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The conventional footwear industry is a dirty business; it produces more than 20 billion pairs of shoes a year. About 300 million pairs of shoes end up in landfills each year, with most taking 30-40 years to decompose because they’re predominantly made up of plastic and polymers.
Avoid conventional sandals made with toxic dyes, glues, and polluting materials. They are made with a toxic tanning process and synthetic materials or other petroleum-derived materials.
❌ Toxic leather: Conventional leather tanning may contain chromium, arsenic, and other chemicals that pollute the environment and water supplies.
❌ Petroleum-based: Conventional shoes, midsoles, and insoles are environmentally harmful and made of petroleum-based foam.
❌ Chrome Tanned Leather: 90% of leather is chrome tanned. Chrome tanning is a widely used method in the leather industry, involving the treatment of animal hides with chromium salts, primarily chromium(III) sulfate. Toxic wastewater from tanneries can contaminate local ecosystems. It can lead to toxic chromium (VI) formation, which is harmful to humans and the environment.
❌ PFAS: They contain toxic PFAS that are not only harmful to you but also to the environment. They are found especially in waterproof footwear
Avoid Greenwashing sandals made by brands that pretend to be sustainable, eco-friendly, and claim to be made with safer materials when they are not. They will use misleading marketing claims to convince you to buy their products.
Many came with vegan leather alternatives, bringing more plastic to the world:
❌ PVC: Most vegan leathers today are made from PVC, made with petroleum. PVC is, for this reason, harmful to the environment.
❌ PU is another synthetic vegan or faux leather. By definition, PU stands for Polyurethane, a plastic polymer derived from petroleum. Even less than PVC, PU still requires petroleum.
❌ Toxic dyes: toxic to the workers and the environment.
The best organic sandals are made with natural and sustainable materials
✅ Here is the most eco-friendly vegan leather on the market, made with renewable resources and also by-products, that is made with plant-based material that would have been wasted.
Certifications
I avoid brands that are made with toxic and controversial materials that pollute the environment, which can also include footwear! 🔎I searched for the best sustainable brands on the market, and so excited to introduce you to these approved shoe brands.
✅ On this page, you will find the best organic and sustainable sandals on the market made by responsible brands using the most natural material available.
My sustainable sandal brand recommendations are:
Shop with my links to support my research! 💖
10% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
15% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
5% off code: PRETTYORGANICGIRL
🌿Nisolo is a newly approved sustainable brand!
It offers sustainable shoes that are certified by LWG
🌿 These sustainable sandals are made with non-toxic and sustainable leather.
Leather Working Group-certified: the world’s leading environmental certification for leather manufacturing. It audits leather manufacturers and their processes.
They feature byproduct material, 100% living wages for their workers, 0% net carbon, and transparency in their process and labels; they divert 7,052 used shoes. They embrace leather as one of the more sustainable options available when it’s made and processed responsibly. They focus on the following 5 areas:
They have collected and diverted 7,052 pairs of used shoes from landfills, averaging 2,350 pairs per year. Send yours
MATERIAL: leather byproduct of the meat industry. Made in Mexico
🌿Biankina makes amazing shoe wear!
These Organic Espadrille Wedges are made with the most sustainable, organic, biodegradable and recyclable material on the market!
🌿 These organic sandals are among the most sustainable around! Great for this spring or summer.
Pack them for sustainable trips!
These organic Espadrille Wedges are made from organic cotton canvas; they are comfy, sustainable, and breathable!
Featuring a 3.5-inch wedge heel, they add a touch of elegance and are environmentally friendly with a Mediterranean-inspired design!
These open shoes are sustainable, effortlessly chic, made with biodegradable, recyclable jute fiber that is carbon positive and insulates to reduce heat conductivity.
They are handcrafted by Spanish skilled artisans
MATERIAL: Certified Organic cotton canvas, Natural Jute, and vulcanized rubber sole
🌱 The Koio Rose
🌿 These sustainable sandals are handcrafted in Italy from Italian leather in a fresh Lilac colorway, it has slim foot-framing straps and rest on a comfortable 2.25-inch block heel. It's detailed with an adjustable buckle so you can customize the fit.
