Read a newspaper, your Twitter feed or your favorite website, and you’re bound to come across a story detailing the peril that our planet is in. From climate change to deforestation and habitat loss, saving the Earth can often seem hopeless.
It’s not. As a consumer, you have options: You can decrease the stress put on our planet, or you can add to it. Even the choices you make when you buy mens shoes matter.
Sustainable Materials
One way to help save the planet is to purchase products that go easy on Earth’s resources. In other words, look for goods manufactured from sustainable sources. Birkenstock sandals, for example, are made from a bounty of renewable resources, including leather, wool felt, brass, copper, natural latex and cork.
The company prides itself on its commitment to natural cork in particular, as it’s literally the foundation of its iconic sandal line. The cork is harvested from the bark of cork oak trees, and a single tree can provide roughly 220 to 440 pounds of cork in its lifetime.
Even the adhesives used to manufacture Birkenstock sandals for kids and adults are gentle on the environment. They’re water-soluble and free from harmful solvents. Birkenstock was one of the first shoe companies to make this commitment to clean production standards.
Low-Impact Manufacturing
In addition to seeking out footwear made from sustainable materials, you can also help the planet by patronizing shoe companies that are actively trying to reduce their ecological footprint during the production process itself.
One of several companies at the forefront of clean manufacturing is TOMS. In addition to using sustainable materials and annually measuring its carbon footprint, the brand also creates shoes that feature Earth-conscious elements such as:
- Recycled polyester that uses little water and creates few greenhouse gas emissions during its production
- Eco-friendly fibers such as linen, hemp and jute that require less water and fewer chemicals to grow
- Carbon-negative EVA outsoles
Environmental Certifications and Associations
Another way to be a savvy, planet-saving shopper is to look for shoes and other products that bear the seals of various environmentally focused certifications and associations. Here are three worth watching out for:
Canopy
Trees provide so much more than paper. This organization’s goal is to protect Earth’s remaining forests. As such, it partners with shoe manufacturers, book publishers, fashion designers and other companies to develop business strategies and solutions to save trees.
The Leather Working Group
This international non-profit works to establish eco-friendly practices for industries that use leather. It does so by working closely with companies, offering concrete guidelines for improvement and providing auditing tools that leather manufacturers can use to attain certification from LWG.
B Corps
A certified B corporation is one that meets the high, purpose-driven standards of excellence established by B Corps, which believes businesses should benefit, never harm, their workers, customers or environment. These standards revolve around three basic ideas: verified performance, public transparency and legal accountability.
Earth’s resources are vast yet finite, and the effects of climate change have already begun. To reverse these alarming trends and reinvigorate the planet for the next generation, choose shoes and other goods that are made with the planet in mind.
