Crocs. Birkys for a New Millenium?

I'm not certain, but I have a hunch that Crocs are made of EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate), because these very similar products are made of EVA.

Yeh, ike, no doubt you are correct. It's my bet too. EVA is the foam used for closed cell sleeping mats for backpacking, and it's incredible durable for its weight.

You can get more "neutral" colours too you know.

I'm not much of one for bright red/green/orange etc shoes, but a nice pair of grey or dark green would do me fine.

Interesting take on the environmental aspect too.

Ok, these are just the ugliest shoes ever made. Doesn't anybody care about fashion?

I don't think it's fair to blame a product for over-consumption just because it can be made for a modest price. This blame rests solely with the consumers.

Last year, I put out incredible effort (and cash) to get myself a pair of Splaffs (as featured on this site) because they were made of recycled racecar and bicycle tires in San Diego (apparently sweatshop-free) and these have fallen apart within a year.

Look really hot while jumping down from an SUV, wearing a matching sweat suit.

Ummmmmm...shouldn't we TH'ers agree by now, that if it's made of a petroleum-based foam, it's NOT a green product?

Just askin'.

I think these things come from around here in Canada, not sure.

I'm not very observant about fashion, but I've seen some recently.

I agree with Brad regarding their aesthetics, or lack thereof.

Even if these shoes were the most environmental friendly shoes ever made and would solve all our collective problems in one go I might start a movement for humanity to go barefoot.

But on a more serious note:

1) I don't really think your "verdant tinge" is all that green. Who cares if the shoes are made of one material if that material itself can only be manufactured with the context of a fossil-fuel based economic system. A lower tech material not dependent upon oil for its very existence would be far better.

2) Simple manufacture? While I haven't seen the machine used to make these shoes personally, I imagine given that they are virtually one-piece some sort of injection moulding is likely used. What is the environmental footprint of the associated machinery is likely quite high.

3) Light weight, in the context of footwear, is neither here nor there in terms of eco-friendliness.

I also agree with David, correlating modest price and over-consumption doesn't answer. Over-consumption rests solely with the people who feel the need to have ever colour made.

The bottom of the shoe says "Made in Boulder, CO". I was in a store this weekend where all the Crocks had a flimsy sticker replacing this statement that now says "Made in China".

This along with the fact that they are made entirely from petroleum, the only thing green about this shoe is that they come in a few shades of green.

My sister works in medical records at a hospital. She started having trouble with her legs swelling. We thought it was a kidney problem brought on by the eating disorder she has struggled with for years. The doctors ran a full panel of tests and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. It turns out she was wearing Crocs while on her feet all day. She started wearing a pair of walking shoes and the swelling went away.

They are also so ugly that they should be illegal. I mean, I'm comfortable hanging out around the house in my underwear, but I don't go out in public that way.

I see a lot of children wearing crocs and they look like ducks. I understand these shoes are comfortable, but they are truly ugly.

I can't say I like the look either.

Maybe this is just the beginning of a new phase in fashion like the 80s (remember some of the atrocious stuff they had back then?), or maybe you really can't discuss taste.

I just don't think producing 3 million per month of anything petroleum-based that is not biodegradable is good for the environment. It all ends up in a land-fill sooner or later.

"I just don't think producing 3 million per month of anything petroleum-based that is not biodegradable is good for the environment. It all ends up in a land-fill sooner or later."

That's true, though what people would be wearing instead probably isn't better. Most traditional shoes are made of many materials - often a mix of organic and "industrial" stuff (ie. leather, plastics, cottons, etc) - held together with glues. They are impossible to recycle and almost impossible to easily disasemble.

At least these shoes (as ugly as they are to me) have the potential to be recycled and made from bioplastic only.

A +1 green: The shoes are maintainable. My daughter has broken a rivet twice now and she can just go to the kiosk and get a new rivet.

They are still ugly though.

Ugly or not, crocs are great camp shoes. Stomping around a campsite with trailboots will tear a site to all hell, but with light shoes like crocs, they leave little impact.
They are great for gardening too.

I wonder how they compare resource consumption-wise to the previous sandal fads of Tevas and Birkenstocks, which I actually think are uglier than crocs.

I don't understand the problem with petrolium products, we are not pumping more petrolium to product these items, they are byproducts of crude. If we didn't produce anything from the byproducts they would simply be dumped. Would you rather raping of the environment.

