Stylish Sustainable & Ethical Shoes Brands To Know
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If you are looking for stylish, eco-friendly, sustainable, and ethical shoes in the UK, here are my top recommendations.
The footwear industry doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to being ethical or sustainable. Most leather is tanned using chromium, a heavy metal pollutant that can threaten water supplies.
And with around 24 billion pairs of shoes made every year, that’s a lot of materials going in and eventually going out. Around 90% of unwanted shoes end up in landfill, many made with materials that won’t readily biodegrade.
Continuing to wear and repair the shoes you already have is always the most sustainable option, but what about when you do need to buy new shoes?
To help you out, I’ve rounded up my favourite sustainable and ethical shoe brands in the UK, all doing things better.
Guide to Ethical Shoes In The UK
I’ve found some seriously stylish shoes from UK-based ethical brands (or brands that can be shipped from UK-based retailers). You’ll be able to step up your sustainable footwear game in no time!
A quick word before we jump in. Sustainability is a complex and nuanced subject, meaning many different things to many different people. I’m therefore mindful that everyone has different ethics, particularly when it comes to footwear. As such, this guide has been designed to be a starting point for you to research the most sustainable option for you.
The price range key for this guide is:
£ = Under £50 | ££ = £50 – 100 | £££ = £100+
Ethletic
- Price range: ££
- Caters for: Men and Women (UK sizes 4 – 11)
- Available from Ethical Superstore
Ethletic Footwear is a great ethical alternative to conventional trainer brands. It’s a fair-trade company, with the environment and sustainability at the core of what it does.
In practice, this means that its unisex vegan trainers are made with organic and Fairtrade-certified cotton. The rubber soles are also Fairtrade. And not only that, the rubber is FSC-certified, meaning the rubber is sourced responsibly for sustainably managed forests.
The pioneering Fairtrade rubber project pays a Fairtrade social premium for every kilo of rubber used in the production of these trainers. The rubber tappers then have the autonomy to decide how to use their income to improve their living and working conditions.
All of this doesn’t come at a premium price – all their shoes come in at under £70. Practically perfect in every way, I’d love to see more footwear brands just like Ethletic.
Wills Vegan Store
- Price range: ££ – £££
- Caters for: Men (UK sizes 6.5 – 13) and Women (UK sizes 3 – 8)
- Available from Wills Vegan Store
Wills Vegan Store makes eco-friendly vegan shoes for men and women. These are all ethically made in Italy and Portugal under European Union employment, discrimination, and health and safety laws. These directives ensure that workers receive equal pay, maternity and parental leave, as well as other benefits.
The shoes themselves are made from vegan leather created with bio oil sourced from organic cereal crops grown in Northern Europe. The rest of their products are manufactured from Ecolabel-certified vegan leathers and suedes made in Italy and Spain.
Even the bits you don’t really think of have been carefully considered. Most outer soles are made from natural rubber, and even the insoles are made in Spain from recycled rubber.
What’s more, their online store operates a plastic-free, carbon-neutral supply chain using sustainable materials. It’s no surprise that Ethical Consumer has ranked Wills Vegan Store as one of the most ethical shoe retailers out there.
Allbirds
- Price range: ££ – £££
- Caters for: Men (UK sizes 7 – 13) and Women (UK sizes 2 – 8)
- Available at Allbirds
Allbirds is another good ethical choice if you’re looking for comfortable shoes made with more sustainable materials.
This certified B Corp – meaning it balances business with social and environmental considerations – offers a range of shoes for men and women. This includes trainers, sandals, slip-ons, and flats.
Rather than relying heavily on petroleum-based synthetics, it uses natural alternatives such as ZQ Merino-accredited wool grown under strict sustainable farming practices, Tencel, organic cotton canvas and sugarcane.
The use of wool means Allbirds shoes aren’t vegan-friendly, but they are vegetarian-friendly as Allbirds does not use leather or animal skin.
Sustainability doesn’t come at the expense of comfort – Allbirds shoes are lightweight, breathable and designed for everyday wear.
Novesta
- Price range: ££
- Caters for: Men and Women (UK sizes 4 – 11)
- Available from Toast
Slovakian brand Novesta specialises in quality handmade shoes that are manufactured according to the highest environmental and ethical standards.
Every one of its ethical vegan trainers – made with a cotton upper and a natural rubber sole – is hand-finished by Novesta’s craftsmen, and every shoe is as comfortable as it is cutting-edge.
What’s more, they are made in Slovakia, giving them a lower carbon footprint than shoes made further afield.
Vivobarefoot
- Price Range: £££
- Caters for men, women and children
- Available directly from Vivobarefoot
Founded in 2012 by two seventh-generation cobblers, Vivobarefoot makes minimal-soled shoes that get you as close to going barefoot as possible.
With shoes for everything from hiking, running and training, to stylish barefoot shoes for work and leisure, Vivobarefoot has you covered.
As a certified B-Corp, Vivobarefoot gives equal weight to people, the planet and profit. In practice, this means that Vivobarefoot uses only recycled, natural and bio-synthetic materials – such as foam that’s cleverly made from algae – in its range of shoes. Whilst some shoes are made from wild hide leather and wool, Vivobarefoot does have a comprehensive vegan range too.
Vivobarefoot also runs ReVivo – an online marketplace for refurbished and repaired barefoot shoes, to help keep its shoes on people’s feet for longer. Plus, its Livebarefoot Fund helps to fund social and environmental initiatives.
