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The Most Sustainable Sneakers Brands

Sneakers are a go-to shoe for casual wear. The best sneakers are comfortable, durable, and stylish. They should also be sustainable. Sustainability in the shoe space is notoriously tricky because shoes require multiple materials which makes for complex material sourcing and even more complex recycling. ‍

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But there are some great sneaker brands out there putting in the work to source, manufacture and ship more sustainable sneakers, and keep them in use for as long as possible. To choose the most sustainable sneaker brands, we vetted brands based on transparency, carbon emissions measurement and reduction efforts, material selection, and business model. We also looked into ethical labor, packaging and waste, and other environmental efforts. Based on these criteria, we rate brands on a scale of 1 to 5.

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‍Our Top Picks
‍How We Evaluate Brands ‍
Brands to Avoid

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Before you buy new sneakers, here are a few questions to consider:

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Could your current sneakers be mended to your liking? Maybe you can take them to a cobbler.
Do you have a friend or neighbor who has sneakers that could suit your needs? You could reach out in your local Buy Nothing group.
Could you find great sneakers secondhand? Try a secondhand store or marketplace.

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If you’re still in the market for sneakers, we’ve curated our top picks below.

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Commons’ Top Pick

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Commons Rating: Best
Price: starting at $135
Locations: HQ in France; manufacturing in Brazil
Transparency: The VEJA Project

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Veja's signature "V" , is a signature on its full line of sneakers. The sneaker collection offers variety in color and style — from casual to athletic — all while maintaining a classic, timeless style.

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Since 2004, the VEJA team has worked to make every part of the brand's product and supply chain as sustainable as possible. Veja's industry-leading efforts in emissions management and ethical sourcing make them our top pick.

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In 2019, VEJA contracted with UTOPIES to measure and analyze the greenhouse gas emissions from its entire supply chain and operations, delivering a detailed report, revealing its hotspots, and building an emissions reduction strategy. VEJA also traces most of its supply chain and transparently shares the names, locations, and contracts of their producers which is rare. The company works to source the most sustainable materials via pre-paid agreements with suppliers which ensure pay visibility. While they haven’t perfected everything quite yet, Veja is making standout progress with organic cotton, bio-based vegan leather alternatives, LWG certified leather, natural Amazonian rubber, and recycled materials.

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In a particularly striking move, the brand has eliminated advertising and marketing, instead choosing to invest its money into their supply chain partners. Veja also opened repair and recycling stores in five locations in Europe and the US.

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Commons Community Reviews

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Reviews from Commons users who have bought from Veja.

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Quality: ★★★★ Recommend to a friend: ★★★
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‍Pros: They're stylish and look great. I wore them a lot, definitely every week, and they lasted me for about 2 years. Got lots of compliments.
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Cons: I was hoping they'd last longer. But I'm not sure that's realistic for regular-wear use sneakers? Also, they were pretty comfortable, but pinched my toes a bit at the top. By the end of their life, it kind of hurt my pinky toes to wear them.

‍— SP, June 2024. SP wore Veja sneakers a few times a week from 2021-2023.

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Comfort Pick

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Commons Rating: Best
Price: starting at $90
Locations: HQ in U.S.; manufacturing in South Korea
Transparency: 2022 Flight Plan

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Allbirds debuted with its iconic wool sneakers in 2016. Since then, its sneakers offering has expanded across fabrics and materials, while keeping its rounded, signature silhouette and low-impact fabrics made from things like wool, sugarcane, and trees.

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From material selection to energy procurement, Allbirds continues to be an industry leader in reducing the emissions of sneakers. As a Climate Neutral Certified brand, Allbirds measures, reports, and offsets the full emissions associated with its operations and supply chain. The brand also has an open-sourced a carbon footprinting tool to encourage other sneaker brands to measure the impact of their products.

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To push the industry even further, Allbirds will be releasing their first net zero carbon shoe in 2024, using regenerative wool, bio-based midsole foam, innovative bioplastic, and sugarcane-based packaging.

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While Allbirds' emission reporting is thorough, we’d like to see the brand share more information about its ethical labor practices, such as Fair Trade certification and evidence of a living wage. Of the sneaker brands we evaluated, the Commons community reviewed Allbirds’ products as the most comfortable, which was a chief complaint for other sneakers.

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Commons Community Reviews

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Reviews from Commons users who have bought from Allbirds.

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Quality: ★★★★★ Recommend to a friend: ★★★★★

Pros: Super comfortable, super light and recyclable!
Cons: none

‍— Jeffrey M., June 2024 Jeffrey has worn Allbirds sneakers a few times a week since April 2021.

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Quality: ★★★★★ Recommend to a friend: ★★★★★

Pros: The shoes are simple yet very comfortable!
Cons: none

‍— Daniel L., June 2024 Daniel has worn Allbirds sneakers a few times a week since 2024.

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Quality: ★★★★★ Recommend to a friend: ★★★★★

Pros: High quality, very comfortable and easy to slide on/off
Cons: If I had to go back, I would have picked a color other than white since it now appears dirty

‍— Christopher S., June 2024 Christopher has worn Allbirds sneakers a few times a week since April 2024.

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How Commons Evaluates Brands

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Commons' mission is to help you sift through the greenwashing to find the most sustainable choices for you. We're empowering a collective shift to more intentional spending while influencing brands to operate more sustainably.

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Commons’ Brand Ratings

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Best: Throughout their supply chains, these brands are taking responsibility for their impact on the people and planet. They're sustainability leaders in their industry, doing more than their fair share.
Good: These brands are exceeding expectations by actively reducing their carbon footprint and minimizing waste.
Fair: These brands are meeting the minimum sustainable efforts we'd expect from brands their size.
Poor: These are medium-to-large brands with fewer sustainability practices than we'd expect at their scale. These may also be small brands that lack public reporting on their sustainability goals or efforts.
Harmful: These brands are far from meeting the minimum sustainability efforts and reporting that we'd expect from them. Their business and manufacturing practices likely harm ecosystems and employees.

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Commons' Criteria and Methodology

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Our criteria focus on the root causes of the climate crisis. Brands that excel in these areas are building more sustainable industries.

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Materials: How is this brand using sustainable materials, packaging, sourcing, and shipping to reduce its impact?
Slow Consumption: Does this brand encourage conscious consumption and facilitate long-term product use?
Accountability: Is this brand transparent about its sustainability goals and how it's working toward them?

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We aim to empower people to get what they need by buying less and buying better. When we do need to buy things, we can use our dollars to support brands actively building more sustainable economic systems. Here are some key tenants to our methodology:

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Transparency is crucial: Our approach is data-driven and expert-curated. Our team of carbon experts finds publicly available information to evaluate, summarize, and rate each brand.
Scaling expectations: We have higher expectations of big brands because they have a larger impact and resources to invest in more sustainable practices.
Evaluations are evolving: We may not always get it right. We welcome questions, feedback, or additional information. On each brand page, you can see the date each rating was last updated.

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