Social Thinking: Making Footwear Sustainable in a World of Fast Fashion

by Sean Scott August 23, 2019

On average, the construction of a shoe requires about twenty parts. Multiply those twenty parts by the millions of shoes that people wear every year, plus each shoe box and shipping label, and that’s a lot of potential shoe production waste.

Thankfully, many shoe companies are reinventing their process to become more sustainable.

So, how can shoe companies reduce their carbon footprint?

Here are some factors that can help the future of sustainable footwear:

Using resources that can be reused and repaired, to minimize waste
Designing better-quality shoes to make them last longer
Using more eco-friendly energy sources
Cleaning materials in order to avoid toxic dyes and chemicals that pollute our cities and water sources
Taking advantage of local materials and local manufacturers to minimize CO₂ impact
Implementing transparency and accountability between manufacturers and suppliers in order to maximize efficiency and production development, while also committing to making a social impact
Using eco-friendly packaging when it comes to transporting and distributing materials

Manufacturing practices contribute heavily to the sustainable footwear industry. Transparency and locality of footwear production create less waste and more efficiency.

Right now, since many manufacturing companies are not local, shipping cargo from overseas are creating a hazard for the environment. For example, crates falling overboard in the ocean polluting waterways and flights to and from factory visits are contributing to pollution of CO2 of airways. Manufacturing locally not only benefits more transparency and efficiency between the factory and the footwear companies, but also contributes to a more eco-friendly world, consequently reducing carbon footprints and engaging easier communication between shoemakers and footwear retailers.

Here at COMUNITYmade, our footwear is manufactured locally in Los Angeles and dedicated to advocating a better world in which efficient transparency exists between us and our manufacturers. We believe restoring factories to the U.S. will drastically reduce global shipments that produce mass energy and constant overseas travels – to and from factories – while also encouraging locally-made materials, when it comes to footwear.

Sean Scott

Author

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We want to help make sure that your new shoes have the best fit possible.

We have created a separate fit for men and women to provide the ultimate foot hugging comfort. Our sockliner and upper materials will naturally mold to your foot and stretch out after a short period of time, so do allow for this when trying our shoes on initially.

In general, our shoes are running closer to an everyday shoe fit vs. an athletic shoe fit and can be worn with or without socks - but the socks have to be eye catching for best results.