Global warming and other environmental emergencies continue to make headlines around the world every day. And because of this, people are more aware than ever of the environmental impact they have and the efforts being taken by the brands they support. As a retailer, we take great pride in knowing we associate ourselves with many brands taking steps to reduce their impact on the environment.

If being kind to our planet is as important to you as it is to us, check out the list below of some of the brands we carry that are going above and beyond to create a cleaner environment.

Birkenstock

Arguably the most iconic sandal, Birkenstock is one of the leading brands when it comes to limiting environmental impact. They use sustainable materials and source as many materials as possible from renewable sources.

Eco-Friendly Practices:

• Sustainable Cork Footbeds – Birkenstock sandals feature a cork footbed. This cork is sourced sustainably and is harvested without harming the tree—making it possible to harvest cork from the tree again in the future.
• Natural Latex – Natural latex is used as the binding agent in Birkenstock sandals. Rather than using artificial latex to bind the many parts of their sandals together, Birkenstock has switched to natural liquid rubber sourced from rubber trees.

Earth

Earth is another brand leading the charge on environmental responsibility— not surprising based on their name. And on top of environmentally-friendly shoes, they also have many other socially-responsible initiatives underway.

Eco-Friendly Practices:

• Trees For The Future – Earth has partnered with Trees for The Future, an organization that plants trees in developing countries. Many of the planting takes place in Burundi, Uganda, Ghana and Tasmania, and as of 2019, Earth has planted over 500,000 trees.
• Feel Good Footwear – Earth takes it upon themselves to make sure you can feel good about wearing their shoes. They use water-based adhesives rather than harmful glues, a vegetable-tanning process to tan their products, they package all shoes in small boxes with no glue or staples, and they have committed to energy reduction and waste reduction initiatives during their manufacturing process.

On the socially-responsible side, Earth has donated over 13,000 pairs of shoes since 2015 through Soles4Souls.

Reef

Reef is a brand that was created with sun, sand, beaches and waves in mind. And because of this, it’s not surprising to hear that many of their environmental contributions are focused on our world’s water.

Eco-Friendly Practices:

• Cleaner Beaches – In 2019 alone, Reef’s Better Beach Alliance, Urban Surf 4 Kids and other eco-friendly partnerships cleaned up over 2,450 beaches and removed nearly 301,200 pounds of trash.
• Recycled Materials – Like other brands, Reef also sources sustainable materials for their footwear. For instance, their Ortho-Bounce Woven sandal is made 100% from PET derived from post-consumer plastic bottles. They even add a special additive called Eco-One to their footbeds and outsoles that enhances their biodegradation.
• Corporate Practices – And if all that wasn’t enough, Reef also bans single-use plastics from their offices and uses energy-efficient technology, motion sensors and LED lights whenever possible.

Kamik

Kamik is one of the newest winter boot brands here at Becker Shoes and not only that, but they’re also one of the most environmentally aware brands that we carry.

Eco-Friendly Practices:

• Zero Waste – Yes, you read that correctly, we said zero waste. And that’s because it’s true! Kamik’s Ontario factory produces zero waste.
• Sustainable Felt Liners – Kamik’s felt boot liners are some of the most sustainable in the industry! 98% of them are made from recycled plastics, and they’re also designed and made in Canada— reducing CO2 emissions caused by international shipping. In fact, each winter boot felt liner contains 3 recycled plastic bottles. And since they’ve started using recycled plastic bottles in their liners, Kamik estimates they have recycled and reused over 15 million plastic bottles!
• Recycled Boots – On top of their recycled felt liners, Kamik has also found another way to maximize their recycling. Kamik is one of only a few brands that offer customers a prepaid shipping label to return their old boots to Kamik to be recycled into new pairs.
• Lean Manufacturing Machine – For over 25 years, Kamik has worked on refining their manufacturing processes. From producing zero waste at their New Hamburg, Ontario facility to significantly reducing their water and electricity consumption, Kamik is continually looking for ways to achieve a complete zero-waste approach.

Blundstone

Everyone’s favourite Chelsea boot manufacturer is also one that is doing its part to create a cleaner earth. And it all started in Tasmania, the birthplace of Blundstone and an island that is internationally renowned for its environment’s cleanliness.

Eco-Friendly Practices:

• Recycled Materials – Blundstone maximizes the use of recycled materials throughout their manufacturing and packaging processes. They also make a conscious effort to minimize the use of raw material, chemicals and fossil fuels every step of the way. The boxes their boots arrive in are also 100% recyclable and created from renewable resources.
• Surpassing Regulations – Blundstone takes great pride in meeting and often exceeding federal, state and local government regulations that pertain to preserving the environment.

Other Brands That Are Doing Their Part

Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough time to highlight the efforts of every brand we carry. But lucky for you, you’ll soon be able to read about the environmental efforts of the brands above as well as the ones listed below on our website! Stay tuned for the launch of this new page and other great content.

• Asportuguesas
• El Naturalista
• Fly
• Hartjes
• Rockport
• Merrell
• Think
• Smartwool
• Sabatini
• New Balance
• Skechers
• Clarks
• Columbia
• Sorel
• Martens
• Sperry
• Saucony
• HushPuppies
• Keds
• Ara Shoes
• Coxx Borba

Environmental impact and preservation continue to be topics of discussion every day for both brands and people. It’s never been more important to understand the ecological impact of the brands we associate ourselves with. As a consumer, it means you can feel good about purchasing or promoting a brand, and as a retailer, it means we can feel good knowing customers leave with shoes that not only look good and fit well but ones that are socially responsible too.