Here are seven of our favorites – for men and women.

As greenies, we take our sustainable sneakers seriously. Why? Because many of us will literally run our running shoes into the ground before heading out to buy more rubber and plastic parts for our feet. But not to worry! There are a lot of fantastic running shoes out there that are making the move towards eco-friendly footwear. And here are seven of our favorites – for men and women.

Veja Organic Cotton Sneakers


These super cool kicks for men and women out of Brazil are made with organic cotton and have soles of wild rubber. Apparently, wild rubber trees are only found in Brazil. Veja supports their wild harvest in hopes of discouraging deforestation.

Orvis Suede Eco Sneaker ($69)


These retro-kicks for women are made with eco-friendly materials from lace to sole. The suede is finished by organic tanneries with a low eco-impact. They have organic cotton linings, laces made from recycled plastic bottles, and soles made from recycled tires.

Vasque Aether Tech Runners ($87.50)


These super cool runners for women have uppers made with 30 percent recycled content. Vasque makes a concerted effort to keep things eco-friendly by incorporating green policies in their packaging and marketing materials.

Terra Plana’s Lucy Casual Sneaker ($125)


These awesome, colorful sneakers for women are made to be “street-wise class to cross trainers.”  They are constructed with as much recycled materials as possible, using things from recycled soling materials to old coats and parachutes.  This shoe is also made with minimal glue. 

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 Runners ($100)


These eco kicks for men are made with Brooks’ BioMoGo, which is the world’s first biodegradable midsole. The soles are made from traditional EVA rubber, but they contain an added non-toxic component “that encourages anaerobic microbes to munch away once it hits an active enclosed landfill.” They also have laces made from 100 percent recycled materials.

Now what to do with your old running shoes? 

You can easily spare your sneakers from a landfill burial. Recycled Runners is a fantastic national shoe recycling and donation directory. Do you have a shoe donation program you want to get the word out on? The site has an easy way to add it to the directory. And best of all, each month Recycled Runners donates 50% of the proceeds of purchases made through Zappos.com to a featured Charity of the Month.  Founder Dorian Quispe, an experienced marathoner, started the site after running the Inca Trail Marathon in Peru. As Quispe puts it, “After training and dedicating yourself to be a marathon runner, finding a green place for your shoes should be the easy part. Running is hard, giving is easy.”