Posh Swaps Blog

A good  pair of boots are a real investment that you can keep and wear for years. If you choose a classic style that are high quality well made they will go with a multitude of different outfits, always look stylish and never go out of fashion. The sales are a great time to invest in a great pair of eco friendly shoes or boots that are not only incredibly comfortable but also made with respect to the environment. Spartoo have a fabulous sale on at the moment with boots by some great eco friendly brands at amazing prices. Here are just a few of out favourites.

These ankle boots by Pikolinos would look equally good with a trouser suit for work or a pair of jeans on the weekend. The wedge heel is a great way to add some height without making them difficult to walk in. You can be sure that these shoes will be top quality as they are made using artisan techniques.

These versatile boots by Dream in Green can be worn to dress down a pretty floral dress or with leggings or skinny jeans for a Rock and Roll look. They are made with vegetable tanned leather which is kinder to the environment than conventional leather.

These cosy boots by Think would look great with a casual skirt and thick tights for the weekend. They are made from 100% natural materials and a completely handmade manufacturing process.

Pikolinos is one of my favourite ethical shoe brands. I can definitely vouch for the quality and amazing comfort of the shoes but they are also manufactured with respect for the planet. The shoes are made in Spain using natural materials with interesting details like stitching. The majority of Pikolinos shoes are manufactured using vegetable tanned leather, water-based dyes and solvent free glues which considerably reduce any environmental impact. The company also supports a variety of different social cuase through the Juan Peran Foundation.

For autumn and winter this year, I am loving the tower heel hiking boots, practical court shoes and casual knee high boots. These shoes and boots combine practicality with style and are versatile enough to go with a range of different winter outfits.

Pikolinos - Brujas Rico - Chocolate

A great choice for every day wear. These boots would look good with any skirt or dress and tights.

Pikolinos Tolouse Grey Court Shoes

For the office, it can be difficult to find a pair of hardwearing and practical shoes that look great with a suit. These are perfect and versatile enough to go with trousers or skirts.

Pikolinos - Izmir Tajo Boots

If you like to keep up with the latest fashion, these heeled hiking boots are just what you need. Wear with chunky socks for trendy and toasty feet all winter.

Pikolionos Izmir Kihu Boots

Finally I love the cosy faux fur trim and double buckles on these boots. You couldn’t get much cosier toes.

If you spend all day on your feet or walk a long way, comfort is likely to be pretty high on your priority list when it comes to choosing shoes.

Po-Zu shoes have also put a very high priority on your comfort when designing shoes, along with caring for the environment and ethical manufacture. As if this wasn’t already the makings of a great shoe, they have also added in a healthy dose of quirky style. These shoes are perfect for those who want to stand (comfortably) apart from the crowd and make a statement with their shoes. 

The styles are also smart, feminine and versatile so you can be sure to get plenty of wear  out of them. Po-Zu shoes are made from completely natural materials and have an amazing foot mattress made from coconut fibres which moulds to the bottom of your feet.

These beautifully made Hop sandals are not only perfect for the end of this summer, but will last for many summers to come. When you no longer want them, you can bury them in the ground to biodegrade.

For the autumn and winter you can keep your feet super warm and comfy in these Pep sheepskin boots.

These Lola shoes are perfect for everyday wear- they go with everything. We love the cork detail.

Eco friendly and ethical shoes are often though of as being slightly clumpy and not at all feminine. Admittedly in the past this has sometimes been the case, have you ever struggled to find a killer pair of heels that are also kind to the environment? Thankfully all of that is changing and you can now have your cake and eat it or be style and sustainable when it comes to shoes.

Spartoo have a fantastic range of eco friendly shoes on offer, but of most interest to  me is the eco friendly high heel shoes, which are usually rare as hens teeth and very difficult to find. These are the sort of shoes that you could wear with a mini dress for a night out on the town or even with a sharp suit for work. Even better they are actually so stylish and on trend that you would never even know they were good for the planet.

One of my favourite eco brands is GreenFit. Their high heels are both beautiful and feminine. Quality natural shoes with wooden soles.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find a great pair of shoes that are also eco friendly and on trend. There are so many different aspects of the shoe to consider when trying to find a pair that has minimal impact on the environment including recycling, carbon foorprint, vegatable tanned leather and non toxic materials.

There are however som great eco shoes out there that minimise their impact on the environment in a number of ways and also have really beautiful and innovative designs. Here are 3 of our favourites:

Pikolinos makes shoes using vegtable tanned leather. Their shoes are also stitched together and incredibly good quality so will last for many years. They are natural colours. 

Po-zu again uses vegetable tanned leather for their shoes. They have a unique coconut husk foot matress which makes them uncompromisingly comfortable and they are stitched together to avoid the use of toxic glue. They are also completely recycleable.

The Melissa brand has gained something of a following in recent years for their fun designs and brightly coloured plastic shoes. They are made from  recycled plastic and are made even more desirable with collaborations with designers inclduing Vivienne Westwood.

Melissa Lady Dragon Westwood

Sometimes it can be difficult to be eco friendly and sustainable at the same time as being on trend and stylish especially when it comes to shoes. But fun brand Melissa are changing all that with their fun and colourful range of plastic shoes.

