2.2
April 20, 2009

Stylee green shoes for under $30? Payless Zoe & Zac w/ Summer Rayne Oakes.

We’ve reported on Summer Rayne Oakes‘ partnership with Payless on their eco, green Zoe & Zac line. Click here for video. I’m not sure what the Zac stands for, as there aren’t any mens shoes, but hey—this represents a seminal change in the green conversation—folks can no longer say, ah, love the Mother Earth thing, but that stuff is too expensive, it’s just for yuppies. This entire line is below $30. Must be made in China, or something similar, at prices like that? Well, I’ll give ’em the benefit of doubt, until I know otherwise…Summer Rayne Oakes, the Famous Princess of Ecofashion, always does her best to make sure that social and fair-labor issues are part of the green conversation.

But how are they green, you ask? Funny, Payless just happens to have a button you can click on titled How We’re Green. Click it, you get this:

More options via green giant Ideal Bite: 

Want eco-stilettos that’ll bring the noise?

The Bite
Then listen here: We’ve got sustainable heels (made from fabrics such as scrap wood) that scream out style.

  • Stylish harmony with your wardrobe. These looks are ready to rock the runway…less so the commune.
  • Sound investments for the planet. Compared to eco-fabrics like organic cotton, new leather takes tons more water (about 4,400 gallons for a pair of shoes) and energy to produce; most of our options are leather-free.
  • Hearing the words “PVC-free vegan.” Many vegan shoes contain the carcinogenic plastic PVC. Not these.

Personally Speaking
Always a creature of comfort, 
Heather takes off her heels whenever she can – and on several New Year’s Eves ended the night picking glass out of her feet after walking home barefoot.

  • Form & Fauna Cleopatra – Greek-inspired t-strap wedge in gold and white, or black; made with organic cotton and scrap wood. Find a store ($250).
  • Charmoné Bellini – flashy gold-and-black-print, peep-toe heels, made from PVC-free faux leather ($199).
  • Olsen Haus Grace – vegan, non-PVC, faux-suede stilettos with a paint-splatter design; in black, pink, or red ($175).
  • Mohop High Cherry Wedge Platform Sandal – innovative design that lets you choose from different colored ribbons for laces, with sustainably sourced, solid-cherry heels; recycled-rubber soles; and nylon (read: plastic that’s less toxic than PVC), faux-leather footbeds ($148).
  • Watch for Payless’s new eco line (everything’s under $30), launching around Earth Day (Apr. 22).

The Benefits Wanna Try?

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