Vegan Reclaimed Fur Open Slippers
Price: ££
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Fair wage paid/ London living wage
Feminist at core
Work with expert makers who face barriers to employment in the UK
Manufacturing ethically, locally and with sustainable fabrics like bamboo, Tencel, organic cotton, hand-woven fairly traded Khadi (from women’s co-operatives in India) and reclaimed fabrics from charities like Traid.
Use 100% natural or reclaimed fibres
They turn scrap fabric into bags and scrunchies.They use hand spun, fair trade cotton Khadi from India, and closed loop TENCEL from China before finishing everything in the UK.
From crop to closet, their clothes ship between 2 countries, travelling on average 8,423 km.
Packaging and postage is done ethically by Mail Out. Part of Unity Works in London, Mail Out offers people with learning disabilities support with their health and wellbeing and apprenticeships in warehousing.
Who: Women
What: Tropical Tree footwear
Where: Made in Bali
Favourites: Babouche black coco, Babouche Amalu, Yedder
Price: ££
Handwoven in Bali
Small scale production
Made from dried coconut and palm leaves
Fair wage paid
All materials sourced locally
Other brands to look at: Vivobarefoot, gumleaf , Ottowin shop, good guys don’t wear leather, Indosole, nomadic state of mind, Giesswein
Thanks for joining! Come back tomorrow for Day 3! if you missed yesterday’s post on ethical underwear and swimwear, you can find it here.