supereco: seriously sustainable footwear

20 August 2008

seriously sustainable footwear

I wish these were around when I was shopping for hiking shoes for my Yellowstone/Glacier trip back in June.

Just-launched END, or Environmentally Neutral Design, is not your average outdoor shoe company. I think of them as the Nau of footwear. Sustainability is considered at every step of production. Here's what they have to say:

END was born out of idea that better design through problem solving is the next step in making greener gear for the outdoor athlete. We will not just replace toxic or virgin materials with sustainable ones, our evolutionary design process, Co2ND, will begin at the design table. Here we will question every seam, every stitch, every material and every step in the manufacturing process…we will question everything in our quest to minimize the footprint of our products prior to manufacturing.

Some of the materials they use for their shoes include recycled rubber and bamboo fiber. They're eco-friendly and pretty good lookin' to boot (ha!). Click one of the pictures below to get yourself a pair from REI.com.

END Stumptown 12 oz. Cross-Training Shoes - Women's

Ladies' Stumptown Cross-training Shoes ($80)

END Stumptown LT Light-Hiking Boots - Men's

Men's Stumptown Cross-training Shoes ($80)

How about some amazing socks to go along with those kicks?

I can't say enough great things about Teko socks (and my boyfriend agrees, best socks ever!). They make their socks with sustainable fibers like EcoMarino that isn't chlorine treated like traditional wool; Ingeo that's made from corn; recycled polyester; and organic cotton. They're super comfy and have magical wicking abilities (ie, you're feet don't stay all sweaty). They're totally worth the price (about $15 a pair!). On our aforementioned trip, we brought a couple of pairs each -- they wash up easily and dry pretty quickly.

Get yourself some Tekos by clicking the images below.