01 September 2009

A high kick for eco high heels! (don't try that at home)


My latest adventure climbing through the jungles of the World Wide Web sent me in search of the ever elusive eco-shoe... (and here's the catch) that is actually cute. A few clicks and not-quite-rights later, I stumbled upon Terra Plana. The script read right for the eco part of eco-couture- "Inspired by ecological survival, TERRA PLANA believes in a variety of non-generic products supporting ideas of sustainability: lightness, anatomic design, disassembly and durability," but could these shoes walk the catwalk?

In my humble opinion the answer is yes yes and yes. On top of that, I think that these peep toe sling-back high heels you see up top could hop right off the catwalk and make the walk to work with their recycled memory foam lining. High heels with memory foam lining? Recycled??? We really are getting somewhere, folks.

What made these shoes my favorite, if anyone was asking, is that they pack a colorful punch and ecological soul power from incorporating recycled Pakistani quilts in their upper. This makes each of these gorgeous ladies unique in their own way, as if they weren't unique enough already.

Terra Plana makes mens and kids shoes too, as well as a series that mocks what it's like to go barefoot, so you can get the health benefits of walking the way nature intended (without exposure to all that street funk you don't need between your toes). With at least one part of every shoe design coming from recycled material and an attention to wise and healthy material use, Terra Plana aims to come closer to the true sustainable shoe with each collection. Now that's something to put on your party shoes and dance to.