For Consumers

The Better Shoes Foundation resources are primarily for footwear brands, professionals and manufacturers. But that shouldn't stop you from having a read through. As a consumer, you have the power to vote with your wallet. The purpose of this section is to provide you with alternative ways to shop more consciously, or even better - extend the life of the shoes you already have.

Shoe brands ethical ratings:

• Good On You - provides detailed brand ratings to make researching ethical brands easier. Each brand receives an easy-to-understand rating out of five, from 'We Avoid' (1) to 'Great' (5), and individual scores for its impact on people, the planet, and animals.

• Ethical Consumer - the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation. They investigate, score and rank the ethical and environmental record of 42 shoe brands and take into consideration various practices such as CSR, animal husbandry, supply chain, and harmful chemicals.

• The Good Shopping Guide - a comparison site with the aim of “promoting ethical shopping and ethical business in support of the development of a better world”. They even have a dedicated section for shoes and an app for on-the-go research.

Sustainable shoe brand guides:

• Cobbled Goods curates’ unique footwear from independent brands, made with respect for makers and nature. They call it uncommon footwear, for the common good. Their holistic selection process is made up from a set of 8 good footwear principles/ conditions inspired by movements like Doughnut Economics, slow fashion, circular economy, fair trade, and shop small.

Sneaker life extentions:

• Glide removable soles are hand made in London from transport pollution and are designed to keep your new sneaker soles intact and therefore prolong their life. The sole easily attaches to your existing sneakers with a stomp and is removable with a snap.

Repair / Repurpose: 

In case the brand of your worn shoes don’t offer a repair service, there are a growing number of modern independent shoe repairers that have evolved to restore and resole almost any type of shoe, including sneakers; something that was unthinkable only a decade or so ago.

In Germany:

• http://www.repairyourpair.com/

• https://www.sneaker-rescue.de/

  In the UK:

• https://shoespa.co.uk/

• https://www.vibram.co.uk/RepairsCustomisation

• https://bootrepaircompany.co.uk/

• https://www.sneakerser.com/

  In the USA:

• https://thecobblers.com/

• https://www.shopgoodsandservices.com/

Pre-loved:

Buying used shoes may not be as popular as used clothes for obvious reasons, but they are increasing in popularity partly thanks to the wave of sneaker restorers, but also due to the over-saturated market of frequent ‘new drops’.

• https://vintagetrainers.co.uk/

• https://kicksrefurbd.com/

• https://www.vinted.com

Shoe Recycling / Donation:

You may choose to donate your used pair of shoes, particularly if they are still in a decent wearable condition. Since odd shoes (unmatched half pairs) are frequently found in clothing and shoe recycling streams, do follow this simple hot tip from Helen Kirkum: Tie your left and right shoes together- before putting them in the recycling bin.

In the UK:

• https://www.shoeaid.co.uk/donate/

• https://traid.org.uk/clothes-donations/

• https://www.runnersneed.com/about-us/recyclemyrun.html

• https://resole.org.uk/

  In the USA:

• https://sneakerimpact.com/

• https://www.ecosneakers.org/

Have we missed something? Let us know which resources or services we should include in this list.