I’ve been wearing Vivobarefoot shoes for three years now. I’ve put them through long hikes and everyday wear, and I am seriously impressed with just how comfortable and durable they are. Despite the thin sole, they have held up incredibly well. They’ve got a nice wide toe box – ideal if you suffer from bunions or other foot problems.
Not all of Vivobarefoot’s range is vegan, but there is a vegan category with shoes that are made with no animal materials.
Get 15% off your first order when you sign up for the Vivobarefoot mailing list.
VEJA
- Price range: ££ – £££
- Caters for: Men and Women (UK sizes 2 – 11)
- Available from Selfridges
VEJA is an organic, fair trade and ethical shoe brand offering style-conscious footwear.
It uses eco-conscious fabrics such as recycled and organic cotton, recycled plastic bottles, and sustainably harvested wild rubber to make its ethical shoes. What’s more, workers are paid a fair price for their labour.
If you are looking for vegan shoes, it’s worth noting that VEJA is not a completely vegan footwear brand. However, it does have many vegan shoe options in its collections, making it well worth a look for ethical and vegan shoes.
I bought a pair of VEJA shoes back in 2021. In 2026, I’m still regularly wearing the same pair, and they’ve held up really well, making them well worth the money.
Flamingos Life
- Price range: ££ – £££
- Caters for: Men and Women (UK sizes 3 – 11.5)
- Available from Alpinetrek
Flamingos Life is another ethical and sustainable brand that’s worth checking out. It makes stylish, light and comfortable unisex trainers.
Ethically made in Spain, everything about its vegan-friendly trainers has been carefully considered. The uppers are made from organic cotton. The sole is made from natural rubber that has been sustainably extracted. Meanwhile, the eyelets are made from chrome-free metal.
What’s more, every time you make a purchase, Flamingos Life will plant five trees in deforested areas, in collaboration with Eden Reforestation Projects.
Good News
- Price range: £ – £££
- Caters for: Women (UK sizes 3 – 8)
- Available from Fat Buddha
Good News is a small footwear brand on a big mission to improve the environmental and social sustainability of its products. It aims to do this by decreasing its carbon, chemical, and water footprint whilst also caring about the people involved in the making of its shoes.
Its signature low-top vegan trainers are made using a sustainable mix of organic and recycled materials. The uppers are made from biodegradable organic cotton, while the organic cotton laces pass through eyelets made from recycled metal.
Even the soles have been given a second life, made from a mix of recycled car tyres and old rubber shoes.
Worzl Flip Flops
- Price range: £
- Caters for: Men and Women (UK sizes 3 – 12)
- Available from Not On The High St
Finally, if it’s eco-friendly flip-flops that you are after, then look no further than Wiltshire-brand Worzl.
Flip-flops tend to be made from plastic. However, Worzl wants to lighten the load on our planet by using 100% natural rubber, making them plastic-free, biodegradable, recyclable, and vegan-friendly. They’re also made in the UK.
I’ve also got a guide to ethical sandals and flip-flops if it’s summer-specific footwear that you are interested in.
More Sustainable Footwear Guides
If you haven’t found what you are looking for, I’ve got more sustainable and ethical footwear guides:
- Try my big UK guide to ethical slippers for cosy toes.
- To keep your feet dry, try my guide to ethical wellies.
- If recycled materials is your top priority, try my guide to recycled shoes for even more inspiration.
- I’ve also got a handy guide on how to recycle your old shoes, should you be looking of ways to dispose of your old pair.
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Hi Wendy, thank you for a great article, I’m sure to check some of those recommendations.
I do feel however that the use of links to Amazon, a business based on the ruthless destruction of small to medium business competitors and exploitation and overuse of resources, clashes a bit with the values put forward by these brands.
Thanks for your comment, Katell, I completely agree – I only link if there are no other options. Every time I update this post I always try to see if there are new UK stockists for the two shoe brands in question. The post is due an update in the next few months, so I’ll see what the situation is then.
I love Ethletics trainers! They look like converse but are fair trade and ethically produced. Love it! Bought mine from ethicalsuperstore.
Lovely shoes! Especially the Veja trainers.
I love Vegetarian Shoes, they are ethically made in the EU. Some of the designs are a bit ‘off’ but their Airseal range are like DMs and are made in England, I have the Chelsea boots and they have lasted years. I also love their desert boots ‘Bush Boot’ and sandals, like Birkenstocks, really comfy.
For trainers I like Victoria Shoes. They aren’t marketed as ethical but they are made from Organic cotton and are made in Spain so the workers are protected by EU rules. They are not expensive either, you can get them from Sarenza. I’ve got the all-black basic ones because I like the retro school plimsoll look!
Ooh, I will look into Victoria Shoes – thanks for the heads up! And I have to say, I love my Birkenstocks – my pair are 11 years old and still going strong can you believe?!
Great post, as always; thank you! I looked at the Inkkas website and they’ve gorgeous stuff there! Too bad it’s an American company. Also, I don’t like ordering shoes online because it’s so unlikely that they will fit, and then you get to go through all the hassle of returning them. Waiting for the real shops that sell ethical shoes and clothing!
They do have an Irish site and are expanding. Definitely one to watch out for! I agree, I’m not a fan of ordering shoes online but one day I hope too that ethical shoes will be much more mainstream!
Those bee shoes are adorable. My nickname as a kid was Leah Bee so I love all things bee related.