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Celebrate Earth Day With These Sustainable Sneakers

Celebrate Earth Day With These Sustainable Sneakers

A few of our favorite sneakers made with recycled and sustainable materials for a better tomorrow.

Matt DeSciora

It would be an understatement to say that sneaker culture has changed in the last decade. If you compare trends from 2012 versus 2022, you’ll notice that there are far more collaborations between brands and artists, fashion designers, and musicians now than there were back then. You’ll also likely notice that the Air Jordan 1 and the Nike Dunk are more popular today than ten years ago, and that Kanye West is no longer with Nike and instead reps team adidas.

If you’re looking for a less obvious example of sneaker culture’s evolution, you’d be hard pressed to find a better precedent than the rise of sustainability. In 2022, sneakers and sustainability aren’t mutually exclusive to one another. Now more than ever, shoe companies are leaning into the idea that sneakers, like so many other objects we use daily, can be made from recycled textiles and be just as good, if not better, as ones made from traditional materials.

Nike’s Move to Zero campaign is an industry leader in the zero carbon and zero waste movement. Adidas is also making serious efforts to reduce its carbon footprint through collaborations with non-profit organizations like Parley For the Oceans and vintage curator Sean Wotherspoon.

If you’ve been thinking about ways to reduce your own carbon footprint, you can, quite literally, with your feet by getting yourself a pair of environmentally friendly sneakers. These are some of our favorite options from Nike and adidas that are designed with recycled materials.

Nike Blazer Low Flyleather “Earth Day”

A collaboration between artist Steven Harrington and Nike, the Blazer Low Fly Leather “Earth Day” promotes awareness for the health of our environment with an environmentally friendly construction that includes sustainable, synthetic materials made from up to 50% recycled natural leather.

Nike Air Force 1 Low Fly Leather “Earth Day”

Harrington and Nike collaborated on not one, but several popular shoes in 2019’s “Earth Day” collection, including this Air Force 1 Low Fly Leather. The retro basketball shoe’s design also consists of recycled natural leather.

Sean Wotherspoon x adidas ZX 8000 Super Earth

Whether with Nike or adidas, Sean Wotherspoon’s sneaker collaborations have always been constructed with eco-friendly materials. The vintage curator’s second project with adidas, the ZX 8000 Super Earth, features a blend of recycled polyester and canvas in a mismatched patchwork style, amid other one-of-a-kind design traits. It’s vegan, too!

Air Jordan 1 High Zoom “Space Hippie”

Would inhabiting another planet mean building your own sneakers from “space junk?” It’s possible. The concept behind Nike’s “Space Hippie” collection explores the idea of living on a planet other than earth, and wearing shoes made from leftover scraps instead of traditional materials. Here, the Air Jordan 1 High Zoom “Space Hippie” features an upper made from recycled materials and a sole put together with Nike’s Grind material.

Parley x adidas Ultra Boost 21 “Cloud White”

Parley For the Oceans, a non-profit organization that raises awareness for ocean protection, has been collaborating with adidas on environmentally conscious shoes for over half a decade. It teamed up with the German footwear brand on a highly versatile, super comfortable shoe in the Ultra Boost 21 “Cloud White” featuring sustainable materials.

Nike Air Max 95 “Recycled Wool”

Part of Nike’s aim to reduce its carbon footprint includes coming up with new sneakers made from recycled materials like the Space Hippie 01. It also includes redesigning some of its most classic models, like the Air Max 95, in fabrics like recycled wool.

Nike Blazer Mid ‘77 “Recycled Jersey”

The Nike Blazer is no stranger to environmentally conscious colorways. Not only was the retro basketball sneaker redesigned in a sustainable fashion by READYMADE in 2021, a year earlier, in 2020, it was rolled out in this “Recycled Jerseys” colorway featuring an upper constructed from recycled fabric.