‘Hey wait a minute’, I can hear you saying to yourself  ‘plastic? eco friendly and sustainable?’  Well everything that we wear has some type of impact on  the environment including leather shoes and even organic hemp. Sustainability is all about reducing that impact as much as possible but in the fashion world sustainability also has to be trendy and attractive or it just won’t sell.

Melissa shoes are made from party recycled  plastic and are also recyclable helping to reduce their impact in terms of waste, carbon footprint and potentially other emissions produced during manufacture. They are made in a socially and environmentally responsible  factory in Brazil which also recycles its waste and water as much as possible.

The manufacturing process of thermo moulding plastic allows fun, colourful and creative designs to be made. The label has also proved that they are right on trend with collaborations with designers like Vivienne Westwood. They even smell like candy and I assume never need to be polished, what’s not to love?

A fabulous pair of boots is on so many of our wish lists for Spring. The perfect footwear to compliment your trousers or skirts and allow you to look stylish but alsom combine comfort and practicality and also with a minimum impact on the environment. Sounds like a tall order, perhaps but there is plenty of choice at Spartoo so you should be able to find just what you want.

These Airstep Owen boots might be ethical but they are still really rock and roll. They re made from vegetable tanned leather so harmful chemicals have not been used in their processing. They would look great with a body con dress or skinny jeans for a great party outfit.

These Toulouse Boni Shoes by Pikolinos are ideal for wearing for work. They are smart but contemporay and exude city chic. They would look perfect with either a skirt or trouser suit for a day at the office. Another great eco brand which works on sustainable principles.

For everyday casual or wearing with jeans these Nasca fixt boots by El Naturalista are ultra stylish and incredibly comfortable. They are made using vegtable tanned leather and one pound from each sale goes to The Atauchi Project, created to support children’s education in Peru. These boots would also look great with tights and a skirt or shirt dress.

The snow has arrived leaving many of us completely unprepared. For the artic like conditions that we are experiencing in the UK at the moment, the most practical type of footwear has to be warm boots with a good grip. In deep snow taller styles of boot are a good choice. For some it is also important no matter what the weather that they have a minimal impact on the environment.

The eco brand El Naturalista at Spartoo make the perfect eco friendly shoes for winter and keeping warm in the snow. All of the designs are concieved with the greatest respect for the environment using materials like vegetable tanned leather and natural rubber. They also have practical and comfortable soles (these boots were made for walking!).

Organico Fimi

This boot has a sheepskin lining and attractive lacing detail. It is also gathered at the top to keep your feet extra warm.

Inuit Fogh

This traditional style of laced up boot is inpired by the Inuit and so perfect for the colder weather.

Nido Trambu

For a more versatile style of boot that will work for more than just snow and cold weather.

Looking stylish in the snow can be a difficult task. But a great pair of boots to tuck your trousers in to can help you to look incredibly stylish. They will also help to stop you slipping over on the ice (not a stylish look)

Whilst you might think carefully about where you buy your clothes and how eco friendly they are, shoes are something that not many of us pay much attention to. The manufacture of shoes can be environmentally damaging with the use of chemicals as adhesives and for tanning leather as well as a range of non biodegradable materials.

Swapping clothes and buying second hand clothes is a great way to get sustainable style, but sometimes it is not that easy to find just the right pair of shoes in your size. A great sustainable alternative to second hand shoes is eco friendly shoes. There is a growing choice of eco shoes available ranging from organic, natural, biodegradable and recycled options. We have just discovered Spartoo, an online shoe store with a great selection of eco friendly shoes including brands like Think, El Naturalista and Pikolinos.

The notion that eco friendly shoes mean boring, frumpy or unfashionable footwear goes completely out of the window with these gorgeous, trendy and stylish shoes which are good for the environment and good for your feet.

Vialis by Campari - this delicate and on trend summer sandal will work with so many summer outfits from military shorts to floaty maxi dresses.

Schlapfa Divg by Think- this lovely bright mule is made manually using 100% natural materials, ou would never guess!

Nayeri by Panama Jack - a sturdy and very wearable medium height. Very now and very versatile try wearing with feminine floral dresses and jeans.

Clogs are right on trend at the moment (well if Alexa is wearing them they must be). Chanel do a great pair but as most of us just can’t afford Chanel and some of us prefer to take a much more eco friendly and comfy path, these eco clogs are the perfect choice.

The Eco friendly clogs are biodegradable with 50% of the sole being made of biodegradable materials. Quite simply they are shoes that rot (eventually- not while you are wearing them). The plus side being that you can’t feel just a little less guilty about buying into the latest fashion and be sure that these shoes will be well worn as they are just so very comfy.

We can’t say this for sure but we are betting that many those high heel cloggs are not all that easy to walk in and end up in the bin by the end of this season! These babies will be with you for years until the leather and rubber that they are made of finally return to where they began as part of nature.

These Eco clogs are made by El Naturalista, whose eco friendly designs are brought to you with the greatest respect for the environment.They can be bought from Spartoo an online shoe retailer of women shoes that Posh Swaps has recently partnered with in order to bring you details of some of the most desirable eco shoes.