Fair Trade Shoes For The Conscious Fashionista
If you are looking for fair trade shoes this is the guide for you. I have gathered my favorite ethical and sustainable footwear brands that create cool and stylish shoes for both men and women. Shoes are one of the most important pieces in your wardrobe, and investing in quality can really pay off.
FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR
Your shoes have to carry you around from place to place all day every day so make sure you invest in a pair that are great for your feet – and the environment. Maybe you have this idea that all sustainable and fair trade shoes aren’t really stylish and fashionable, but I am here to tell you that you are wrong.
Even though the shoes in this list are designed to last and made from recycling materials non of the brands compromise on design and aesthetics. So jump down to the list and find your new pair of fair trade shoes.
1. ABLE
Mission: Challenge the fast fashion industry by investing in women and ethical fashion
Located: Nashville, TN
Product range: Hells, flats, sandals, sneakers, and boots
Price starting point: 63$
ABLE is a sustainable brand that makes fair trade shoes you want to wear all day and everywhere. But not only are they making envy-worthy eco-friendly heels and flats, but they are also investing in women and thereby challenging the fast fashion industry culture by creating more opportunities and better working conditions for women around the world producing the clothes and shoes we wear.
ABLE makes fair trade shoes with a mission in mind – they want to be the ethical fashion brand that empowers women as a solution to end poverty. They train and educate women, so they can make a fair living and break the cycle of poverty.
So if you are looking for gorgeous fair trade shoes made with the highest ethical standards then ABLE is your go-to sustainable shoe brand that really makes a difference in the fight against fast fashion.
2. The Root Collective
Mission: Make ethical shoes that empowering communities and Investing in change.
Located: Guatemala
Product range: Boots, sandals, ballerinas, mules,
Price starting point: 108$
The Root Collective is truly an inspiring ethical shoe brand, who manages to create simplistic, high-quality shoes that support local business owners in Guatemala. The brand collaborates with small, independent workshops, which have a true passion for crafting.
All products are handwoven, and every single person through the supply chain receives beyond fair trade wages. This brand puts people first, and a key-value is to create opportunities for small communities and businesses. On top of that, each fair trade shoe design is a masterpiece in itself and would look amazing on any shoe shelf.
3. Matisse Footwear
Mission: Create clothes that last in ethical factories, and with radical transparency.
Located: Los Angeles, CA
Product range: Heels, flats, sandals, and boots.
Price starting point: 75$
Matisse Footwear is the perfect slow fashion brand if you are looking for a chic and casual fair trade shoes you can wear in your everyday life. The brand is built around high quality, craftsmanship, and artisanal touch and combines contemporary style with an edgy and casual aesthetic.
Most of the factories where Matisse Footwear is produced are family-owned and have been working with the brand for more than 30 years. All factories have high ethical standards to ensure that all workers are treated fairly.
The brand strives to source sustainably and the leather and textiles used in the production are recycled whenever possible. If you are looking for fair trade shoes with a casual yet modern touch, then check out their site!
4. Veja
Mission: Create sneakers that will stand the test of time. Combines design and social responsibility in the best possible way.
Located: France
Product range: Sneakers for men, women, and children
Price starting point: 85$
If you are looking for fair trade sneakers Veja is your brand. This sustainable footwear brand is quickly becoming one of the most popular sustainable sneakers brands and I surely do understand why. Veja combines design and social responsibility in the absolute best possible way. They believe that the focus has to be on both design and environmental responsibility.
They make shoes from scratch because they don’t want to choose between design and ethical fashion. They want to show the fashion industry, that you easily can combine them. Veja lives by the saying “be the change you want to see in the world” because we can all make a choice to challenge the fast fashion industry and choose to support the things we care about such as the environment and ethical fashion.
5. Reformation
Mission: Making sustainability fashionable, using sustainable materials, and being transparent.
Located: Los Angeles, CA
Product range: Heels, flats, sandals, and boots
Price starting point: 180$
If you are looking for fair trade shoes you can wear to big happenings such as a wedding or a big birthday party – Reformation is your go-to brand. They are a bit more expensive than the shoe brands above, but they make outstanding and fashionable eco footwear that is so worth investing in.
They use environmentally friendly fabrics and pay fair wages to their workers. Reformation is probably best known for their gorgeous dresses and effortless design, but let me tell you, the shoes are definitely worth a look too and are added to my list of slow fashion shoe brands that are making killer party shoes.
6. Alice + Whittle
Mission: Create sustainable outdoor footwear
Located: Toronto
Product range: outdoor shoes
Price starting point: 120$
Alice + Whittles makes footwear that allows you to be outside and explore all the wonders of the world, no matter the weather conditions. You shouldn’t be limited in any way when it comes to your footwear and Alice + Whittles makes sure you are not. Not when it comes to comfort, practical use, or sustainability.
