Ethical shoes/Fashion footwear! Based in NYC, this company has taken high-end women’s shoes and made it ethical and eco-friendly. Try their vegetable oil tanned leather as an alternative to the conventional chemical processes usually used. They rate each of their shoes on efficiency, sole, upper, comfort, and looks, each time strongly considering the level of ethics going into its manufacturing.

ABOUT US

We are driven by the fact that conventional shoes are bad for you and the environment. We take on ambitious projects to shake up the shoe world for the better - there is no denying that it is a big job, but we are doing more every season.

Terra Plana uses a combination of traditional shoe making techniques and 21st-century technologies to celebrate style, health, and environmental responsibility. The core foundations of barefoot health run through the entire collection and even the Terra Plana heels are by far the most comfortable and sustainable fashion shoes on the market.

While all our products come with an eco-matrix rating the environmentally friendly components of each shoe, we believe that in order for a shoe to be truly sustainable, it must also be comfortable and durable in quality and style. The quilts are made within family groups so no two quilts are ever the same.

ECO PARTNERS AND MATERIALS

Terra Plana works with companies who make materials in a range of environmentally friendly ways.

We believe in freeing your feet. We make all of our soles as flexible as possible so your feet can move as nature intended.

VIVOBAREFOOT Technology

The ultra-thin patented soles allow your feet to move and strengthen naturally. Your posture will realign itself, and by listening to your body, you will rediscover a more natural way to walk. All VIVOBAREFOOT products are now available at www.vivobarefoot.com - the ultimate barefoot destination. Click here to learn more.

ETHICAL POLICTY

Over 300 million shoes from the US alone end up in landfills each year and we are committed to making shoes that last, both in style and quality. We use as many recycled materials as possible, including PET (recycled plastic bottles), partially recycled soling rubbers, foam footbeds, nylon heels and quilts made from material excess in a Pakistani co-operative.

We minimise the amount of glue by using stitched constructions. Where we have to use glue, our factories try to use water-based adhesives. When that’s not possible, we always choose the most eco-friendly option and put time into researching alternatives. Vegetable tanned leather reduces the amount of toxins and heavy metals needed in a normal tanning process. Our leather is prepared using vegetable extracts to create rich and beautiful colours.

We source components local to the factories where our shoes are made in order to minimise transportation and reduce our carbon footprint.

By making our shoes as lightweight as possible we increase their eco-matrix rating. An essential component of eco-design is weight – light shoes use less carbon to ship around the world.