Simple Shoes has been quietly making the most sustainable footwear in the US for the past few years, while also making some serious loot. Apparently hippies have more money than one would think, or, eco shoes aren’t just for hippies anymore. Either way, Damian Joseph of BusinessWeek.com dove deep into the company’s BIO-D collection only to discover the formula for crafting a greener shoe line is actually super Simple…

Simple Shoes (DECK) has always been against something. When the company made its debut in 1991, it was against gaudy, futuristic sneakers and coveted logos. In 2005, it came out against using materials that trash the Earth. Both moves paid off handsomely, lifting sales. Now the subsidiary of Deckers Outdoors is turning against stuff that lasts longer than people do, with a line of biodegradable shoes set for next spring.

Rubber can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Simple is cutting its lifespan to 20 years with its new EcoPure technology. Licensed from Bio-Tec Environmental, an Albuquerque, N.M., company, EcoPure is an organic compound with tiny microbes that eat away at the bonds that hold rubber, plastic, and EVA (a vinyl/rubber-like material) together. It works only under the hot and humid conditions of typical landfills and leaves behind nothing but dirt.

Simple is adding EcoPure to the soles of most of its shoes and flip flops, starting with a new line that highlights the technology: BIO-D. The company has plenty of reasons to think this will boost revenue. Its last green line—Earth-friendly shoes called Planet Walkers, which came out in 2008—helped push Simple’s sales up by 27.4% last year, to $17.2 million, from $13.5 million in 2007.

shipping boots to big retailers

National Sales Manager Brad Little hardly thinks Simple’s eco-concern is the company’s only reason for success. He says only 10% to 15% of its customers are green buyers. More important, he says, is designing shoes that are sufficiently good-looking that customers will pull them off a store shelf to begin with. “You have to compete on the same playing field as other companies—with materials and functions,” he says. “If you’re not on that level, sustainability isn’t going to get you there.”

Continue reading Simple Shoes Leaps Forward by Damian Joseph at BusinessWeek.com…

I was recently introduced to Mola boots and shoes, my attention immediately grabbed by the vibrant colors and patterns of vibrant, one-of-a kind, vegan, fair trade shoes being produced by The Aware Network. What’s Mola? Mola is a traditional Central and South American art form consisting of intricately layered textile art, hand-stitched Mola is created by the women of the Kuna tribe of Panama and Colombia.

Jasmine Wallace and Daniel Rawson created Mola shoes because they wanted to walk the talk, so to speak. Jasmine’s mother is Colombian, a heritage Jasmine is closely connected with and inspired by, and which led to this project. They felt Mola shoes could be a great alternative to mass produced big brands, and a way they could contribute to society along socially ethical, eco-conscious and spiritually fulfilling lines.

Time to snag those gorgeous Charmoné shoes you have long coveted.   Closing out this collection, which means you save over $200 a pair!  $299 Italian designed, eco friendly, designer footwear for $49.  Seriously.

Here’s their story:

Charmoné: Charming shoes, in harmony with the earth.
Our mission is to create beautiful, luxurious, sexy shoes that are also sustainable and cruelty-free. Every shoe incorporates European design and quality while using only animal-free, eco-friendly materials. We believe no one should sacrifice their style conscious just to serve their social conscience. Charmoné is focused on compassionate design:

COMPASSION FOR ANIMALS
This all started when a vegan friend, often clad in the latest, coolest, designer leather shoes, complained that all non-leather shoes were either a) ugly;  b) poor quality;  and often c) both! It got us thinking- why all the fuss about leather anyway? Isn’t there a way, in this modern age, to get away from using animal skins as the ultimate luxury? Traditionally, non-leather shoes were considered inferior due to poor construction, lack of breathability and generally being harder on the environment. We found a way to eliminate every traditional barrier by using high-quality Italian microfibers that are constructed exactly like leather, making them breathable, lightweight and colorfast. Not to mention water-resistant! So you can easily be a nice person while wearing killer heels. We won’t tell anyone.

