6 Places To Buy Eco-Conscious Summer Shoes

Whether your style leans high fashion, minimalist, or sporty, odds are, you put some thought into your shoes. Most of us coordinate our footwear to the season, what we're wearing as the rest of our outfit, and the reason we're going out to begin with. However, your footwear is another opportunity for you to think about the environment. 

We're all familiar with the concept of fast fashion, and the notion that cutting down on how quickly we buy (and discard) clothes will help the planet. Buying shoes that are ethically made, using eco-friendly materials and paying employees a fair wage, is another way people can make financial choices that prioritize the planet. 

With this in mind, here are six brands that sell ethical, eco-friendly footwear. Even better, they all have styles or lines  that are perfect for the summer season!

The People's Movement is a super unique brand. Based in California, they create their shoes by combining eco-conscious materials with recycled plastic bags. 

Nicora makes cruelty-free shoes using vegan leather, made in Italy and the USA. Their line includes flats, boots, and sandals. They also offer heel and sole repairs (even for shoes you didn't purchase from them), to help reduce waste. 

This unique brand is known as being "chrome-free," which helps reduce the consumption of water, gas, chemicals, and electricity. It also cuts down on emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere. Some of their options are vegan. 

Native is a California-based brand that makes its shoes using a low-emissions production process. They're also made with vegan materials.

Designer Aurora James uses vegetable dyes, instead of chemical ones, for her shoes. Many of her designs also feature recycled items, like tires, for the soles.

Many people are already familiar with TOMS, but the brand is always worth mentioning. Their wide variety of shoes includes vegan options. In terms of sustainable production, they utilize natural hemp, organic cotton, and recycled polyester. Their shoe boxes are made from 80 percent recycled post-consumer waste.