I do believe in less waste and better treatment of garbage (turn it into energy).

i'm hearing a lot about how bad these shoes look but i've seen a lot of "artistic" green products that look just as bad if not worse. in my opinion the unpleasant appearance of these shoes gives hope to the green products that currently look worse.

I seriously doubt the comment about Crocs causing lower leg swelling. I have a pair of their sandals (much more normal looking than the clogs) and they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever had, I'm functionally flat footed and usually have to struggle to make a new pair of shoes comfy. Not only that but they have recieved the Seal of Acceptance from the American Podiatric Medical Association (http://www.apma.org/s_apma/sec.asp?CID=12&DID=2823)
However, it is true that not all crocs are made in America, straight from their investor relations website "We currently manufacture Crocs in our own facilities in North America, and in third party manufacturers' facilities located around the world" But you have to keep in mind it is a global economy after all, just because Americans want American made products doesn't mean the Japanese or Chinese or whoever else do, "the geographic diversity of our company-operated and third party manufacturing facilities allows us to more efficiently and cost-effectively serve specific markets around the world." Some further research at the US Patent Office website indicates that the Crocs are made of an Italian trademarked EVA foam called LEVIREX.TM, patenting for the "Croslite PCCR" foam comes in the unique way that the shoes are molded, using only 1 mold size to create many different sized shoes (You can read details here http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=5&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=crocs&OS=crocs&RS=crocs)
From the company website for Levirex : "Levirex is one of the most advanced non-toxic recycable materials on the market." http://aziende.topnet.it/finproject/appoggio/english/levirex.htm
Further research was not clear whether or not Levirex granules are made with a recycled EVA base although one source seemed to indicate so. A little research goes a long way

One thought about the use of petroleum for these shoes...it seems to me you get much more 'mileage' out of the amount of petroleum used in these shoes than you would if it were in your tank.

Comparing Crocs with Birks in the same line is ridiculous. Birks, although expensive can be reused and resoled continuously, I believe that the Crocs, one worn, are thrown away. Anything that is made out of resin, with the extreme added colors, require pressing/molding at higher temperatures. THAT is not GREEN at all. Unless the material used to make them is biodegradable, CROCS will NEVER and should NEVER have been considered green.

I'm the owner and founder of Splaff Flopps. A posting by dave hubick stating his disatisfaction with a pair of splaff flopps he purchased last year, was just brought to my attention. I stand behind every flopp we put out the door, and all splaff items are fully refundable and exchangeable. i am sorry you had a poor experience. we are a small, grassroots business, making products by hand, from recycled materials that have a lot of variablity, therefore it is possibility that your pair may have been defective. i can not evaluate that unless you are willing to return the item to us. in any case, if you were not able to obtain our contact info., i have included it below.

Splaff Inc.
po box 7604
san diego, ca 92167

tel: 619 221 9199

keep onn floppin'

splaff d

God I hate fashion sometimes. Why do we need another kind of disposable shoe? Especially one for the outdoors where "fashion" is supposed to not come into play. I guess it's my duty now to ditch my flip flips for these, otherwise I'm breaking the law!

I'm sure if every soccer mom in the nation started wearing Camper Wabis you'd all complain about how ugly they are and that they should be illegal. But because only hipsters wear them I'm sure you find them very fashion-forward and green, in spite of some of them being no more recyclable, no more repairable, and possibly no more attractive than the EVA clog.

I actually like the shoes. Are crocs "green"? No, but is 99% of the footwear out there? No. I'm on my second pair of crocs. My first ones lasted about nine months before the traction wore off to dangerously slippery levels. Before I bought me second pair I emailed them about how environmentally friendly their shoes are. They claim to have a recycling program in the works for thier shoes.

If you look at the principles of Braungart & McDonough's Cradle to Cradle, Crocs are on their way to being a green product but not yet there. They have the possibility to be recycled into a similar product with very little manual labor, but not much else is going for them.

p.s. I have a pair of Splaff flip flops. They're heavy, but they're great. They're going on their second year and still going strong.