COMPASSION FOR THE PLANET
How can you use synthetic materials and call it eco-friendly? Well, believe it or not, the process of creating microfiber is less polluting to the environment than the process of tanning, factory farming and processing leather. In addition, the materials are free from harmful PVCs, using instead a light polyurethane coating which is gentler on the environment. We also incorporate sustainable practices throughout the production process, from using last boards made from 70% pre-consumer waste to using recycled materials in our boxes, business cards and other printed materials. Who says it’s not easy being Green?

COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE
Charmoné shoes are made sweatshop-free in Italy and Brazil, ensuring you enjoy quality craftsmanship without contributing to harsh working conditions. In addition to minimizing the impact of manufacturing, Charmoné takes it a step further by donating 5% of all profits to charities that support people, animals and the environment. The first charity slated for donation is Women for Women International, a charity that provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources they need to move from poverty and crisis to stability and self-sufficiency. We feel incredibly lucky to be doing what we love and hope to help others do the same.

Shoemakers over the past fifty years have come to rely heavily on harsh chemical glues, dyes, and leather treatments to mass produce footwear. There are certainly a few eco superstars crafting truly sustainable shoes, like the Green Toe line from Simple Shoes and the handmade sandals from Chicago-based Mohop. What these lines don’t provide much of is the hot factor. For many years, fashionistas have tossed aside their well-meaning desires to save the planet in the search for a pair of hot shoes for a date, cocktail party, or those random moments when a trip to the grocery store requires four-inch stilettos to get the job done. Now at long last, Animal Planet-obsessed fashion hounds have an answer to their footwear needs…

Beyond Skin has created a line of uber fabulous footwear that is stitched, lasted and finished by hand in a small, family-run factory in East London. Started by Brit makeup artist Natalie Dean back in 2001 in an effort to create stylish vegan shoes, Beyond Skin has evolved over the years from just cruelty-free to eco-conscious, too. So often, vegan-centric shoe lines are manufactured with tons of attention paid to saving animals from the slaughterhouse and zero attention paid to preserving the environment in which the animals live.

TOMS Shoes introduced the world to the One-For-One business model back in early 2006. For every pair of shoes they sold, one pair would be given to a child in need. Some called it simply genius, others called it fiscal suicide. Over the past three years, TOMS has given over 100,000 pairs of shoes to kids in Argentina, South Africa, and Mississippi. Not only have TOMS canvas slip-ons become quite trendy, but it seems the One-For-One methodology has caught on as well.

Element Skateboards has just launched a collaboration with TOMS. For every TOMS co-branded skateboard they sell, one board will be given to a kid at the Indigo Skate Camp near Durban, South Africa. Skateboarding gives the kids at Indigo a positive activity to revolve around; much needed for those living in the midst of one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

A few weeks ago in Venice, CA, there was a quaint little party at the TOMS “pop-up” store on Abbot Kinney Blvd. Hipsters, skaters, locals, and staff drank beer, talked skating, browsed shoes, and rocked out to one of LA’s finest deejays, Mr. Alfred Hawkins. Blake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS, and President of Element, Johnny Schillereff, got up to speak about how the partnership came to be, while the half drunken crowd of do-gooders whistled and catcalled their favorite heros of conscious commerce.

Lancelot Clark is the sixth generation of the famed Quaker shoe dynasty Clarks. Back in the sixties, Lance conceptualized the iconic Wallabee moccassin, still worn today by everyone from preppy Connecticut housewives to members of the infamous Wu-Tang Clan. After some stressful years running the family’s international brand, Lance took over Terra Plana in the early 1990′s. Along with his son Galahad, Lance has transformed Terra Plana into one of the most stylish and best-selling brands in the sustainable shoe industry.

Terra Plana utilizes eco-conscious and innovative materials such as chrome-free and vegetable tanned leathers, biodegradable soling, recycled seat belts and jeans, reclaimed rubber, and e-leather, a unique blend of leather and textile fibers ‘re-woven’ and finished in a way that makes it practically indistinguishable from fine quality leather. Lance and Galahad are both huge proponents of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In addition to durability and biodegradability, they address reparability, lightness, and anatomic design.”Terra Plana regularly re-evaluates what we can do to minimize waste and toxin use, and maximize product use and love.”