💖 These luxury sustainable shoes are handmade in Tuscany, Italy. Constructed from LWG-certified full-grain Italian leather (Goat). Lined with LWG-certified Italian leather (Goat). Set on a 2.25-inch block heel. Detailed with an adjustable buckle fastening. Fitted with a cushioned insole
✅ LWG Gold-certified leather: it's responsibly tanned in a facility that safely and carefully manages emissions, energy and water consumption, and waste. ✅ FSC®-certified natural rubber: 50% of this sneaker’s sole is Forest Stewardship Council®-certified (FSC®) natural rubber. This certification ensures the rubber is sourced from a forest that’s responsibly managed to prevent deforestation.
MATERIAL: made from leather that's certified by the Leather Working Group (LWG), meaning the hides are responsibly tanned in facilities that safely and carefully manage emissions, energy, and water consumption, and waste.
MADE IN: Italy, designed in New York
These Vegan Leather Cork Sandals are offered in three colors.
These organic flip-flops are crafted with sustainable materials: recycled microfiber vegan uppers and the cork midsole.
Cork is sourced sustainably from the bark layer of the cork oak.
It offers natural shock absorption and excellent cushioning.
Great for this spring or summer. Pack them for sustainable trips!
These shoes are sustainable, effortlessly chic, made with biodegradable, recyclable jute fiber that is carbon positive and insulates to reduce heat conductivity. They are handcrafted by Spanish skilled artisans
MATERIAL: GRS-certified recycled fibers and Natural cork sole
NAE CORA CORK Brown
🌿 These organic sandals are made with natural cork; they are one of the most sustainable on the market!
An made with Breathable and hypoallergenic microfiber Lining. Insole: Non-removable, moisture-absorbing insole.
These shoes are breathable, light, and eco-friendly.
Women's mid-heel sandals with embossed natural cork: an eco-friendly material for a chic ankle-strap design. Lined with certified microfiber in a zero-CO2 emission system.
Practical, eco-friendly, and effortlessly stylish.
MATERIAL: 80% Organic Cotton, 17% Recycled Polyamide, 3% Elastane
Earth Runners Organic Sandals
🌿 These natural sandals are made with organic and natural ingredients, plus they are grounding!
They offer a minimalist design, organic material, and grounded conductive laces™ that allow the feet to engage in earthing, or grounding.
🌿 Earthing has many benefits, including healthy circadian biology through its normalizing action (or 'normalizing effect') on cortisol hormone secretion and blood flow, helping lower inflammation, improve sleep, and speed recovery.
Created by an engineer, this design allows for running with great stability. These natural sandals allow us to maintain our connection to the earth, while allowing us to operate and explore even in the wildest landscape this planet has to offer.
MATERIAL: GOTS Certified Organic Cotton, Earth Grip (Moisture-wicking Canvas, GOTS Certified Organic Small Batch Dye
🌿 Origo The Huarache Slip-On Wide. Origo makes sustainable women's shoes, sustainable men's shoes, and sustainable kids' shoes.
🌿 These natural sandals are made with natural and non-toxic leather. Woven sandals handmade in Mexico.
Sustainably sourced natural materials. Smart packaging limits excessive waste and is free from single-use plastic
Certified by The Leather Working Group (LWG): the world’s largest leather sustainability program that trains companies on best practices to reduce their environmental impact.
Natural leather: comes from local tanneries that are environmentally friendly.
Chrome-free leather: non-toxic
Vegetable-Tanned Leather (The Gold Standard for Non-Toxic): It uses natural tannins derived from plant sources like tree bark (oak, chestnut), roots, and fruits.
MATERIAL: cotton canvas, Soy protein. Made in Mexico
NAE TUPAI Green
Carefully handcrafted in Spain with sustainable materials.
Cork: ecological, water-resistant, hypoallergenic, and very soft to the touch.
Piñatex: Organic material made from pineapple leaves that result from the waste of the pineapple harvest.
These are breathable, light, and eco-friendly.
MATERIAL: Insole: Cork with anatomical shape. Top: Piñatex with cross design (straps: 5.5 cm / 2.17 inches wide)
Outsole: Recycled tire
🌿Rothy's The Twist Slide
These sustainable sandals are made with recycled materials.
They use sustainable and natural materials in their footwear:
✅ Rothy’s factory is the world’s first shoe manufacturer to receive both LEED Gold and TRUE Zero Waste Platinum certification.
✅ Rothy’s has purchased 1,356,434.34 kilograms of yarn, which is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, as certified by the SCS Recycled Content certification.
MATERIAL: 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, as certified by the SCS Recycled Content certification. MADE IN: designed in their San Francisco design studio, made in Dongguan, China, where they own and operate their factory.