The UK Shoes Made From Recycled Materials To Know

If you want to tread lightly on the planet then try these innovative sustainable brands – all available in the UK – that make stylish shoes and trainers from recycled materials.

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I find shoes the single most tricky thing to shop for ethically, sustainably, and responsibly.

A single pair of shoes is made up of many different components and materials. You’ve got main parts, such as the upper fabric, the lining and the insole. And then you’ve got the sole, the laces, the eyelets, and various other small parts. In short, shoes are far more complex to produce than something simpler, like a jumper or T-shirt.

When you add in specific requests, such as shoes made ethically and/or from recycled materials, then it starts to get tricky. The market gets very small. Thankfully, there are some innovative brands out there – and available in the UK – that are making shoes from recycled plastic bottles, post-consumer textile waste, and even old jeans.

The UK Footwear Brands Making Recycled Shoes & Trainers

Shoes are complex items. As such, I’ve found that it is nigh on impossible to find shoes that are entirely made with recycled materials. And in some shoes on my search, I found that only the laces were made from recycled plastic. I felt that wasn’t quite good enough to be classed in this guide as a recycled shoe.

Never fear though, I have found some great shoes where a high proportion of the materials used have been given another life:

Veja

French footwear brand Veja – available in the UK at The Sports Edit – uses a host of recycled materials to make its range of stylish trainers.

Its ‘B-Mesh’ fabric, for example, is made entirely from recycled plastic bottles and is lightweight, breathable, and waterproof. Meanwhile, its ‘Hexamesh’ fabric combines recycled plastic bottles with organic and fair trade cotton.

Veja doesn’t stop there. It also upcycles textile industry scraps to produce recycled cotton and polyester flannel – used in some of its designs. And many of its shoes are lined using jersey that’s made from recycled polyester.

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Keen

Keen – an American shoe brand available in the UK at AlpineTrek – is a family-owned, values-led maker of hybrid footwear, that is on a mission to make the outdoors more accessible and inclusive.

It offers a wide range of shoes that are made from recycled materials – including recycled plastic and recycled wool. This includes these fabric Mosey shoes which are made with an upper known as ReWooly. This is crafted using a 50% recycled Italian wool blend – certified by the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) – and made in a circular manufacturing process.

The rest of the shoe is made from natural materials. The outsole is made from gum rubber and cork outsole, whilst the laces are made from sustainable hemp.

What I particularly love about Keen is that its whole supply chain is PFC-free. PFCs are waterproof coatings (also known as Perfluorochemicals or PFAS) that are added to outdoor gear. This sounds beneficial, but PFCs are incredibly toxic to animals and last indefinitely in the landscape, so it’s great to hear that the use of these is avoided.

Get £5 off your first order when you sign up to the Alpinetrek mailing list.

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Astral

Vegan shoe brand Astral – available in the UK at Amazon – uses recycled polyester to create sustainable shoes designed for outdoor lifestyles. All without the use of any animal-based materials.

Astral says that the majority of its footwear is made with 100% post-consumer recycled materials. It says that 64% of its uppers are made from recycled polyester, whilst 61% of shoes are lined with recycled polyester.

Many of its shoes are also made with hemp. This is because hemp requires 79% less water to grow than cotton, plus it doesn’t require pesticides or fertilisers to grow. In addition to being super sustainable, hemp is a great fabric choice for shoes. It is durable, breathable and rot-resistant, plus it gets softer and more comfortable the more you wear your shoes.

The one drawback I’ve found though is that not all Astral shoes are free from PFCs. Astral says that 95% of its footwear is free from these forever chemicals – I’d love to see them reach 100%.

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Cariuma

Finally, Cariuma – available in the UK at Schuh – makes trainers using a variety of sustainable and recycled materials. This includes recycled nylon – which it uses in some styles for its uppers and/or linings. It also uses recycled plastic bottles to make uppers, as well as the laces, labels and threads.

Many of its styles are vegan – more than half of its range is. Cariuma also focuses on ethical manufacturing, working with factories that adhere to fair labour practices. It also plants two trees for every pair of shoes sold – supporting reforestation in the Brazilian rainforest, and its packaging is 100% recyclable, and made from 100% recycled cardboard.

More Ethical Footwear

If you’re looking for more sustainable options, then you can also check out my footwear guides. I’ve got dedicated guides to ethical shoes, as well as ethical trainers, and vegan shoes.

And as the most sustainable option is to look after the shoes you already have, here’s how to wash trainers correctly – by hand and in the washing machine – to help your footwear last as long as possible.

How About Recycling Old Shoes?

Before we buy recycled shoes, it’s more important to recycle our old shoes. While it is tricky to recycle shoes – see my full guide to recycling shoes for the full details – many retailers now offer take-back schemes. Whilst these aren’t perfect, it does help to stop your old shoes from ending up in landfill.

The Bottom Line

The recycled footwear landscape may be small in the UK, but there are options available. As always, I aim to keep this post updated as and when I find any new brands that fit the bill – i.e. not just making their shoelaces from recycled plastic. Do check back next time you are on the hunt for sustainable shoes!