7 Best Ethical and Sustainable Sandals Brands For Summer Days

Slip into style this season with a pair of sustainable and ethical sandals from one of these conscious brands.

This sustainable sandal guide has any type of footwear you need for warmer weather! Think eco-friendly vegan sandals, recycled and natural rubber flip flops, fair trade slides, and ethical walking sandals.

What Are (More) Sustainable Sandals?

Oof. The word “sustainable” is a bit of a loaded term that comes with a lot of confusion and difference of opinions! I actually try to stay away from using the word sustainable when it comes to products, since pretty much no product is sustainable, even if it was made with some lower impact and eco-minded processes. But that’s the language most people use, and I want this content to be accessible and discoverable.

With that said, here are some sustainability criterion you’ll want to look for when it comes to footwear like sandals:

Quality and Materials

Footwear is probably the hardest category in fashion to find eco-friendly materials for, because shoes require considerable functionality and durability. Virtually no footwear right now is recyclable (with the exception of a few brands). So durability is even more important for shoes than clothing when it comes to sustainability.

Buying less (which usually requires buying more durable, longer-lasting goods) is a key part of sustainability. This is why I’ve included vegetable-tanned leather sandals, despite some very valid concerns about the sustainability of leather. Good quality leather is long-lasting, durable, and importantly, more repairable.

I have also included plant-based vegan leather alternatives. Most of these do still contain a percentage of synthetic materials. I am a vegetarian myself so buying leather doesn’t quite sit right with me, and I do like to see more alternatives coming to the market since “vegan leather” right now typically means pleather (i.e. plastic). In addition to being made with fossil fuels, many plastic vegan leather items I own haven’t lasted. They’ve simply shedded off after a year or two of wear! Disappointing to say the least.

Personally, I prioritize upcycled leather and secondhand leather so I can get the best of both worlds with durability, sustainability, and animal welfare. However, you might feel uncomfortable buying used shoes, and I totally understand that!

Ethical Production

Way too often, we see workers left out of the sustainability equation. But safe conditions and fair wages are absolutely necessary in a truly sustainable fashion future. People are part of the planet too! So you’ll see next to the Conscious Qualities section by each brand, I’ve added which brands are going above and beyond to ensure supply chain transparency and fair production.

Other Sustainable Practices

Some other sustainability-minded supply chain practices might include:

• Use of renewable energy at manufacturing facilities and throughout the supply chain
• Take-back and resale program
• Repairability of products
• Recycled and biodegradable packaging

The Certifications to Look For

Certifications are never an end-all-be-all (I know, don’t we wish anything could be simple in sustainability?!) but they can be a helpful sign that a brand is investing in better materials, processes, and/or labor practices. Here are a few certifications relevant to footwear you might want to know about.

Leather Working Group (LWG)

LWG is a multi-stakeholder group, which means it doesn’t just encompass brands and retailers but also leather manufacturers, suppliers, traders, industry groups, nonprofits, and finished product manufacturers.

The Leather Working Group certifies suppliers that use best practices in production, including water and energy use, waste and effluent management, traceability, worker health and safety, chemical management, and emissions. This means that its the manufacturers or traders getting this certification, not brands. That said, a brand might work with a certified supplier and use the LWG certification on their product pages.

OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 and OEKO-TEX® LEATHER STANDARD

OEKO-TEX® is a common certification group, and their most common certification is the OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 which tests for over 1,000 harmful substances and chemicals. For the footwear testing, independent laboratories test both individual components of shoes (like the uppers, midsoles, outsoles, and insoles) as well as the finished footwear product.

As you might imagine, the leather production process varies vastly from a normal textile item, so there is a different certification for shoes primarily made with leather. Though these items are also tested against a list of over 1,000 harmful substances.

All products with either certification are compliant with global regulations including the EU’s REACH directive — the bloc’s primary law designed to protect human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals.

From there, there are four different product classes, depending on how close the product is to the skin typically. Class 2 encompasses products with direct skin contact, like underwear or bed linens, while Class 4 includes home textile items like curtains. Class 1 for products made for babies and children has the strictest requirements and lowest limit values.

OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 does not certify for other types of environmental sustainability beyond testing against toxic substances.

GRS (Global Recycled Standard) Certified or SCS Recycled Content Certification

Both of these are third-party certifications verifying claims around the recycled content of products. GRS generally has a higher standard, usually requiring that a product contains at least 50% recycled content to hold the certification, while the SCS Recycled Content Standard could apply to products with as little as 5% recycled material. That doesn’t mean that products with the SCS label have a lower recycled content percentage necessarily, it just means the bar to entry is lower. So you may want to do some additional due diligence on that certification.

Where to Find Sustainable and Ethical Sandals

Without further ado, let’s get onto the brand list! Each brand features a description, a breakdown of their sustainability highlights (called “Conscious Qualities), and a price range key, so you have an idea of which brands fit your budget for your ethical and eco-friendly sandals.

One note on the budget front: don’t forget to consider cost per wear! This is the total cost divided by the number of times you wear an item. If you’re buying a quality pair of sandals that’ll be your go-to shoes for many summers to come, you could be wearing them 300+ times!

Price Range Key: $ = Under $100 | $$ = $100 – $200 | $$$ = $200+

This article features affiliates and partners. As always, we only feature brands that meet high standards for sustainability that we love — and that we think you’ll love too!

Bonus: ThredUp (Secondhand)

ThredUp is the ultimate online destination for thrifted fashion — shoes included. You can sort by size, color, and price range among many other filters to find a pair that suits you. I know that not everyone feels comfortable wearing pre-worn sandals, but ThredUp also has some options with tags still on them so it may still be worth browsing through even if you would prefer a pair of sandals that haven’t been worn before.

Conscious Qualities: Sustainable

Price Range: $ – $$
Size Range: US 4-12

Explore ThredUp’s Secondhand Sandals

You May Also Want to Check Out:

14 Ethical, Eco & Vegan Shoe Brands

Sustainably Handmade Sandals and Slides from Salt + Umber

7 Brands with Sustainable and Ethical Flats

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7 Best Ethical and Sustainable Sandals Brands For Summer Days

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