What form of transportation is fuel-free and at your service regardless of hour? Your feet, of course. And this environmentally sound source of transportation is getting a lot of support, thanks to an expanding market of footwear choices. Walking softly has become easier for vigorous vegans, the environmentally energetic, and even the casually concerned. Though the footwear industry is notorious for ethical and environmental abuses, select companies are making strides towards greener technology and socially just production, including reduction of harmful processing chemicals, responsible sourcing, and demands for ethical labor from business partners. No single company has the magic formula for impact reduction, but each one attempts to reach some level of responsible production.
It’s entirely possible that consumers are fueling the shoe industry’s interest in environmentally safe shoes. Peter Hanig, president of Hanig Shoes, has noticed the shift in consumer interest. "Customers come in and ask if the shoes are tanned in such a way as to reduce environmental impact," says Hanig. "And companies are producing shoes [in which] the tanning processes, soles, and adhesives are not impacting the environment in as negative a way."
In fact, a broad spectrum of brands coming out of Europe, dubbed by Hanig the "wellness market," show some level of environmental responsibility, largely because of strict European standards. Birkenstock, Mephisto, Ecco, and Baer all rely heavily on natural materials.
The famous Birkenstocks need no introduction. The company is well known for its firm, supportive, yet cushiony shoes, which some say can counter plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the tendon connecting the big toe and heel. (A shoe owner content with current footwear can also boost shoes with Birkenstock inserts.) The open secret to Birk foot happiness is the footbed made of cork, a strong but resilient natural fiber.
Ecco and Mephisto also cushion and doctor feet. Susan Chmelik, a telecommunications specialist, experienced sharp pain along the sole of her foot until she invested in these foot-friendly shoes. "The minute I put them on I could tell they were comfortable — and they allowed my plantar fasciitis to heal." Not surprising, considering that each shoe is a sort of self-contained wellness spa, equipped with air circulators, massage areas, and strategically placed step-boosters. Finn Comfort, based in Germany, ups the ante with built-in reflexology massagers.
Though the selling point of these brands is quality and craftsmanship, interest in the companies bodes well for the environmental future. Regardless of their marketing angle, all European tanneries and footwear production are subject to strict environmental standards. And Birkenstock, for one, has an impressive record regarding the use of renewable resources. They substitute kenaf for paper, reuse shipping boxes five to ten times, and send almost every scrap of shoe material to be recycled as an insole or footliner or ground cover for playgrounds and tennis courts. They also use water-based adhesives in all their shoes.
Environment-aware
While the wellness brands thrive on their commitment to quality and healthy feet, environmentally-focused companies serve smaller but more committed markets. Those who measure footwear by an environmentally-friendly yardstick will admire U.S.-based Deep E Company. They rise above a break-even environmental record and attempt to enhance the economic value of ecosystems. Sustainable development is the key word in Deep E’s philosophy, and the company tops the list of those who use progressive sourcing. Witness Deep E’s use of renewable sole and upper materials for its new Brasilia line. Most manufacturers obtain rubber from huge, pesticide-soaked plantations in Malaysia or use cheap petroleum-based synthetics, but Deep E Vice-president and CEO Robert Farantinos wanted to avoid destroying the ecological diversity of huge tracts of land. Neither did he want to create pollution from the extraction and processing of petroleum. So, to replace mass-produced or synthetic rubber, Farantinos devised the "Soles of the Rainforest."
"The idea is to add value to natural and viable intact ecosystems," says Farantinos, who describes himself as a "scientist who tries to bridge the gap between the marketplace and the environment."
In the Brasilia line, Farantinos linked his company’s need for natural rubber with the need of Amazon rainforest populations for sustainable income. Current farming practices tend to "sap the nutrients and turn the land into a desert," says Farantinos. "In the long run, communities experience economic loss." His solution enhanced the market for a readily available resource in the Amazon — rubber trees. He set up partnerships with local indigenous communities and paid them to tap the natural latex, which the company then uses to produce the rubber soles. This partnership not only avoids ecosystem destruction but encourages the use of renewable local resources.
