Simple Shoes: Eco-Friendly Footwear

When I attended the Natural Products ExpoWest with Stevie, one of the exhibitors was Simple Shoes - a footwear company whose goal is 100% sustainability. With products constructed using organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and even recycled car tires and inner tubes, Simple strives to create alternative for their customers allowing them to "tread lightly on the planet without compromising comfort and style."

Although Simple Shoes likes to refer to themselves as "the nice little shoe company getting in touch with its inner hippie," their ecoSneaks and GreenToe sandals are casually stylish and completely comfortable. While at the Expo, Stevie and I had a chance to check out some of the cute kicks, espadrilles and boots in their collection. A pair of GreenToe Toe Foo sandals is made with high-quality sustainable materials like crepe, water-based glue, bamboo, organic cotton and hemp and will set you back about $45. Unless of course you're a savvy shopper like me--I scored the Toe Foo sandals pictured above at Ross Dress for Less for $9.99. Sweet! Being green and saving green--I love it!

During the month of August, Simple Shoes is teaming up with The Walking Company for the exclusive launch of their PlanetWalker Shoes:

PlanetWalkers, the most comfortable and eco-friendly shoes on the planet, maximize the use of environmentally sensitive materials while providing premium comfort benefits. All PlanetWalkers are made with leather from ISO14001 and British Leather Consortium (BLC) certified tanneries that have made a commitment to sustainable improvements in their processes. Removable footbeds with molded arch support are made with Ortholite™ and recycled ground car tire. Innovative use of eco-friendly materials like recycled car tires, bamboo fabric, cork, recycled compression molded EVA, and recycled metal alloys make PlanetWalkers the leader in sustainability in comfort footwear.

In addition to helping you get around in green footwear, Simple Shoes and The Walking Company are also giving you a way to get around in an eco-friendly vehicle as well: they partnered with smart USA and the Sierra Club to give customers a chance to win one of four smart fortwo vehicles during the month of August. No purchase is necessary, limit one (1) entry per person, per email address and per household for the duration of the Entry Period regardless of method of entry. You can enter by filling out the entry form on-line or in person at any one of The Walking Company stores nationwide.