Spotlight: Nothing New

Looking for a sneaker that looks sharp, feels great, and doesn’t leave the planet worse off?

Meet Nothing New — sustainable sneaker footwear innovator and the Seeing Green Solutionist of the Day for September 5.

Nothing New is a footwear brand built on the bold idea that there should be nothing new in the materials that make your shoes. With a passion at the intersection of beautiful product design and sustainably developed materials, the brand doesn’t just want to make products that look good, they want to make products that do good.

Their Better Canvas sneakers are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, with each pair repurposing the equivalent of 5.6 water bottles and saving over 160 gallons of water compared to traditional canvas shoes. Their innovative Beyond Leather™ uppers look and feel just as supple as the real thing, but they’re made from upcycled leather waste, cutting water use and carbon footprint by more than 80%. Add in chrome-free suede and stitch construction (no toxic glues or sulfur), and you’ve got sneakers that are better for your feet and the planet.

But Nothing New doesn’t stop there. Through their Virtuous Circle take-back program, you can ship worn pairs back for free, earn $20 toward your next pair, and know your old sneakers will either be donated or disassembled to keep materials in circulation. And from day one, they’ve committed to carbon neutrality — offsetting more emissions than they create through verified projects like forest expansion and wind energy.

Sustainable. Stylish. Circular. These are sneakers designed to look good, feel good, and do good.