Deep E also patented a low-impact leather to soften the environmental toll of the leather industry. Overgrazing and hormone use are among the health and land abuses endemic to most cattle operations. So Farantinos forged a partnership with Colorado-based Mel Coleman, a major U.S. producer of natural, hormone-free beef, to avoid supporting such excesses. Coleman supplies all of the hides used in Deep E leather. Cudahy Tanning processes the hides in a way that meets the energy, chemical, and material standards of the Dutch Ecolabel. The company also strives to use post-consumer recycled material in sock liners and other synthetic shoe parts.
These stringent business practices resonate with consumers. Deep E wearer Aaron Caplan, for example, says, "I’m willing to spend extra money to support [Deep E’s] recycled program and environmental outlook."
Farantinos also deserves credit for spurring the shoe industry to exchange solvent-based adhesives for water-based alternatives. According to Paul Hughes, upper tannery superintendent at Cudahy tanneries, most solvents are classified as volatile organic compounds, which have carcinogenic and ozone-destroying properties. Before the birth of Deep E, in his early days with Deja Shoe, Farantinos toured a plant in Taiwan and got a sample of their toxic effects — he emerged from the plant reeling from the neurological effects of the solvents. His experience spurred him to work with the company to develop a water-based adhesive. After finalizing the product, he publicized and sold it to ten major shoe companies.
Deep E is not quite perfect; they do use some petroleum products, and the low-impact leather tanning still employs the use of chrome. Cudahy CEO B.J. Law swears by the safety of chrome. "There’s a perception that chrome is bad, but dietitians do not agree," says Law. "You’re not going to want to drink it, but we think it’s safe." Yet some shoe companies, like Dutch-based Think! Shoes have sworn off the use of chrome until conclusive scientific evidence is reached.
In addition, Deep E is "considering a nylon sock liner with better wicking, and the trade-off is using a petroleum-based product," says Farantinos. Still, in a market dominated by Nike and other corporate giants, Deep E qualifies as eco-friendly. "There is no such thing as one hundred-percent impact-free, muses Farantinos. But his company tips its its scale toward ecological balance. Deep E even offers a shoe that meets vegan standards for cruelty-free shoes.
Though vegans generally prefer low-impact products, their choices are even more limited than those of other environmentalists by their desire for cotton- or hemp-based or synthetic products. Nevertheless, a few manufacturing and distributor gems have emerged for vegan shoe shoppers.
Ethical Wares, a company based in England, probably represents the height of stylish, responsibly-produced vegan footwear. All their manufacturing is done out of locally-supervised plants, and the company’s goods fill a niche for consumers who have outgrown the Doc Martens look. Even corporate vegans can find sleek, almost-corporate shoes through Ethical Wares.
In a Chicago-based one-man shoe operation, appropriately dubbed "Soles of the Earth," Roger Romanelli supplies high-quality, animal-free shoes like Ethical Wares and a hemp shoe made by Deep E (more about hemp later). Like Farantinos, Romanelli sees shoe production as a link to the larger world. "I do believe that shoe manufacturing touches on economic development," he explains.
"If you talk about social wellness, something like distributing shoes is an opportunity for semi-skilled vocational workers" adds Farantinos. "The grand vision is to have high-quality vegan shoes manufactured in a local plant with a fully integrated recycling program."
The appearance of these alternatives means that vegans can step outside the loop of mass-market discount providers like Payless Shoe Source. Kay Sivers, director of Animal Rights Mobilization, was a Payless shopper during much of her fourteen years as a vegan. "You were stuck wearing real cheapy things. Now it’s easy to find stylish shoes."
Of course, when it comes to athletic shoes, synthetic materials have long been an option. But where do these mass-market synthetic models weigh in on the labor and pollution scales?
Steven Barr, a vegan for more than twelve years, feels no regret about the use of petrochemicals in the nylon shoe. "I made a conscious choice that petroleum products, because they last, [are] a good long-term investment."