I tried a pair of these. They were very comfortable. However, I was a gumba. Brought them home and they off-gassed horribly. I didn't want to kill any more brain cells from the gas so I returned them. I be the first to buy a new pair when they a made from a non-toxic substance.
Randy

I am wearing my crocs right now. Have had the same pair for 3 years now. I wear them all the time. I love the feel of them and it has not gone away, unlike my hard as a rock 1 year old birks. (which by the way I need to have resoled after 1 year!) I think its relevent to compare the two shoes, especially since I wore nothing but birks until I bought a pair of crocs. Crocs now are my garden shoe and I just reroofed my house wearing them, I take them with me on the boat as well. They can go into the water at the beach and keep my feet safe...Many many miles on these crocs and now they are getting kinda grundgy, however there is no smell! Unlike my supposed no smell Keens which reak like low tide in the hot florida sun. I give my full endorsement and to most around me I am the biggest of treehuggers. I drive a veggie car and ride my bike everywhere. Eat organic local and blah blah blah, petro or not, I love em!

Crocs are so much more comfortable, durable, practical than the eco-type shoes I have tried that it simply does not matter to me HOW they look. I have donated most of the rest of my shoes and wearing crocs has helped me simplify my closet. I shop less for shoes and that alone probably offsets the petro use.

These will surely be clogging (no pun intended) up our landfill one day.

And yes, I also am guessing they are EVA foam, which is definitely not green. In fact, the dust from EVA is toxic to breath. So I'm sure when they start being thrown away that will be great for our environment.

What I notice most about this string of comments, and in many blogs in general, is that noone reads what was previously written before mouthing off. At least a third of the negative comments here were previously addressed by other posters, and yet people continue to speak from the gut, don't bother to check the replies and move through life continuing to think of themselves as right.

To sum:

1) this product is made from a single material. Multiple sizes can be made from a single machine. As such, the manufacturing process is likely less consumptive/intensive (and therefore less environmentally degratory) than the production process for other shoes, which surely require additional processes and/or materials. I'm not saying Crocs are the best, but until someone shows me an environmental impact chart for shoe manufacturing (broken down by brand) I'm inclined to think Crocs rank pretty well on that front.
2) the material is a petroleum "byproduct". Just as native Americans used every last speck of an animal carcass (or so I've been led to believe), so too should society find ways to create additional functional products from the unavoidable waste of other processes. Something doesn't have to be biodegradable to be green. It can be just as good by being highly efficient. Until we no longer need oil, or shoes, this isn't a bad way to use that byproduct. And given that the product uses "closed cell" foam, that means half the product is actually just air, so a little goes a long way.
3) Speaking of a long way, testimony, though admittedly only that, seems to indicate this product is durable. Meaning it lasts longer, meaning that individuals consume less. It's not about how many different people buy the product, it's about how many times one person buys the product. Who cares if 3 million people buy it. If it turns out this is the most eco-friendly shoe in the world environmentalists should cheer Croc's monopoly over the world's 12 billion feet.
4) this product is recyclable. Yes, a bunch will surely end up in a landfill. But if a recylcling program exists, whose fault is that? It will be yours; not the company's.
5) They're made in China. That's actually a plus for their eco-footprint. It allows a Chinese laborer the opportunity to better his life, and ultimately to better his own country, while a westerner with his haphazard gift of relatively higher wealth and education can fill a more valuable spot higher up the food chain. Perhaps they can even become a Treehugger. Just not one who doesn't read the other posts.

check out :"I hate crocs" video (I think you can google it). Several moments of torching crocs. Just another point of view--and funny.

Crocs give shocks?

Is it just me, or have other croc wearers noticed an increase in, and intensity of, static electric shocks while wearing crocs?

I walked around town the other day in mine and got a huge shock from the atm machine and the post box. I suppose I storing up static as I walk, which then earths itself on grounded metal objects?

Mine were a present, but I think I will stop wearing them. So the next question is, given that they are not all that 'green' to start with, what is a sensible way to recycle them? I notice that they float, I think I will use mine to anchor some (native) water plants in my pond ..... no electric eels though!!

Since crocs has now patented fully their product, you can look up exactly what they are made of. Yes it is EVA based.

Claire,

It's not just you.

I was just doing a google search to see if anyone else was getting shocked while wearing their crocs.

I actually ruined one of my cordless phones today by shocking it while wearing my crocs.

I may also quit wearing them before I destroy every electronic device I own.

Jpotts/Arthur,

I thought I was the only one getting shocked by these shoes.

we just blew up a processor on a computer we were working on because of these blasted things.

Crocs are now banned in my house!

I really want to thank Barnaby for his/her comment. I have used your links to do further research on Croc shoes and I think the substance that you gave to your comment was great.

