General Question

jdegrazia's avatar

I want to buy the most sustainably-produced, eco-friendly pair of basketball shoes I can find. Anyone have any recommendations?

Asked by jdegrazia (274points) January 9th, 2009

If there don’t exist such a pair of shoes, then I want to buy a not-not-quite-sustainably-produced pair of shoes from a company that is more committed to social and environmental responsibility than its competitors. And I’d rather not spend more than USD 150. Ideas?

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4 Answers

La_chica_gomela's avatar

i’ve never bought basketball shoes, but i recently read an article in a running magazine about the most environmentally friendly running shoes. i think it would be worth a look through the websites of the manufacturers to see if they make basketball shoes too.

Adidas, Brooks, and others have stopped using polyvinyl chloride (PVC was once a footwear staple but is toxic to workers and known to form carcinogenic dioxin when it burns); New Balance and Brooks are using recycled boxes; Mizuno has replaced some plastic with materials made from castor oil; and Nike has pioneered better glues. Asics is starting to add rice husks to its outsoles. Some newbies are also shaking things up. Oboz, which makes trail runners, is planting trees to offset its carbon emissions, and a Portland start-up, END, is using partly recycled soles.”

This is tangential, but if you’re not satisfied with the level of earth-friendliness of the basketball shoes available on the market, you can also look into donating them when you’ve worn them out.

90s_kid's avatar

Jordans!!!
Well, they are the best…

augustlan's avatar

I don’t know how good these will perform as athletic basketball shoes, but they are mid-tops and are super earth friendly. Simple Shoes (as linked) goes above and beyond in eco-friendly materials and processes. They have some really nice looking shoes, too.

90s_kid's avatar

@augustlan Weirdest basketball shoes I have ever seen in my life. They are not my style, but are nice sneakers.

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