Green Cotton

By Erin Dale

While blatantly stereotypical, it is difficult to deny that many women love shoes. We revel in tales of footwear fantasy: the famed 5,000 pair collection of Imelda Marcos (and Celine Dion’s attempts to match it); custom-made fairytale slippers that could take you anywhere (glass for Cinderella, ruby for Dorothy); Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw spying a pair of Manolo Blahniks and purring, “Hello, lover.” And Alicia Silverstone’s Cher wasn’t Clueless about finding her sole mates: “You know how picky I am about my shoes, and they only go on my feet.”

Of course, some can afford to be pickier than others. But whether we’re shopping for Christian Louboutin heels or look-alikes by Jessica Simpson, couldn’t we all stand to be a little pickier about how our shoe shopping choices impact the environment? If you care about keeping your – stylishly-clad – carbon footprint low, read on to find some of the most fashionable, eco-friendly footwear on the market.

Mohop (see above for shoes)

Who: Chicago-based footwear company created by architect (and earth-loving vegan) Annie Mohaupt, who began designing shoes as an experiment.
What: Environmentally sustainable wooden shoes. The soles are made out of recycled tires, and production uses only eco-friendly wood, glues, sealers and inks. All pairs are customizable by simply changing the ribbons that tie them on. Easy to care for—the wooden platforms can be cleaned with olive oil, and the ribbons are hand-washable. Ribbons come in sets of multiple palettes: brights, pastels, neutrals, even stripes.
Where: Find them on their website and in select boutiques nationwide.
Cost: A pair of cute platform wedges with a set of ribbons will set you back $298; keep in mind that, thanks to the interchangeable ribbons, you’re really getting several pairs in one! Also, prices vary depending on sole style; for instance, the plywood heels are less expensive than the wedges.

Form & Fauna

Who: California shoe company whose mission is to “create, but not at the expense of nature.”
What: Stylish shoes that meet every criterion on an ethical checklist: recycled and/or sustainable materials, fair trade, made in the USA, cruelty-free (from the high-quality, toxin-free Italian synthetics to the water-based glues). You can read the complete list here.
Where: Form and Fauna and 11 different stores
Cost: The “Paris in Spring” style retails at $295. As part of their mission statement, Form & Fauna advocates buying less of things, and their heels are built to last.

Patagonia

Who: Environmental clothing and sporting goods authority that “believe[s] in using business to inspire solutions to the environmental crisis.”
What: Though known for their active wear and sports gear, Patagonia also has an extensive footwear collection, some of which is surprisingly fashionable. Try the ‘Gilia’ ballet flats, or leather-rubber-and-jute ‘Alkali’ sandals. Keep in mind that while the company is committed toward sustainability, these shoes aren’t perfectly green: the soles are 15-20% recycled, and vegans should note that they are made from pigskin leather.
Where: Patagonia
Cost: A little less expensive than their trendier counterparts: The ‘Alkali’ costs $80; The ‘Gilia,’ $85.

Terra Plana

Who: U.K.-based, award-winning sustainable footwear company.
What: The cutest eco-friendly shoes—ever. Sustainable? Check. Recycled materials? Check. Cruelty-free? Well… the Terra Plana Worn Again line uses leather, but it’s recycled from old car seats. To me, that’s the grandfather clause, and it’s better to use that leather for shoes than to just throw it away. The Vivo Barefoot shoes are made from chrome-free leather, vegetable-tanned leather, or ‘E-leather’ (“a unique blend of leather and textile fibers intimately ‘re-woven’ and finished so it is practically indistinguishable from good quality leather”). And these designs are made from many recycled materials: in addition to car seats, Terra Plana uses seatbelts, bicycle tires, parachute silk, reclaimed denim, even tweed jackets!
Where: Terra Plana and Worn Again
Cost: Depending on the style, of course, expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $200.

These are just a few of the great shoe companies that can help you “green your sole.” For additional eco-friendly footwear options, try directories like Planet Shoes or EcoMall.com. What are some of your favorite ethical shoe companies? Would you wear any of the designs we featured? Let us know what you think!

Patagonia recently launched an incredible consumer innovation: their Footprint Chronicles. This dynamic application, which uses video, text and imagery, walks users through the step-by-step process of product development from field to storefront. The organic cotton polo shirt is one great example on their site,

Much to my surprise, Patagonia has been using organic cotton since 1996. More than a decade ago, Patagonia began pushing its suppliers to not only coming up with a 100% organic cotton shirt, but also ensure that workers were fairly paid with socially, environmentally friendly conditions (as evidenced in thier video series).

I encourage you to check out the fascinating application - The Footprint Chronicles, which is one of the first significant moves by a major apparel company to demonstrate near 100% transparency in production processes and environmental disclosure. Patagonia even invites customers to review their supply chain process and send comments or questions. For a company of the size of Patagonia to be doing this, I would have to conclude that they deserve a huge thumbs up. Their holistic and transparent approach to the business, from design all the way though distribution is remarkable.

In the case of the organic cotton polo shirt, Patagonia begins their process in Ventura CA with the designers. As evidenced by the unscripted and live video, this design group appears highly committed and passionate about creating a perfect product in all respects. Next, Patagonia sources the organic cotton fiber in Turkey.

Apparently, 10 years ago few places in the world grew organic cotton. Turkey was then and is today one of the main producers of organic cotton for Europe and Asia. Next, the fiber moves on to Bangkok Thailand, where the fibers are turned into yarn at Thai Alliance Textile. This company pioneered with Patagonia ten years ago in learning how to process organic cotton, and they are still in business today as one of Patagonia’s lead suppliers. Unfortunately, not much more of their business (clientele) has gone organic. But hopefully that will change soon!

After the yarn is spun, the yarn moves on to another company in Thailand, Siam Knitwear, at which point the yarn is spun into custom ordered fabric and then sewn into the items choice. All orders are custom orders and again, Patagonia has been a loyal customer of this company for what sounded like to be at least a decade. Both of these Thailand factories appear to be on the high end of production in Asia, paying their workers a very reasonable wage, with health care on site in some cases as well as other benefits. Check out the Siam Knitwear Video:

Finally, after the shirts are sewn, they are transported to Reno Nevada, where they are sorted for distribution. http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp

One last interesting feature on this ‘Chronicles’ piece is that Patagonia tells you exactly how much CO2 emissions are released as a result of the entire production and dissolution process. In the case of the organic cotton Tee is nearly 27lbs (or 12kg).

clipped from www.patagonia.com Environmentalism: Leading the Examined Life™ The Footprint Chronicles is an interactive mini-site that allows you to track the impact of five specific Patagonia products from design through delivery. Caveat: These examinations are partial and preliminary. Each season we’ll examine a few new products. As we learn more, the picture will gain more focus through the haze. And the more we see, and then give some thought, the more bad practices we’ll be able to change with all the speed we can muster.

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