I just read over the above comments and I haven't found anything said to convince me that I should stop wearing my Crocs. I do like the idea that they are made from petroleum by-products and that they can be recycled but I don't like the idea that they are not biodegradable. Yet, I do stand on my feet literally all day where I work but with Crocs on I feel far less run down at the end of the day. In fact, I wear them everywhere I go. I don't care if they're ugly to some people. Some people might look at me and think I'm ugly. I can't do any thing about that. They are just all around very comfortable. I think we need to give credit to the positive aspects of these shoes while trying to improve on perhaps one day making them biodegradable by using materials that would allow that. There is no need to throw the baby out with the bath water. I mean, just look at all the tires on the road. Think about how much more difficult it would be to make those things biodegradable. At least if these Crocs can save my feet and legs from hurting at the end of the day I can then more effectively use my head (and heart) to figure out how to take the next step toward a more conscious oriented way of living.

Brian says:
5) They're made in China. That's actually a plus for their eco-footprint.

Really? So the thousands of miles and the ensuing CO2 emissions each pair racks up in being transported by air and sea across the world is good for the planet?? A plus for China's economy, but a big minus for Crocs' eco-footprint, actually.

It would be great if the company could look into a way to make the product from biodegradable material. Until then, there needs to be more promotion of how to recycle them when you've finished with them.

They're ugly. They're plastic. Who cares if they're "vegan?" They're PLASTIC. They're part of what's dumping carcinogens into our food, water, and air. And I'm sure if they don't already come in Breast Cancer Awareness Pink, they will... so we can all FEEL GOOD about being "AWARE" while we're supporting the very corporations which are dumping carcinogens on us. These things have to be the height of posh hippie fake-green hypocrisy. "Recyclable" plastic is still toxic. Still dumps carcinogens. Still ugly, ugly, ugly.

Crocs contain dibutil tin that is very toxic to aquatic organisms!

The German magazine Öko-test (5/2007) put them through some lab tests.

Tin organic compunds have long been recognised for their negative impacts on health and enviroment. They are among other things detrimental to the immune and hormone systems of animals.

Trouble is, there is no shoe that is good for the Earth. Which means all this information is interesting, but at the end of the day, when you tell your child "We're not going to buy Crocs because they contain and are made using toxic substances and in our family, we do our best to use only products made from materials that do no or very little harm to the Earth" and she says, "Okay, Mommy, which shoes should we buy?" the only honest answer is, "Um, yes, well, go play with your brother."

At least that is my conclusion. Correct?

I like my crocs alot, but I just discovered a new brand I like even more. Flat Tire Footwear uses crumb rubber from recycled scrap tires in the soles to make them more comfortable. I bought a pair online and am VERY glad I did. They are super comfortable.

I have cerebral palsy in ONE foot. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find shoes that are comfortable and durable? When I first saw Crocs, I honestly thought that I'd never be caught dead in them. Well, name a pair of shoes that are capable of being worm food. Name one. I’m waiting.

So, after hearing all the praise for Crocs, I was given a pair as a party favor. After sitting in my closet for eight months (seriously), I tried them on. My gimp foot and me were sold.

As far as being green, I am just about as green/jaded as I can be living in Los Angeles. I compost, recycle, use biodegradable cleaning products, shampoo, toothpaste, let the yellow mellow, make my own pesticide, use biodegradable doggie poop bags, and buy organic foods… etc. Did I mention I walk most places??

Having this affliction often means buying a pair of shoes that are comfortable in the store and then my poor foot can’t take them anymore. They’re too tight and don’t give like the salesperson said they would or the cookie I have to put under my heel wears out… Blisters, cuts, and bleeding follows. (Is there an eco band aid?) Trips to a podiatrist mean gas in my car. Are Birkenstocks recyclable? Well, they smell like feet and look worse than Crocs in my girlie opinion.

To paraphrase Atticus Finch, is until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes, keep your judgments to yourself.

Just got this back from Crocs coustomer support when I asked if they recycle Crocs.

"Our shoes are recyclable. You can send them to:

Crocs Inc
1510 Nelson Rd
Longmont, Colorado 80501

Please put “RECYCLE” on the outside of the box. "

Don't know why that wasn't on the Crocs website (in big green letters)

With 3 million pair produced a month I promise they are piling up in our land fills just as starfoam containers once were.
As far as the ecological footprint not being very big just because they are made in China. Think about the fact they are shipped on a boat all the way across the ocean.
Recycling by sending them back to the company how many people in America will actually do this? I recyle all the time glass products and metals and do not find a lot of people that do that I know they will not mail their shoes back to the company they will just throw them away.
A lot of shoe