The Most Sustainable Hiking Shoes
Reduce your footprint and tread lightly with these responsibly built trail kicks.
The Most Sustainable Hiking Shoes
Table of contents
Just under three-quarters of the hiking shoes we reviewed incorporate recycled materials. Some of those models include recycled content throughout, while others use small amounts of recycled materials in components like laces or mesh lining. We scale points for this criterion based on the total content of recycled materials in a shoe. Three shoes stood out as frontrunners for recycled content: The Oboz Katabatic LT Low GTX, Altra Lone Peak 9, and Hoka Anacapa 2 Low GTX (read the Anacapa 2 Sustainability Report). The Katabatic LT features a 100% recycled polyester mesh upper and a 15% recycled rubber outsole. The Lone Peak 9 incorporates 100% recycled polyester in its upper—a major improvement over previous versions of the shoe, which did not feature recycled materials. The Anacapa 2 is another solid option, with 70% recycled polyester in its Gore-Tex face fabric and 100% recycled polyester in its mesh, collar, and tongue lining.
Bluesign-approved materials remain rare in hiking shoes. While hiking shoe brands such as Adidas, Salomon, La Sportiva, and Brooks are Bluesign System Partners, none of the shoes we reviewed feature Bluesign-approved fabrics. Still, we decided to include this criterion because there are other shoes on the market that incorporate Bluesign-approved materials—just none that have been reviewed by Better Trail yet. We expect Bluesign fabrics to grow in popularity in hiking shoes in the future, and we believe the certification plays an important role in chemical use and environmental impact during manufacturing.
All of the hiking shoes we’ve reviewed feature a PFAS-free DWR (if they use a DWR at all). Keen was one of the first brands to go 100% PFAS free in 2018, while Oboz, Hoka, and Merrell made progress toward eliminating PFAS after that. Adidas, On, and others have also made significant strides in this area. We give a shoe credit for this criterion if it uses a DWR without PFAS, and do not apply this criterion to shoes that are not treated with a DWR.
As with DWRs, all of the hiking shoes we’ve reviewed that feature waterproof membranes are PFAS free. We give a shoe credit for this criterion if the shoe contains a PFAS-free waterproof membrane, and do not include the criterion for shoes that do not have a membrane. PFAS-free membranes are becoming more common in waterproof shoes thanks to legislative pressure and efforts by brands like Keen. Keen has been a leader in eliminating PFAS from its footwear, sharing resources about its PFAS-free technology with other brands. Both Keen’s Targhee IV and Zionic shoes feature PFAS-free waterproof membranes, and the brand has maintained a fully PFAS-free product line since 2018. Other brands like On, Oboz, and Merrell took PFAS out of their waterproof membranes more recently.
Over three-quarters of the hiking shoes that incorporate leather use Leather Working Group (LWG)-certified materials. This third-party certification ensures that tanneries meet rigorous environmental standards for water and energy use and waste and chemical management. The LWG program awards leather manufacturers with ratings ranging from bronze to gold depending on performance. Models from Merrell, Hoka, La Sportiva, and Keen use hides sourced from certified suppliers. Shoes like the Merrell Moab 3 and Keen Targhee IV stand out for incorporating LWG-certified leather from silver- or gold-rated tanneries.
Longevity in hiking shoes is essential to reducing waste. The longest-lasting hiking shoes we’ve reviewed incorporate leather or Kevlar-reinforced uppers, thick rubber rands, and dense Vibram outsoles that stand up to heavy use. Models that include minimal exposed foam and those that can be resoled also earn high longevity ratings.
The La Sportiva TX4 Evo, Nnormal Tomir 2.0, and Targhee IV Waterproof all earned the highest longevity ratings of the hiking shoes we’ve reviewed. The TX4 Evo pairs a thick leather upper with a burly rubber rand and a resoleable Vibram Megagrip outsole, making it one of the most durable hiking shoes available. The Tomir 2.0 uses a Kevlar-infused upper and a robust Vibram outsole that held up to over 600 miles of demanding trail use. Rounding out the three-way tie at the top is the Targhee IV, which incorporates a durable leather upper, a hefty toe cap, and a long-wearing outsole.
