These beautiful sandals from recovered tires are produced by Brazilian brand Gooc. Even though we've seen lots of designs with recovered tires, these ones are special not only because they're great looking, but also for the story behind them.
Gooc was founded by Thai Quang Nghia, a native from Vietnam who was rescued from a small boat at high sea near South-East Asia by a Petrobras ship (Brazil's largest petrol company). With only 21 years old, the Vietnamese was taken to Brazil without speaking a word of Portuguese and soon found a home and a way to make a living.
Keep reading and find many more pics in the extended......
Apparently there is a footwear market known as the “casual after sport shoe” and Terrasoles want to redefine this niche. Some of these shoes (men and women styles) are made with bamboo, recycled polyester fleece and recycled microfleece.
The company say that environment is “top of mind” when they consider Terrasoles' components. “We utilize environmentally friendly elements wherever possible. Our packaging and other collaterals are being produced on recycled stocks with soy inks, and we are using high-quality fleece made from recycled materials in some travel and cold weather styles.” And concluded with, “We believe that small, environmentally smart steps like these are easy to implement from a business perspective and critical to implement from an environmental perspective.”
TreeHugger has been nominated for two Bloggy Awards—Best Topical Weblog and Best Group Weblog. Please vote for us now! (Hint: To find us, scroll toward the bottom of the page.) Thanks!...
Long known for her vegetarianism, Natalie Portman swears that she never wears leather shoes in general or at red carpet events.
This doesn't leave the diva too many options. Until now she's been wearing shoes from Target and Stella McCartney.
Like other celebs who design their own clothing line or perfume, Portman has designed her own stylish line of limited edition shoes which she now sells through the New York boutique
te casan for about $250 a pair.
...
If you visit these pages often, you know that high heels are
cycle chic, not an excuse to totter to your fossil-fuel powered footsaver and motor to your destination. Get ready to add another plus under the "bike with stilettos" column in your daily mobility decision: driving in heels is dangerous. So dangerous, that UK-based women's insurer
Sheilas' Wheels developed the convertible heels pictured here. Below the fold, you can see that the heel on these striking leg-lengtheners tucks away to make a sensible flat shoe for walking. Hmmm, another alternative to doing the city-circle search for a parking place or adding to the
asphalt explosion....
In support of
World Aids Day tomorrow, 1st December, we want to tell you about the fantastic footballs being made by
The Soul of Africa Initiative. You have heard about this amazing organisation's work through Sami Grover who enthused about their
Khulani fair trade moccasins earlier this year.
The footballs are made from 32 panels of leather and are hand stitched by women using newly acquired skills thanks to their training from the SOA Initiative. The football is made to FIFA standards and has space for customization with company, school or club logos. For just £10 a ball you can help support young women and children in the rural areas of Durban in KwaZulu Natal, the province with the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in South Africa....
A while ago
we wrote about Nagore footwear and their traditional Spanish sandals called
Abarcas. Almost two years later, the Menorcian shoe company announces the opening of their first shop in Barcelona and their latest winter collection.
Nagore are still mixing colours, tradition and eco materials into seriously comfortable and beautiful shoes. The company, based on the island of Menorca, use exclusively eco-friendly leather that is 100% vegetable tanned. The soles are made from crepe (natural rubber) or leather, depending on the model.
We especially like their series
Family Dylan, model
Martina, a cute ankle boot available in black, green, brown or pink, costing 104€ a pair. High boots in bright yellow, orange and other funky colours are also available as well as equally colourful shoes for men.
All materials are sourced within Europe and their shoes are made locally in Menorca, which allows you to order the colour combination you like. So far, Nagore footwear is mainly available via
their web site (only partly in English) and their new shop in Barcelona (c/Asturies, Grácia).
::Nagore
More footwear on TreeHugger:
Buy Green: Men’s casual Shoes,
Buy Green: Women’s casual Shoes
Patagonia,
Worn Again,
Timberland,
El Naturalista,
TOMS shoes
...
