Terra Plana.

Terra Plana make the most fantastic shoes. The styles are diverse and lovely; the colours are perfect. Most designs have adorable, almost-kitschy stitching that make them all-the-more unique. The heels employ gloriously-thick recycled rubber pads on the bottom so you don't have to slip down a flight of stairs just because you wanted to wear cute heels (yeah, it's happened to me too).

But, best of all, Terra Plana's designs incorporate many eco-minded practices, such as vegetable-tanned leather, minimal glue, and local sourcing. And if you're thinking about your aching arches, consider this: Terra Plana also comforts your feet with recycled memory foam. Hooray! Many of their shoes are designed to be as light and "barefoot" as possible.



Some Terra Plana designs, like the men's loafer above, are made by unskilled, untrained African women in a project called the Soul of Africa, with proceeds benefitting orphans affected by the AIDs epidemic. I think that this is fantastic because in many parts of Africa, property is owned by men, so if a husband contracts AIDs and passes away, his property rarely goes to his wife, who is then left without food or a means to survive. This project is wonderful because it benefits both impoverished women and homeless orphans affected by AIDs.


Others, like these, recycle old Pakistani quilts. These designs have to be my favourites because they are so unique and so lovely.




It's okay, I'm in love too.

U Roads.

A few weeks ago, I was checking out the new shoes for men at Urban Outfitters. I clicked into a particularly promising pair of short boots, and was admiring them immensely. I was just about to click away from the page when I noticed a recycle sign towards the back of the shoe. My inner environmentalist always gets giddy when I see that sign, although it's shown up on the packaging and in the advertising of companies with less-than-green policies. Still, it sparked my interest enough to find out more about the company.

As it turns out, the company is called U Roads. They are a newish Italian shoe company who make the souls of their shoes out of recycled tires. They are hand-crafted and the leather is tanned using vegetable-oil, much more Earth-friendly than the typical aluminum/titanium process most commonly used commercially. U Roads shoes also come in 100% post-consumer waste packaging. And, well, they're adorable.









For U Roads at Urban Outfitters, click here