We debated whether to include Bluesign-approved materials as a core sustainability criterion, given how rare they are in hiking footwear today. Ultimately, we chose to include it because there are shoes on the market featuring Bluesign-certified materials, so we know that they are possible to include in shoes. Bluesign certification is a key tool for reducing the environmental impact of textile manufacturing, and we believe these materials will become more common in hiking shoes in the future.
We also considered evaluating repair services, but only a few brands currently offer these services for shoes. While companies like Danner Boots and Nnormal stand out for offering shoe repairs, this practice is still far from standard across the industry. Additionally, many shoes are not built to be repairable and cannot be resoled or sewn back together when the upper tears. We hope to see more brands build repairable shoes and offer repair services in this category in the future.
Resale and recycling services remain rare in the hiking shoe category, with just over a quarter of brands offering them. On’s Onward program allows customers to trade in used shoes and apparel, which the brand resells at a discount. Brooks also offers a resale shop called ReStart, where lightly worn footwear is inspected and resold at a lower price. NNormal’s No Trace initiative accepts outdoor gear from any brand and either repairs or recycles them—though the brand does not publish any information about how this is done. These resale and recycling programs are key components of circularity, reducing landfill waste and keeping gear in use longer. We expect to see more of these programs for hiking shoes in the future.
Over three-quarters of hiking shoe manufacturers we assessed have made efforts toward using recycled or reduced packaging, but some brands are doing significantly more than others. On stands out for using 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified recycled paper and 100% recycled plastic packaging for all its products. Hoka is another leader: It uses 96% recycled or certified materials in its packaging, though it does not disclose what percentage of that total is recycled content specifically. Other honorable mentions include Oboz and Brooks. Oboz redesigned its packaging to minimize waste and now uses at least 90% recycled or FSC Mix-certified materials, while Brooks uses 100% recycled materials in its shoeboxes, removed shoe stuffing, and reduced its shoebox size to ship more boxes in each shipping container.
Over 90% of the brands in the hiking shoe category track their greenhouse gas emissions. There is wide variation, however, in how thorough companies are when it comes to progress toward emissions reduction and data reporting. To earn full points for carbon footprint tracking, a brand must track emissions across its operations, publicly report data and progress toward emissions reductions, and have a Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-verified reduction goal in place. Brands can earn partial credit for undertaking some of these efforts.
Hoka’s parent company, Deckers Brands, offers excellent greenhouse gas data tracking data in its annual impact report broken down by Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. It also reports a breakdown of emissions from footwear materials, packaging materials, and more. Unfortunately, Deckers does not report on Hoka’s emissions individually, which is typically the case for brands with parent companies. Brooks also offers detailed reporting on its emissions reduction and progress in its corporate responsibility report. The brand breaks down its Scope 3 emissions by source and material into a pie chart, offering an easy-to-understand format. Thus far, it has published three years of emissions tracking data.
Almost 90% of brands in the hiking shoes category publish an annual impact report. These reports typically outline sustainability progress with metrics ranging from recycled materials and Bluesign use to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, although the depth and clarity of the reports vary. Brooks, again, is one of the strongest performers for this criterion, publishing detailed data on circularity, material waste, emissions, sustainable materials, chemical use, and more. On also produces a comprehensive report each year detailing programs like its circularity efforts and emissions tracking. Reports like these play a crucial role in evaluating sustainability progress and holding companies accountable to their stated commitments.
Just over a quarter of brands in the hiking shoe category meet our standards for responsible manufacturing. To earn full points for this criterion, a company must participate in a third-party program that verifies that its manufacturing facilities enforce safe working conditions, fair wages, and reduced environmental impacts. To score well in this category a brand’s factories must be regularly audited and certification must be awarded to participating brands or their suppliers. Brands can also meet our criteria by manufacturing products locally, typically in the U.S.