The sustainable brand focus on making fair trade shoes that you can climb a mountain in and they are dead serious about sustainability. So serious that the founders of the brand travel the world to learn more about sustainable innovations and push the boundaries of what is possible. The brand is women-owned, women-led, and the goal is to create outdoor sustainable footwear, seriously – what is not to like?
7. Ecoalf
Mission: Create sustainable, handmade, and recycled flip flops
Located: Spain
Product range: flip flops, sneakers
Price starting point: 39$
Many people have a tendency to underestimate flip-flops. But they are seriously one of my favorite summer accessories. A big flowy dress and a pair of colored flip flop equal a summer vibe if you ask me. Unfortunately, most flip flops are made out of plastic and don’t last the whole summer because of the low quality.
But thanks to the sustainable footwear brand Ecoalf we now have an alternative. They make hand-made flip-flops from materials that come from 100% recycled tires. And you can buy them in all the colors of the rainbow. Sign me up!
8. Will’s Vegan Store
Mission: Create Vegan shoes
Located: London
Product range: Boots, flats, heels, sandals
Price starting point: 43$
As the name might suggest Will’s Vegan Store makes fair trade shoes that are both sustainable, ethical, and vegan. Everything is vegan made and the brand is also carbon-neutral certificated. Everything is ethically made and no animals or humans are harmed during the production.
Will’s Vegan Store makes affordable shoes for both men and women that are stylish, modern, and an ideal sustainable choice. It is not only a positive choice but also a clever one. Check out all their amazing handmade styles on their website.
9. Nisolo
Mission: Create ethically made and intentionally designed shoes
Located: Nashville, TN
Product range: flats, boots, heels, loafers, sandals
Price starting point: 90$
Nisolo is one of the more hyped sustainable shoe brands on social media, because of its classic and fashionable design and extremely high ethical standards.
Every time you buy a pair of Nisolo’s fair trade shoes you provide living wages to producers in the factories they own in Peru. The slow fashion brand cares a big deal about their workers and strives to have the best ethical production chain in the world.
But not only is the brand fully committed to ethical fashion, but it also focuses on intentional design, which means they make shoes with a timeless design of the highest quality, and with the highest comfort. This means the shoes are made to wear everywhere – from work to drinks night.
10. Avre
Mission: Women empowerment and creating responsible, sustainable footwear
Located: California
Product range: sneakers
Price starting point: 95$
If you are looking for comfortable and sporty sustainable sneakers Avre is your brand. Their goal is to remind the fashion industry that stylish design and responsible and sustainable production can be combined. Looking good should feel good and you shouldn’t have to compromise on your style or your values.
Avre doesn’t only care about style and comfort but also the footprints their sustainable sneakers leave on the environment. Therefore they use recycled materials to create their fair trade shoes as well as focus on making eco-fashion fashionable. Avre wants to lead the way for a better tomorrow, and if you ask me, I think they are doing an amazing job.
11. Zou Xou
Mission: Create responsible footwear
Located: Argentina
Product range: Loafers, sandals, mules, boots, heels
Price starting point: 149
Slow fashion is key a keyword for this brand. Each pair of fair trade shoes is cut, skived, stitched, and lasted by hand by an artisan in Buenos Aires using generations of technique and premium leather. All pairs are made on-demand in order to reduce waste and energy use.
This brand truly works by slow fashion principles and the design shoes there are made to last. Shoes you will wear year after year. It is a design that actually has an impact on the world, and will shine like a little diamond on your shoe shelf.
12. EVERLANE
Mission: Create clothes that last in ethical factories, and with radical transparency.
Located: San Fransisco, CA
Product range: Heels, sneakers, flats, boots. Sells both women’s and men’s shoes.
Price starting point: 75$
Everlane is a slow fashion brand that makes shoes that last – maybe even a lifetime. Because the focus here is quality, high quality, and the pieces are designed to last. But not only are all the fair trade shoes made out of the best quality, but they are also made in the best ethical factories, and the brand shares the true costs of every single pair of shoes that are produced. They call it radical transparency, and I love it.
I think transparency is one of the most important things when you are shopping, and to have a brand that is so transparent in everything thing they do is like a dream come true.
Cause basically, this is how every fashion brand should behave, Everlane is just ahead of their time because they believe that the customers have the right to know how their clothes and shoes are made. And I couldn’t agree more.
Last Comment
If you liked this article then check out these ones on eco knitwear or sustainable dresses.
Looking for more sustainable clothes? Then check out all our other guides to sustainable brands here.
Love,
Anna
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