Ring the bells! Pop the (organic) champagne! TreeHugger’s 2007 Gift Guide is here!
We've made this guide the most comprehensive yet, with 180+ gift ideas in three shades of green, making it a perfect reference while shopping for everyone on your gift list. In addition, we'll be adding organizations to support and useful tips for making your holidays more efficient.
Go to Part II here and
Part III here.
For more great ideas, don’t forget to visit our past guides from 2006 and 2005.
...
TreeHugger knows that unrestrained consumerism, no matter how green the product, is no way to achieve sustainability. Still, we all have to buy stuff, from time to time, so for when those times come around, we want you to know that there are lots of greener options available. Today, it's all about the ladies, as we take a closer look at casual shoes for women.
Ideal for trips to the farmer's market or to afternoon coffee, there's something on the list for just about everyone, from chic slip-ons to shoes with soul, they'll can help you maintain your aesthetic while treading lightly on the planet. Remember: if the color shone doesn't really light your fire, shoes are often available in several color options, so look around until you find something that fits you. Hit the jump to find your new favorite pair....
The nominees have been scrutinized,
voted on by the public, the ballots counted, and the winner of the
2007 Cooper Hewitt People's Design Award is...
TOMS Shoes! Congratulations to a very deserving company. For anyone who isn't familiar with the company, let's have a quick refresher.
They're one of those great "win-win" companies. The shoes bring sustainable economy and industry to Argentina, where they're produced under strict sweatshop-free criteria, made from local materials like canvas and leather. Then, every time you buy a pair, another pair is donated to a child in Argentina on your behalf.
The business was born when Blake Mycoskie went to visit Argentina and discovered two things: the typical soft shoe called "Alpargata," and that a lot of children don't have shoes and the idea for TOMS was born. And it's working: during the first year of business alone, TOMS sold 10,000 pairs of shoes and Mycoskie returned to Argentina to lead the company's first shoe drop. In November, Mycoskie will travel to Africa, where he will be delivering more than 50,000 pairs of TOMS. ...
TreeHugger is the first to admit that we can't happily shop our way to global sustainability, but when your favorite pair of kicks finally wear through, you can't go shuffling around the streets with newspaper tied around your ankles. We all gotta have shoes, not just for working (that's another post) but for hanging out, weekends and casual affairs; this guide is designed to help you find a new favorite pair for around the house, happy hours and just kicking back and relaxing.
Here, you'll find shoes inspired by basketball and volleyball classics, some made for skateboarding (it's okay if you don't skate while your wear them, though) and a pair crafted from a whopping 99% recycled materials; in short, something for everyone, and not a stitch of hippie-wear in sight. Whatever you need "casual" for, you'll find something for every style and budget; hit the jump to get started....
While the Action Sports Retailers trade show oozed cool, the Action Sports Environmental Coalition was on a whole new level of cool. Founded by Frank Scurra, the ASEC organizes all action sports organizations and companies together around green projects. Their goal: green the industry without making it seem like work. At the ASR, I had a chance to chat with Scurra about action sports, and throwing a better green party.
It definitely did not seem like work at the Green the Green room at
ASR. The room was filled with really cool green companies, and even better, they brought samples. While the ASC itself was uber-cool, Green the Green was the next level. And it was all coordinated by ASEC. You walk into a room filled with music and where trendy, sporty greens are mingling over organic snack bars and organic green tea. In addition, there was a celebrity poker tournament which lasted most of the afternoon. At times it seemed a little intense, but it was all in good fun. ...
At the
ASR Trade Show last weekend, I sat down with IPATH Public Relations guru Bill Byrne to talk about the greening of skate shoes and what is Green DNA. IPATH, which means “follow your path” was founded in principles of high performance and low environmental impact.
