Cork Traveller Shoes

If you are worried about the environmental effects of your gear purchases, these cork shoes are a great way of minimizing that impact.

Handcrafted from natural cork, these wool-lined, all-terrain shoes are a sustainable product that will perform just as well on outdoor hikes as city strolls. They look like a well-designed low top pair of hiking shoes, but they are made from cork.

This offers thermoregulation and water resistance, plus a cork-rubber sole provides great grip. Each pair is handmade in Portugal at a family-run factory.

There are four different colors to choose from, including natural cork, indigo blue, a green version with a flower pattern and a mixed grey and turquoise. The natural cork version has a slightly different profile, but the fits are otherwise the same.

The company did research into the suppliers and made sure each stage of the production process is as sustainable as possible. For example, 55 percent of the electricity used at the factory comes from renewable energy, so you can be sure your shoes contribute less to the climate crisis than other brands.

You can buy the shoes for $156 from the Kickstarter campaign, which far surpassed its funding target. The shoes are scheduled for delivery in December 2019.