Recycled Shoes & Fashions

With Simple Shoes taking a creative break, the search recycled materials shoes had to get a bit more creative! Although many companies offer a style or two of shoes with recycled materials, it can make a much bigger statement (as a fashionista & a consumer) to buy from brands that consistently stick with the values you believe in.

soleRebels tooTOOS  [top]
& Okabashi Classic Flip-Flops [bottom]

The best-known online brands for recycled materials are soleRebels, for all types of shoes, and Okabashi, for recycled rubber sandals. soleRebels was founded in 2004 by Bethlehem Alemu to create jobs in her community in Ethiopia. They now carry WFTO/IFAT Fair Trade Certification & make literally hundreds of styles of shoes, from flip flops to sneakers to ballet flats & slip-ons, all with options to customize colors. Okabashi shoes are made in the USA from recycled materials, creating jobs & vegan styles since 1984. They also have a recycling program, where you can send in your worn out shoes to be recycled at their factory.
       

On Long Island, you can find new & lightly used shoes at many resale & thrift shops, to reduce and reuse footwear. Homegrown Boutique, a new store based in Babylon Village, creates handmade garments, bags & accessories from repurposed materials; they're made in the USA by Long Island artisans.


New York City is the home of Moo Shoes, a vegan accessory store that sells cruelty-free shoes, bags, belts & accessories. They also have an online store if you'd rather not make the trip to the Lower East Side. Moo Shoes isn't its own brand, but offers the vegan selections from other well-known brands (like Big Buddha & Madden Girl).

Luckily, many of today's brands offer vegan, fair trade & recycled options that don't look much different than mainstream shoes, so you can chose to stand out, speak up, or blend in as much as you'd like while still putting your dollars toward sound choices.