IPATH shoes, which are currently only made for men (though don’t be shy ladies because plenty of these shoes would look fab on you too), are made of eco-materials like hemp and organic cotton. The leather is tanned without chromium. The insoles of the shoes are special and include coconut and natural fibers for odor absorption. The colors and styles for this spring reflect this variety of interests in the different colors and patterns soon to be available in a store near you. According to Apparels Director, Paul Underwood, “Part of IPATH’s design is to utilize materials such as ramie, hemp, bamboo and linen fabrics to curb the use of harmful chemicals, finite water supplies, and work within farmers needs for their growing times and field rotation schedules.”...
The other day we were, if you pardon the pun, ruminating on whether
chromium tanned leather might be considered ‘eco.’ One company who thinks there is room for alternatives is Green Shoes, whom we’ve
mentioned previously. But this year they’ve embarked on a campaign to offer more of their product line of handmade shoes, boots, sandals and accessories from what they term
EcoTan. For which they make some rather robust claims; “Incredibly soft yet durable, this fine leather is tanned using pure plant agents and oils, to the highest environmental standards for leather production anywhere in the world.” Available dyed in toxin free colours, or left ‘au naturale’, it comes in four shades tagged, Bark, Berry, Oak and Natural Ebony. But economies of scale aren’t quite there yet, so choosing EcoTan can add between £10 to £30 per product (~$20 to $60 USD). Elsewhere on their website Green Shoes refer to the process as “an organically tanned leather”, but we are unsure if they mean certified or simply ‘from plants.’
::Green Shoes.
...
Many moons ago, when this TreeHugger used to sell hiking boots he was often asked, "which brand do you recommend?" The response: “The one that fits the best.” Advice gleaned from enduring many long, blister-filled days in the hills. Recently we were lucky enough to test drive some new
Patagonia footwear to see where they stood.
At first glance we found the
Rum & Cola clunky looking, and a little heavy, but shrugging that off, we pulled them on and subjected them to days of stomping around at our day job, and on walks in the bush to determine comfort levels. Conclusion: Just like wearing a pair of slippers. For this testers feet, anyhow. Very comfy, surprisingly so. Equally at home leaping about on rocks and logs, or cycling to the commuter train. And they squish flat for travelling.
What about their green credentials? Materialwise, the outsole is 70% natural rubber latex. A lot of rubber these days has a synthetic origin. The foam footbed is recycled EVA (polyethylene vinyl acetate) and the foot-frame recycled (and instep strap) are from recycled TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). The upper is leather, but more on that later....
It’s a cute name, and a wonder no-one hasn't used it before. The company that grew from a pair of rafter’s sandals over twenty years ago, is now looking after its namesake (Teva being Hebrew for Nature). The Curbside collection, which recently became available, is a line of casual footwear constructed with recycled content materials, up to 40% in certain models, and by some accounts the percentage is set to doubt next year. There is the post-consumer recycled PET canvas lining, the recycled PET sockliner cover and the post-consumer recycled rubber outsole. These materials find themselves in four models of women’s and two men’s casual shoes.
Teva are also involved in the campaign known as the Soles4Souls March, which is engaging local communities to donate a quarter of a million pairs of new and used footwear. Folk in disaster-stricken zones like the Gulf Coast and Third World countries such as Sudan and Honduras will be the beneficiaries. Additionally Teva has previously teamed with DrivingGreen to offset the greenhouse gas emissions produced from it's six vehicle fleet. (Teva is owned by the same parent company that head
Simple Shoes, so maybe some of their greenness is rubbing off.)
::Teva, via
TrailGear. ...