Oboz and Adidas are leaders in this space. Oboz’s parent company, KMD Brands, has been accredited by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) since 2018. FLA accreditation requires rigorous audits of manufacturing facilities and a formal review process every three years to ensure continued compliance with its standards. Adidas is also a frontrunner in responsible manufacturing. Its supply chain and labor program has been accredited by the FLA three separate times, and in 2023, it was rated as a top performer. Adidas also publishes detailed information about its suppliers and conducts extensive third-party labor evaluations. In contrast, most other brands rely on internal codes of conduct or conduct infrequent third-party assessments. These efforts are essential but fall short of Better Trail’s responsible manufacturing criteria.
Salomon, Hoka, and On stand out as sustainability leaders in the hiking shoe category due to their progress across multiple criteria. Salomon leads the way in PFAS elimination, with all of its Gore-Tex footwear PFAS free since 2020 and a goal for 100% PFAS-free products by 2025. The brand also meets Better Trail’s standards for responsible manufacturing through its ISO-certified European factories. Hoka produces the highest-rated shoes for sustainability in our review. The company uses a high volume of recycled materials, is PFAS free, and utilizes responsibly sourced leather. While Hoka doesn’t yet meet our manufacturing standards, it uses nearly all recycled or certified packaging and publishes transparent impact reporting through its parent company, Deckers Brands.
On excels by using a high volume of recycled content, PFAS-free treatments, and standout brand initiatives like the Onward resale and trade-in program—rare in the footwear space. It also publishes detailed emissions data and outlines clear goals for material circularity, including a push for fiber-to-fiber recycling, instead of sourcing recycled polyester exclusively from plastic bottles, which can not always be recycled into more polyester. Altogether, these three brands demonstrate leadership through strong product-level features and progress toward long-term sustainability goals.
The On Cloudrock Low Waterproof and Hoka Anacapa 2 Low GTX are tied in our rankings for the most sustainable hiking shoe. The Cloudrock features a recycled polyester upper and a PFAS-free waterproof membrane and DWR coating (though, like the other shoes on our list, it does not feature Bluesign-approved materials). At the brand level, On publishes a detailed annual impact report, tracks emissions using Higg Index tools, offers a resale and recycling program, and uses Forest Stewardship Council-certified recycled packaging.
The Anacapa 2 Low GTX incorporates LWG-certified leather, a PFAS-free waterproof membrane, and extensive recycled materials. Hoka’s parent company tracks its emissions and publishes a comprehensive impact report. The brand has also made significant progress toward more sustainable packaging, using almost entirely recycled or certified materials. The Salomon X Ultra 5 GTX rounds out the top three thanks to recycled components, PFAS-free waterproofing, and strong sustainability progress at the brand level, including verified emissions reduction targets and a detailed annual impact report (read the X Ultra 5 GTX Sustainability Report). Other notable mentions for sustainability include the La Sportiva TX4 Evo and the Keen Targhee IV.
There is significant progress to be made when it comes to sustainability in hiking shoes. In the future, we expect to see brands incorporating recycled materials in their shoes in more significant quantities. In addition, very few brands currently offer recycling or resale programs, which are critical for reducing landfill waste by keeping shoes in use longer. Designing shoes that are both made from recycled (or lower impact) materials that can be recycled at the end of life is essential to circularity in hiking shoes. On is leading the way here with its Cyclon recyclable shoe line.
Finally, repair services are currently rare in the footwear world, but we expect to see more brands designing repairable shoes in the future. While we do not currently include these programs in our sustainability criteria, if these services become more common, they may be integrated into this category in the future. Better options for repair could dramatically improve the longevity of hiking shoes, and brands like Danner and NNormal have shown that shoe repairs are indeed possible.
tread lightly
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