Eco shoes?

With, quite rightly, global concerns now regarding the impact of plastics and other synthetics on the environment, plus what seems to be a range of innovations regarding recycling, packaging and the alternative use of more 'eco-friendly' materials, I wonder if manufacturers such as Inov-8 have an eye to a greener, more sustainable, less polluting future?

I probably get through a pair of running shoes every 12 to 18 months with several pairs 'on-the-go' at any one time. I do feel a pang of guilt when I eventually have to consign these complex, supposedly hi-tech, compound materials to the bin.

Patagonia seem to be an outdoorsy manufacturer who are particularly thoughtful about these issues (or is that just marketing hype?). Some way of recycling these shoes would be great, or better still the use of eco-friendly natural materials in the first place? I know my old running pumps (circa 1960s!) were made of canvas for the uppers, but even those had rubber soles!

Good post Mossdog.

The Brooks Green Silence racing shoe seemed to be going in the right directions, as it was made from almost entirely recycled materials. Great shoe for short road races too. Seems a few manufacturers make similar running shoes, with some from wool and canvas, but not much apart from or casual ro road shoes that I can find. Patagonia do have pretty sound environmental credentials, but they don't seem to do running shoes anymore.

There are lots of places you an recycle worn out running shoes though (eg Runners Need, but they don't give you a £20 voucher anymore...) and Nike have a "Re-use your shoes" campaign to turn old shoes into basketball courts, running tracks etc.

There's a survey about more sustainable trail shoes here:

https://www.ispo.com/en/products/sus...shoe-your-help

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Originally Posted by stumpy

Good post Mossdog.

The Brooks Green Silence racing shoe seemed to be going in the right directions, as it was made from almost entirely recycled materials. Great shoe for short road races too. Seems a few manufacturers make similar running shoes, with some from wool and canvas, but not much apart from or casual ro road shoes that I can find. Patagonia do have pretty sound environmental credentials, but they don't seem to do running shoes anymore.

There are lots of places you an recycle worn out running shoes though (eg Runners Need, but they don't give you a £20 voucher anymore...) and Nike have a "Re-use your shoes" campaign to turn old shoes into basketball courts, running tracks etc.

There's a survey about more sustainable trail shoes here:

https://www.ispo.com/en/products/sus...shoe-your-help

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Thanks Stumpy. Great link with some interesting info and other links to an array of manufacturers.