Sustainable Sneakers: 9 Styles That Balance Style and Eco Substance

Here’s to reducing our carbon footprints.

Looking to reduce your eco footprint in the fashion space? Take a step forward in sustainable sneakers. The season’s most in-demand styles — chunky silhouettes, track-and-field sensibilities and metallic colourways — are set up for easy, everyday wear. We’ve narrowed down the field to nine of our favourite pairs: picks that perfectly balance style and eco substance.

Camper Pelotas Mars

If you can handle this much look, Camper’s future-forward footwear option is decked out with eco-minded materials from top to bottom: a 100 per cent recycled polyester lining, mixed recycled polyester upper and an OrthoLite® Recycled Footbed for max comfort.

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Chloé Nama Mixed Media Platform Sneakers

A runway-approved style that’s steeped in sustainability, Chloé’s Nama sneaker makes use of all kinds of recycled material, including polyester, nylon, cotton, microsuede, EVA and rubber. Added all together, 40 per cent of this resourceful shoe’s weight is designed with recycled debris.

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Everlane The Tread-Bare Sneaker

In the market for a lightweight pick that packs an eco-friendly punch? Our go-to for clean-lined closet classics has crafted its lowest carbon-impact sneaker ever in the Tread Bare, only producing 4.78 CO₂e per pair. As the brand puts it, that’s less than it takes to create a reusable water bottle — score!

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Axel Arigato Area Leather & Suede Low-Top Sneakers

The ideal mix of style and sustainability, Axel Arigato’s mindfully made Area sneaker takes cues from throwback basketball silhouettes. On the earth-friendly front, expect a 100 per cent recycled polyester lining plus another 20 per cent in the upper. It even comes packed in a recycled dustbag.

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Themoirè Aura Sneaker in White/Sage

Calling all vegans: this everyday, tennis-adjacent shoe is right up your eco-considerate alley. Specially designed with recycled rubber and an upper made from a natural, cellulosic fabric called kapok, this pair is about as low impact as you can get.

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Allbirds Women’s Tree Flyer 2

Credit where credit is due: Allbirds really lives up to its sustainability first footwear reputation. Take the Tree Flyer 2, for example: from the FSC-certified eucalyptus tree fibre upper and laces composed of recycled water bottles to the midsole made with bio-based Pebax, everything eco is considered here.

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Veja V-90 Sneaker

It doesn’t get more cool and classic than Veja’s V-90 sneakers; the eco elements are a total bonus. Beyond the recycled EVA and organic cotton, its prominent use of organically traced leather deserves a special shoutout: sourced from organic certified farms in Uruguay, this leather is known for its quality and care of the animal.

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Løci Echo Runner

Conscious materials are a mainstay of this vegan footwear brand hailing from London. Handmade in Portugal with recycled ocean plastic, foam and nylon along with a sugarcane EVA sole, this urban-feeling runner is one that’ll get tons of play in your rotation.

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Nike Metcon 9

Make your next workout a sustainable one with Nike’s Metcon 9, a staple of top athletes from around the world. As part of its ongoing Move to Zero commitment to zero waste and carbon, this pair is designed with at least 20 per cent recycled content by weight.

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This article first appeared in FASHION’s April 2024 issue. Find out more here.

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