Jennifer Napoli agrees. She was a committed vegan consumer — until her back started suffering from lousy footwear. "I opted to avoid leather, then back pain caught up with me. As much as I want to support the causes, I don’t want to become a cripple doing so." Napoli’s stopgap solution is a combination of Birkenstocks and athletic shoes, but her questions are not entirely quieted.
"It’s hard. Do you treat your body right and buy a nylon shoe that pollutes, [knowing that] someone suffered to make it? The main thing I try to do is not buy things!" says Napoli.
Hemp, two, three, four
Such thorny issues spur endless opportunities for innovation, however; and so we come to hemp. The hemp industry offers an environmentally-friendly, renewable fiber that may someday replace many synthetically-produced materials. Even the corporate giants are interested in hemp’s potential. Dow and Cargill, for example, are purportedly developing a natural nylon based on hemp seed oil.
Hanig judges that the market for hemp footwear is decidedly a niche, rather than a widespread segment of the population. Perhaps so, but a hemp sneaker could meet the needs of both environmentally aware and vegan consumers. Patricia O’Brien, hemp activist and owner of Eco’Fields, reports that when she carried a hemp shoe made by Jus Naturel it gained a warm reception and offered widespread satisfaction: she sold 150 pairs of shoes and amassed only three complaints.
Jus Naturel president Richard Morrisey, who "fell in love with the fabric," has utter faith in his shoe, but admits to quality glitches such as premature holes at wear points. "There’s an unfortunate learning curve," says Morrisey. "Hemp is not easy to work with. But we are still in the embryonic stages, and the development and fabrication has been astounding in the past three years." These preliminary quality glitches have not discouraged demand, according to Morrisey. In any case, he says he knows exactly how to solve the problem with a bit of extra fabric and reinforced stitching.
Steve Rosinkovich, founder of Grassroots Goods, reiterates Morrisey’s mixed reviews of hemp shoes. "We need improvement in the way they wear at stress points," he says. "Durability is definitely a factor." Rosinkovich nonetheless reaffirms Morrisey’s opinions on the growing market for these environmentally friendly shoes. "I’m selling them as fast as I bring them in."
Justice
None of these eco-merchants are resting on their successes, however; several are expanding their concerns to include social, as well as environmental justice. Farantinos acknowledges that producing a socially just product is a continual work in progress, evidenced by his continued negotiations with Asian companies. Rosinkovich echoes this process, adding, "It is impossible to compete and stay afloat price-wise with production outside of Asia."
"The reality is that people want competitive prices," says Morrisey. I can make a totally environmentally and socially just product and sell it to a tiny audience and how much good am I doing?"
So far, companies that have renounced all Asian manufacturing are few and far between, and fully integrated recycling programs are still a dream, but consumers committed to ideals rather than deals also are a rare commodity. The "global, nano-second disposable pop culture" (a phrase coined by O’Brien’s business partner and son) still is hard-pressed to overlook higher prices in the name of long-term progress. But for those rare individuals who will trade some of the green in their pockets for a little more green in the world, the shoe merchants featured here offer an (almost) perfect fit.
Resources
The Complete Birkenstock, 3232 Lake Ave., Wilmette, IL; 847-251-7130; Sells the complete collection of all Birkenstock lines
Eco’Fields, 1708 N. Wells St., Chicago, IL; 312-867-0624; Hemp sneakers, hemp sandals arriving for summer
Ethical Wares
Grassroots Goods, 3717 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, IL; 773-248-1800; Offers hemp sandals and sneakers by customer order
Hanig’s Slipperbox, 2754 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL; 773-248-1977 (also Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street locations); Carries Deep E, Ecco, Mephisto, and Birkenstock
Salamander Shoes, 4762 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL; 773-784-SHOE; Features Baer, Finn, and Birkenstock
Soles of the Earth, 773-252-SOLE; Focuses on vegan footwear with Deep E, Ethical Wares, and Etonic
The Walking Company, 835 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL; 312-255-1300; Carries Deep E