| The Skynde from adidas by Stella McCartney: | | | | leather compounds and shoe soles composed of |
| The Eco Friendly Child of the Barricade V | | | | reformed rubber from recycled old athletic shoes. |
| Clothing and shoe production is damaging the planet | | | | The Stan Smith Grun Shoe, (German for green), is one |
| too! | | | | of adidas' contributions to the growing demand for |
| It seems that in the last few years, the environment | | | | environmentally friendly shoes. It is a much greener |
| has forced it's way into most people's consciousness | | | | version of an already successful mass-produced shoe. |
| from the sheer weight of bleak predictions about the | | | | How Green Can You Be? |
| implications of rapid global temperature rise. | | | | Unfortunately, for any manufacturer aiming to be |
| The gas-guzzling motor car has been in the firing line | | | | 'totally' eco friendly in their shoe production, the nature |
| for longer, but now there is a growing awareness | | | | of the process is very complex and a wholly 'green' |
| that everything we buy has a greater or lesser effect | | | | shoe is unrealistic for most, as the 'natural' alternatives |
| on the well-being of the environment, our fellow human | | | | would make the venture uneconomic. Many high |
| beings and animals. | | | | volume shoes are produced with a combination of |
| The clothing and shoe industries have long escaped | | | | traditional raw materials with the more economically |
| any negative scrutiny, but recently it's become clear | | | | viable greener ones, which is a step in the right |
| that their environmental impact is as damaging as any | | | | direction. (Excuse the pun). |
| other. Many chemicals traditionally employed to treat | | | | A natural 'by-product' of concern for eco friendly shoe |
| and dye fabrics are carcinogenic and serious pollutants | | | | production is vegetarian or vegan shoes, as toxic |
| if allowed to escape to rivers and streams. This | | | | leather treatments are replaced by less dangerous |
| equally applies to the chemicals used to tan leather in | | | | plant- based synthetic leathers. Indeed it could be |
| shoe uppers and the petroleum based rubber used in | | | | argued that as 'animal agriculture' is the largest single |
| the soles. | | | | contributor to global warming, these shoes are the only |
| Consumerism and the move to the east | | | | alternative to those serious about preventing it. |
| The problem has worsened with the gradual shift in | | | | Certainly, farmed animals require a disproportionate |
| production from the relatively controlled, (but costly), | | | | amount of resources for the meat/leather that they |
| working environments in the West, to the low labor | | | | produce compared to the plant alternatives, and the |
| cost 'sweat shops' of some Asian countries. Here, | | | | methane they readily produce is 23 times more |
| human and animal resources can be exploited beyond | | | | efficient at storing the sun's rays than carbon dioxide. |
| the reach of the umbrella of compassionate and | | | | Panda Food, Lady Bugs and Rice Husks provide some |
| humanitarian health and safety legislation many of us | | | | answers! |
| take for granted. | | | | There are a number of smaller shoe companies that |
| The explosion in 'consumerism' in recent decades has | | | | by their very nature are able to create products with |
| fueled these changes as people, quite reasonably, | | | | next to no environmental impact. They use materials |
| want to enjoy the benefits of as many competitively | | | | such as tree-tapped rubber, (not chemical), bamboo, |
| priced products as possible. For example, if you're a | | | | hemp and organic cotton. |
| woman tennis player, and you see your favourite | | | | Bamboo and hemp are fast growing hardy plants that |
| tennis player, Ana Ivanovic wearing adidas' Barricade | | | | don't need careful nurturing or rich soils. Their natural |
| V women's tennis shoe on television, and your friend | | | | fibers can be woven to produce materials that are |
| at the tennis club buys a pair, you are naturally inclined | | | | hard wearing, water resistant yet breathable, |
| to want to buy a pair for yourself, (at the best possible | | | | lightweight and easy to clean. Organic cotton is |
| price), to keep up. | | | | produced without recourse to pesticides that |
| The enormous multi-national companies catering to this | | | | eventually pollute many of the world's watercourses. |
| demand know that to stay in business they must | | | | Organic cotton farmers use natural pest control |
| compete in every area, not least price. They must be | | | | methods like introducing Ladybugs to their crops! |
| keenly aware of their rival's like-for-like athletic shoe | | | | Boston based environmentally conscious shoe |
| pricing. | | | | company, 'New Balance' even add rice husks to their |
| The 'Big Boys' respond to heightened public | | | | soles to reduce the rubber requirement, whilst similarly |
| awareness | | | | aware 'Keen' add natural cork. New Balance also |
| However, with the sudden leap in the population's | | | | score environmental 'plus points' for keeping shoe |
| awareness of ecological issues, 'normal' business | | | | production wholly within the US despite probable cost |
| considerations for these companies have subtly | | | | advantages of production overseas. |
| changed, as evidenced by the recent almost | | | | Some Seriously Earth-Friendly Businesses |
| simultaneous declarations by the 'big two' sports | | | | Some shoe manufacturers center their entire |
| apparel manufacturers, adidas and Nike, that they are | | | | businesses around an environmental awareness. A |
| ceasing to source leather and other raw materials | | | | few worthy of note include 'Patagonia' who give 1% of |
| from any country where any collateral damage has | | | | their income to help preserve and restore the |
| been done to the rain forests. There's no point in | | | | environment. 'Chaco' purchase wind-powered green |
| designing, producing and marketing a fantastic sneaker | | | | certificates to cover their entire yearly electrical usage, |
| at a great price, only to throw away many of these | | | | and 'Toms' donates a pair of shoes to a needy child |
| 'positives' by being associated with practises people | | | | for every pair bought from them! |
| now perceive as seriously detrimental to the planet | | | | All these companies seem to have core |
| and eventually even their own health and well-being. | | | | considerations that the earth must be protected, the |
| To better align themselves with public opinion, both | | | | people producing their products must be valued and |
| adidas and Nike now produce athletic shoes with | | | | cared for, and the end product must be built to last, to |
| eco-friendly considerations. The pressures have | | | | counteract the 'use it up, throw it out' culture that has |
| probably been slightly greater on adidas as it's a | | | | prevailed lately. |
| German based company, and Germany has one of | | | | It is vitally important that the trend towards |
| the most powerful green movements in the world. In | | | | earth-friendly consumption is not just a fad, and that |
| fact Germany's 'Blue Angel', formed in 1978 and | | | | some of the shortcomings of plant-based clothing and |
| composed of a group of 13 people representing | | | | shoes can be overcome, like the difficulty in infusing |
| diverse views across the media, industry, unions and | | | | strong colors in vegetable-based fabrics without |
| the environment, was the world's first body that | | | | recourse to nasty chemicals. |
| attempted to label products and services according to | | | | Even now eco friendly athletic shoe alternatives are |
| their eco-friendly, (or otherwise), content. | | | | mainly confined to sneakers and general use sports |
| 'Reuse a shoe' to recycle, reform and replace | | | | shoes, whereas specialized running, basketball or tennis |
| However, Nike were the first off the mark with their | | | | shoes are still made the old way. |
| 'Reuse a shoe' program in 1993. They collect old | | | | The mechanism of change, if it happens, will stem from |
| worn-out athletic shoes to disassemble and then to | | | | informed individual decisions, which when taken en |
| recycle and reform into a material suitable for the | | | | masse, will change buying patterns and reward |
| construction of running tracks, court surfaces and | | | | companies brave and enlightened enough to give us |
| playgrounds. | | | | the choices we want and need, to minimize the daily |
| They also manufacture the 'Trash Talk' shoe | | | | damage we are doing to our fragile planet. |
| composed of shop floor off-cuts, leather and synthetic | | | | |