Your kids are the center of your universe, but must they grow so quickly? No sooner have you bought an adorable little pair of shoes than their toes are all squished, and you’ve got to endure another yet eventful trip to the shoe store. Enter: sustainable kid’s shoes.
Yes, they are still shoes but at least with a pair of these you’ll leave some of your eco-woes at home—like how those shoes are impacting the planet your little tyke will someday inherit.
Hopefully, they’ll take note and when the time comes for them to buy their own, they’ll happily walk in your eco-friendly footsteps by continuing to support ethical shoe brands.
To help you (and them) when that say comes, we’re rolling our a new Brand Rating System, which will break down and score brands based on 22 criteria, such as climate action and product durabulity and performance. We’ll be refreshing content (this article included) using it in coming months, but in the meantime, read about it here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
The Most Sustainable Shoes Your Kids Can Kick Around In
They may not make eco-friendly toys, but PLAE is about all things play, so its sustainable kids’ footwear is made with rough and tumble in mind—so much so that the brand encourages you to resell them through their circular fashion partners.
“Wear plants, not plastics” is the motto of Allbirds. Their washable their Smallbirds eco-friendly shoes for kids will be a boon to parents of messy explorers everywhere.
Index: Sustainable Kid's Shoe Brands
- Plae Jump to brand
- Noble Jump to brand
- Allbirds Jump to brand
- VEJA Jump to brand
- Native Shoes Jump to brand
Plae
About PLAE
Price Range: $46–$115
PLAE is a brand name that’s synonymous with all things play, including a range of eco-friendly kids’ shoes designed to handle the challenges of kids’ play—from toddler tennis shoes and the Chloe Mary Janes to big kid snow boots.
It’s not just kids they cater to, either. Their shoes encourage the oldest to the youngest to embrace their inner child and the benefits of play.
PLAE’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
PLAE kids’ sustainable shoes utilize recycled PETfor the uppers, adhered with water-based glues. We’re not sure what the sole components are made of.
Supply chain & labor practices:
PLAE shoes for kids are hand-made in Vietnam in solar-powered factories. While we know they’re manufactured by hand across 300 steps, we don’t know where or under what ethical protections.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
You’ve heard of “pay-it-forward” but how about “PLAE-it-forward”? The Kidizen REWEAR Collective encourages parents to get even more out of each purchase. You can pass on any outgrown eco shoes for toddlers in exchange for PLAE rewards that can be used for future purchases.
Inclusivity:
PLAE shoes are designed and engineered to allow for the accommodation of various orthotics and AFOs.
Community & charitable giving:
Customers can donate their PLAE rewards to help support RACE4Good, a Global Youth League founded by Linda Cruse.
Noble
About Noble
Price Range: $65–$170
Noble believes that sustainability isn’t just for adults; sustainability for kids is just as important. That’s why they sell some core essentials for raising an eco tot—toys, PJs, clothes, and footwear—as well as clothing for Mom.
While Noble does offer its own line of clothing, they primarily sell the wares of other sustainable brands that are judged on strict criteria, including eco-friendly toddler shoes made by Petit Nord and Glerup. Whether you want something warm and cozy or dressy like the Low T-Bar Flower, their small but well-rounded selection has a touch of everything.
Noble’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Petit Nord toddler booties and dress hoes pair lightweight recycled rubber soles with a “100% ecological” vegetable-tanned and chrome-free leather upper.
While Glerups eco-friendly baby shoes are made from naturally processed felted merino wool with a soft, calf-leather sole. We’re not sure how this calf leather is processed and will be reaching out to ask.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Glerups shoes are handmade in a small workshop in Denmark. Petit Nord’s sustainable shoes for kids are hand-made in four different family-run workshops in Portugal. All Petit’s Nord’s materials are also sourced in Europe, keeping the supply chain local and under strict EU ethical standards.
While they don’t make shoes themselves, Peru is the manufacturing base for Noble’s in-house garments under a vertical manufacturing operation. Even the 100% GOTS-certified organic Pima cotton used in their clothing is grown, milled, and sewn there.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Peruvian Pima Cotton is drought tolerant which means it takes 50% less water to grow. Between Noble’s own localized manufacturing and that of many of their partner brands, they’re able to reduce shipping emissions within the supply chain.
You can mail in your used Noble threads for store credit
Allbirds
About Allbirds
Price Range: $55–$80
Allbirds says it all with the slogan “Wear Plants, Not Plastic”. Replacing petroleum-based synthetic materials with natural ones, their Smallbirds line of ethical baby shoes and kids’ shoes are for parents who want their kids to rock the same comfy style.
Allbirds kids’ shoes come in the same two styles for little and big kids, both of which are completely washable—a priceless feature when you consider how much your kids love to get dirty.
