Ecouterre

What better footwear to go with the DIY IKEA raincoat we featured last week than these upcycled rain boots? (They even come in the same shade of ultramarine—sartorial kismet!) Conceived by Waste for Life by Louie Rigano, a senior at the Rhode Island School of Design, the sturdy and surprisingly chic galoshes are fabricated from plastic bags collected by cartoneros, or impoverished Argentineans who make their living collecting trash in Buenos Aires.

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Call a bandwagon a bandwagon if you must, but Naya isn’t just a fresh-off-the-presses line of eco-friendly wedges, heels, and flats. It’s also a ringing endorsement that the sustainability movement is doing something right. The first company-owned brand launched by the billion-dollar Brown Shoe Co. in 10 years, Naya joins established sibling brands like Dr. Scholls, Buster Brown, and Via Spiga, as well as the Famous Footwear chain of stores.

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With the transition to all-digital broadcasts, the planet isn’t exactly hurting for obsolete TV sets. Which is why vegan footwear purveyor Olsenhaus is making a switch of its own—by cladding Its entire Fall/Winter 2010 collection of pumps, wedges, stiletto booties, and knee-highs in an innovative polyester microfiber made from trashed television screens.

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Keeping tires out of landfills is a tough job considering how many they are. (Multiply the number of cars on the road by four or in the case of large trucks, as much as 18.) Still, tire recycling has evolved beyond roping one onto a tree and calling it a swing. For one Japanese eco-fashion label, scrap tires are also grist for some pretty spectacular sneakers and bags.

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Instead of trading your old, beloved sneakers for a younger model, consider making them freshly wearable again with the sneaker restoration kit from JGoods. The custom-shoe company has cobbled a collection of tools (including brushes, sponges, finish remover, and leather paint) together to make your grimy kicks sparkle like new. No previous shoe-restoration experience is necessary. A comprehensive guide shows …

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If Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prognostications are bumming you out, perk those spirits up by ogling Kitty Cooper’s glam array of heels in cheerful, retro prints. Made of vintage fabrics from the ’20s to ’70s by a family business in East London, these ruffly wedges and luscious peep-toes are enough to make any pin-up girl go gaga. Is it spring yet?

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For the shoemakers at Adidas, plain ol’ reality is a snooze-inducing yawnfest. Its Augmented Reality Shoe Game Pack, a collection of five “experiential” men’s sneakers due in select Champs Sports and Eastbay stores this month, is designed to kick things up a notch by placing a three-dimensional virtual world at your finger…uh…toe tips.

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Vans has once again teamed up with Tony Alva, skateboard legend and the godfather of pool skating, in its newest rendition of his classic sneaker. The limited-edition shoes are constructed with eco-friendly materials, including water-based adhesives, recycled gum-rubber, and recycled PET. Look for the Mid Skool 77 Pro and the Era Pro at your local retailers in February for $60-$70.

+ Vans

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Cycle chic gets a leg up with an urbane collection of bike accessories that are as eco-friendly as your carbon-eschewing two-wheeler. Featuring a ventilated helmet cloche, gloves, ankle booties, and a bag, the conceptual Rilfa line by Scully is a deft marriage of organic wool, vegan leather, and reflective trim, designed by an avid cyclist for avid cyclists.

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Photo by Reuters

It goes without saying that in the aftermath of Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, hundreds of thousands of people are bereft of basic necessities like food, water, and clothing. But shoes are also critical for survivors and relief workers to navigate the twisted metal, shards of glass, rubble, and raw sewage that have overrun the streets. Foot Solutions, on behalf of Soles4Souls, is asking the public to drop off their gently …

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You’ve MySpaced, Facebooked, Plurked, and Tumblred. Tweeting your life in 140 characters or less was only the next logical move. But if all this public posturing still rates as undersharing, take heart: You can now microblog with every step you take. Ricardo Nascimento, an artist and multimedia producer from Brazil, has created the Rambler, a pair of sensor-equipped sneakers that tracks movement and then blabs about it on Twitter.

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Looking for some polished new winter boots to put some fox (not literally—these are 100 percent vegan) in your trot? Well you’re in luck, because we’ve teamed up with one of our favorite online eco-boutiques, Fashion Conscience, to give away these sexy and sleek equestrian-inspired riding boots to one very fortunate reader! Classically styled with posh touches like buckles at the ankle and calf, these chocolate and black two-tone boots from Neuaura are worth over $250, so don’t miss your chance to walk away with them for free!

And it gets even better because Fashion Conscience has very generously offered to carbon offset the shipping of these gorgeous boots to the winner’s house through Carbonfund.

Note: These boots are available in sizes US 6, 8, 9, and 10, so please make sure one of those will fit you before you enter our contest.

TO ENTER THIS FABULOUS GIVEAWAY
1. SIGN UP FOR ECOUTERRE + FASHION CONSCIENCE’S NEWSLETTERS (This is important because we’ll be announcing our winner there.)

2. LEAVE A COMMENT below telling us about the eco outfit you would put together with these classy riding boots. Would you wear them with a vintage pencil skirt and herringbone tights? Or rock them with skinny organic cotton leggings and your favorite oversize sweater? We’ll pick our favorite response, so be as detailed and creative as possible!

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For Robert Taylor and Caroline Read of Above + Below London, the seats on London’s Tube trains and buses offer more than a means of conveyance. They’re also an incredible source of vintage textiles, which the a U.K.-based design company salvages for its eco-friendly shoe range. The resulting collection of striking high-tops is reminiscent of the legendary classic Chuck Taylors, but with a clever retro-modern twist that the foggy town can call its own.

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Don’t throw those old Chucks, Nikes, or Pumas away! Green Eyed Monster, the company known for making eco-fashion enviable, is offering you the chance to breathe new life into your sneaks instead of condemning them to the dump. Just send your tired footwear to them and New York City-bred comic artist …

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Gray, overcast skies at three in the afternoon are enough to sour the sunniest of dispositions. Turn that frown upside down by shifting your attention earthward to Osborn Design Studios’ brazenly styled, jazz-inspired oxfords, slip-ons, and booties. The Brooklyn-based twosome doesn’t shy away from color or pattern, working with statement-making textiles that range from crazy-quilt tribal designs to eyeball-yanking animal prints.

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Sure they look cool, but we wouldn’t want to walk a mile in these shoes by Mathieu Missiaen and Julien Morin of Le Creative Sweatshop, a French design firm that dabbles in communicating visually through “the lens of DIY culture.” These sky-high stilettos are a Cubist’s nightmare of flat planes and sharp angles, with components that build on one another like a crystal-growing kit.

+ Paper Shoes

+ Le …

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Have a pair of worn-out kicks that are one step away from dumpster heaven? Teach those old shoes some new tricks with the Solar Street Light Kit from Lost Values. Originally an exhibition piece by the Scottish design firm, these Stride Rite-meets-Lite-Brite solar lamps were inspired by “Shoefiti,” the baffling practice of flinging shoes onto overhead cables.

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