In honor of Earth Day, I thought I’d offer a shoe brand both cute and responsible.  Simple Shoes fits the bill to a T.  They’re a subsidiary of Deckers Outdoor Corporation (the people that also own UGG and Teva) that specifically focuses on sustainable production and products.  They have a whole line of shoes they call "Green Toe" that are made using materials and processes that are about as environmentally responsible as they can be.  Materials used in their shoes include recycled car tires, bamboo, organic cotton, and PET from all those plastic beverage containers we throw out.  Check out that Green Toe link to see how these (and other) materials are used in the shoes and get some tips on what you can do to avoid waste yourself… like planting flowers in your empty shoeboxes.  And check out the descriptions of the different styles to see their Green Toe ratings (good, better, and best), indicating just how sustainable the shoe really is.

And these shoes offer comfort, too.  Some styles have cork footbeds, which are super super comfortable and end up molding to the shape of your foot.  And pretty much every style has a rubber sole, which makes for some nice shock absorption and traction.  Some of the closed shoes (ie, the GT Jane below) even have removable "pedbeds" so you can put your own orthotics or insoles in these babies.

Now, on to the shoes.  Let’s be clear, these are "knockaround" shoes.  Unless you work in a very casual environment, these aren’t so much for work.  But they’ve got a cute earthy sensibility to them that I find attractive.

Like these Toe Foo sandals ($60), with designs by surfer/artist Tyler Warren.

Or how about this design… same sandal, different look.

 Looks like beachy fun to me.

How about this GT Jane ($85) for a sunny picnic in the park.

Planning on picking up that lifeguard job this summer?  Deck yourself out in the Lifeguard edition of the CA-bana sandal ($55) that comes with it’s very own red-cross-embellished lip-balm pocket.  This sandal also comes in a bunch of pretty woven color combinations.

And if you like a little more refinement to your knockaround sandals, try the leather Tandem ($65), with pretty swirl embossing and comfy cork footbed.

Or the Tangerine (also $65) with its cute little toe strap.

Your shoes don’t have to support environmental irresponsibility!