Allbirds’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
ZQRx regenerative wool is used for Smallbirds Wool Runners and Loungers alike, meaning it’s both ethical and grown using regenerative agriculture practices that restore land and sequester carbon. The outsole is FSC-certified natural rubber and the laces are recycled polyester.
Allbird’s adult sustainable sneakers use either a 48% bio-based castor bean oil midsole or a sugarcane-based carbon-negative EVA midsole, but we’re not sure which applies to their Smallbirds line.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As Certified B Corp, Allbirds only sources from the best. Products are assembled in WRAP-certified or other ethically-vetted factories in China, Vietnam, and South Korea (in the case of their sustainable shoes for kids). Along with basic fair trade equivalent standards, their policy against subcontracting within Allbird’s Code of Conduct ensures the company can monitor the working conditions.
The ethical wool comes from New Zealand, a country with an excellent reputation for humane sheep farming. The fibers are spun at Europe’s only EC-certified sustainable wool mill in Milan, Italy.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
The Allbirds business is certified Climate Neutral by funding high-impact carbon projects. Project funding is across three sectors: land, energy, and air. Any projects invested in also have to be Climate Neutral and B Corp Certified. After a 12% emission reduction last year, their Flight Plan lays out a course of action to continue this trend, like helping factories switch to 100% renewable energy by 2025.
“Every box deserves a second chance,” so expect your purchases to arrive in 100% recycled cardboard with the product’s carbon footprint on the outside— 2.9kg CO2 for their Smallbirds Wool Loungers.
Community & charitable giving:
Allbirds has a partnership with Soles4Souls which helps returned shoes find new homes with those who need them most.
VEJA
About VEJA
Price Range: $70–$135
VEJA is a Brazilian word for “look”, which is exactly what you should be doing at this French footwear company’s range of adult and fair trade kids’ shoes.
Rather than using petroleum-based materials and cheap manufacturing methods, they create high-quality shoes made from recycled, partially bio-based, or natural materials. If you already own a pair of their sustainable running shoes and are seeking a matching pair for your mini me, check out the recycled polyester Alveomesh Sneaker.
VEJA’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Some feature chrome-free or vegetable-tanned leather sourced leather, sourced from LWG Gold-certified and REACH-compliant tanneries. Vegan styles swap out leather for B-mesh, made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Corn-based vegan leather and Hexamesh are additional eco-friendly materials commonly used.
Other components are largely bio-based materials, including sugar cane insoles and midsoles, rice waste and natural Amazonian rubber outsoles, castor bean inserts, and organic cotton harvested in Brazil and Peru canvas and laces. Recycled polyester makes up most shoe linings.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The brand’s range of sneakers is produced in Brazil, where workers are well-compensated and work in ILO-compliant spaces. As a Certified B Corp, they go that extra mile by purchasing various materials, including their fair trade organic cotton and rubber for twice the market price.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
VEJA has taken a company-wide approach to its commitment to reducing carbon emissions, starting with an in-depth report that looked at the manufacturing process from start to finish.
Numerous changes have been made including the use of public transport, bicycles, and walking to the office, increasing the use of more ecological leather, forgoing advertising, and choosing clean energy. VEJA stores in France and NYC accept old sustainable footwear for repair or to be recycled.
Community & charitable giving:
The logistics side of VEJA is entrusted to vulnerable, disabled, and socially excluded people. Atelier Sans Frontieres manages the company’s logistics activity from a purpose-built warehouse south of Paris.
Native Shoes
About Native Shoes
Price Range: $32–$65
If you couldn’t guess from the name, Native Shoes knows footwear—for both full-size or still growing feet.
This vegan shoe brand’s sustainable kids’ shoes are designed for active little feet with a lightweight design that won’t slow kids down while helping them Live Lightly™. You can shop for boots, sandals, or the ever-popular laceless Jefferson sneaker, whose bio-based soles decrease emissions by 22%.
Native Shoes’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The Jefferson combines a Sugarlite sugarcane-derived upper with injection-molded bio-based EVA resin. Knitted uppers in the Nova Hydroknit range are made using 50% recycled PET yarn. Other materials include pineapple leaf fiber, cotton, and repurposed algae foam, though there are also some to avoid (PU, microfleece, and standard EVA).
Supply chain & labor practices:
The shoes in the Native collections are currently made in China and Vietnam. Stringent ethical practices are in place including the prohibition of forced labor, monitoring of working hours, and regulation of fair wages.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Native has been focusing on its carbon impact for a few years and looking for ways it can make a difference using science-based targets and calculated emissions reports. The Jefferson is one of the lowest-impact shoes in the market, producing just 3.85 kg CO2e per pair (compared to 10-20kg for traditional shoes).
The Native Shoes Remix Project takes your kiddos well-loved soles and gives them a new lease of life by grinding down the materials to create seating, insulation, playground flooring, and more. Other brands sent in are sorted and donated to good causes or recycled.
