The 10 Best Sustainable Shoe Brands for Kids

Whether your child needs a new pair of sneakers, boots, sandals, or anything in between, one of the below brands will have what you need — without having too harsh of an impact on the planet. We rounded up 15 companies making sustainable kids’ shoes, which have ethical manufacturing practices, use eco-friendly and animal-free materials, or have programs in place to make their footwear circular — and we asked our audience to vote on their favorites.

The 10 winners of this Green Matters Approved contest are listed below. Read more about our Green Matters Approved contests here.

Native Shoes makes shoes of all kinds and for all ages, including a variety of colorful options for kids. Native's shoes are made using a proprietary material composed of a blend of sugarcane-derived resin with EVA. The brand is known for its free shoe recycling program, the Remix Project, which invites customers to send in their used Native footwear to be recycled into playground equipment, insulation, benches, and more.

Footwear brand Teva, founded in 1984, offers a large kids' collection, which includes many shoes made with recycled plastic using REPREVE polyester yarn. Most of Teva's shoes are vegan, and the kids' line includes a wide variety of sandals for daily life and adventures, as well as a few sneakers and boots.

Two friends and moms founded Ten Little — which makes children's shoes, clothes, toys, and more — to cater to growing children. The company's line of shoes are made using materials including vegan leather, cotton, and natural rubber soles made from the milk of the Hevea tree. Ten Little works with a podiatrist on shoe designs, and the brand even makes a pair of "adaptive" shoes, in which you can order different sizes for the left and right foot.

Classic sandal company Chaco has a line of various kids shoes. The company makes all of its shoe webbing from REPREVE, a material composed of recycled plastic bottles. Chaco also manages the ReChaco repair program, to resole and restrap customers' Z/Sandals. Additionally, most Chaco shoes are vegan, and many use recycled rubber in the treads.

Woolybubs is best known for its unique Newbie baby shoes — the shoes are made of polyvinyl alcohol, and once your little one outgrows them, they actually dissolve in boiling water, making them truly zero-waste. The company also makes two other shoe styles (only for babies up to 18 months old), which can be recycled via Woolybub's free recycling program.

Melissa, a fully vegan company known as one of the original makers of the jelly shoe, has a children's shoe brand called Mini Melissa. The company offers plastic shoes for kids of all ages, which include some recycled factory waste and bio-based materials made from sugar cane and vegetable oils. Many of the kid shoes also have a bubblegum scent. Melissa's parent company Grendene owns its own Brazil-based factories, which have various eco-friendly policies.

German brand POLOLO's shoes are made of sustainable materials including vegan cactus leather and organic cotton; however, the company does use real leather and wool in some of its footwear. POLOLO specializes in barefoot shoes, and offers various children's styles, ranging from sandals to sneakers.

Wilding Shoes, a Certified B Corp, specializes in minimal shoes for adults, kids, and toddlers, al of which are handmade in Portugal. Most of the brand's shoes are vegan, and they're made with unique materials including washi paper, recycled cork, organic cotton, hemp, and flax.

Okabashi shoes are made with a proprietary, vegan, bio-based material that is composed of soy ingredients (which are grown in the U.S.) and recycled materials. All kids styles are designed to be easy to slip on Okabashi shoes are designed to be durable, come with two-year guarantee, and are all handcrafted in Buford, Ga.

NOAH Italian Vegan Shoes offers four footwear styles for kids, all of which are vegan and free of toxic ingredients. Materials used include of organic cotton (denim and terry), natural rubber, and linen. NOAH makes all of its shoes in Italy in handcrafted shoe factories, based on traditional Italian shoemaking.