The sandal that Bill Coombs, CEO of Rafters Footwear, is holding here, is we believe one of a new line that will sport outsoles made from 25% recycled rubber. With the polyester webbing straps created from recycled drink bottles. It seems like the recycled rubber content will come from the factory trim waste from athletic shoes. In an effort to reduce the amount of rubber used, biodegradable jute or cork is said to be added to the mix. Although it costs more to make shoes with recycled materials the company won't be passing those costs on to consumers, with Bill saying, "We're hoping increased volume (in sales) will cover that expense." The recycled content sandals are to be launched to the trade soon, and in retail stores from early 2008. Produced in China they're expected to retail for $20 to $55. But we read, with some concern, that the line has 82 different styles. Of sandal. From just one company. Whoa! A sister line of waterproof footwear,
Bogs, is also looking like it might get some of the same ‘green’ treatment.
::Rafters, via
::The Register Guard, (Wayne Eastburn is credited with the pic.)...
Shoes are up there on the list of things that, when poorly designed, are becoming more and more disposable. We've seen
some better examples, but many shoes out there still source from sweatshops, use toxic adhesives and cements and employ other undesirable practices. If you can't
pimp your old shoes, we like the idea behind "Think," a modular trainer concept that uses mechanical locks instead of adhesives. Not only does this cut back on toxics in the shoes, but makes individual pieces replaceable (and then recyclable) as they wear out.
There are only five parts to each shoe, allowing for self-assembly instead of sweatshops, and variations in the colors and styles make for an easily-customizable, quick-changing look. Hit the jump to see how all this works in pictures. ::Ben Chappell via
::Yanko Design...
Not sure about these... They are environmentally correct--made of recycled EVA and foam rubber by
Terra Plana, one of treehugger's favourite ecological shoe makers. Minimalist in design, they are a combination of those indian sandals that used to kill your toes and some kind of teenage mutant ninja turtle. They are made of a single shape sole to protect the foot that folds up between the toes to provide control. You keep them on by clutching the toe part, but the strap is handy if you can't quite master the grab (and it's detachable for when you have). They are quite light, flexible and waterproof. Not half as ugly as last year's fad, those
Crocs, which are regrettably still being flogged all over cottage country (and are remarkably indestructible) but they may not be quite so handy for gardening. Perhaps skateboarding, or just looking very cool as you stroll to the nearest cafe. ::
Terra Plana Via ::
psfk...
This month's
I.D. magazine takes a curated, contemplative look at the best design (consumer products, graphics, packaging, environments, furniture, equipment, concepts and interactive) from the past year, and showcases some really interesting and progressive ideas and designs. After pondering the question "Is it really necessary?" when considering the over 400 entries in the category, the judges picked Yves Béhar's Leaf LED lamp (featured
here and
here on TreeHugger) gets the nod for "Best of Category" in the Consumer Products category (page 66) and
Nike's Considered shoes earn a Design Distinction (page 76) for again proving that "Green doesn't have to be ugly," as juror Paul Priestman noted. An Honorable Mentioned was awarded to the
H-Racer, the world's smallest fuel cell vehicle; (page 80) if only its steering was radio-controllable, the jury wished.
Allen Berger's book,
Drosscape: Wasting Land in Urban America (page 106) was the jury's favorite tome (receiving a Design Distinction in the Graphics category) about environmental issues, not just for its content, but its complex, smart, readable graphic presentation. Our pals at WorldChanging earned an Honorable Mention for the
WorldChanging Book (page 111);
Good Magazine (page 116) and the book version of
An Inconvenient Truth(page 116) followed suit with their own Honorable Mentions as well.
We could go on and on, mentioning the
Loblolly House's accolades or
Humanscale's distinction (not that they don't deserve it), but we'll sum up with this instead: this issue is full of the best examples of what can happen when design and sustainability come together. The results can look beautiful, outperform other conventional products, solve real problems, and make the world a greener, healthier, happier place, and that's what great design is supposed to do.
I.D. magazine
...
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the
if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.
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Are these the greenest sandals ever--aside from bare feet, of course... Sold at Topshop, every part of them is fairtrade, ethical, sustainable, and made by rural community groups with the profits being poured back into the local area. While not 
Nike may not be the 
