The 5 Best Repairable Shoe Brands You Shoe-d Know
Repairable shoes used to be commonplace (back when clothing and other products were of higher quality, durable, and could be repaired again and again). But you know what they say: ‘They don’t make ‘em as they used to.’
Thanks to fast fashion, shoes and clothing are designed to be discarded after a relatively short life, contributing to the millions of tons of textile waste sent to landfills every year. By opting for shoes that can be repaired, you divert waste and prevent the manufacturing impact of buying a new pair.
If you’re wondering how to repair the shoes already on your feet, hop down to the bottom for some tips. But if it’s time to buy new, opt for thoughtfully made, durable footwear that you can repeatedly repair for maximum usage.
The Full List Of Our Favorite Repairable Shoe Brands
1. VYN
About VYN
Price Range: $570
Swiss sneaker brand VYN has designed its repairable sneakers with components, namely the heel and the heel counter, that can be replaced at home. The replacement parts also come in different colors so you can customize your shoe to suit your style.
VYN has a core collection of classic street sneakers perfect for jaunts around town or on your carbon-reducing transportation method of choice.
The VYN 2-in-1 model is available in six classy colors, and you get two looks in one, thanks to the extra set of heel pieces included with each pair. They also feature a comfortable Portuguese cork insole, so you’ll stay stylishly comfortable for a long time.
VYN’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The leather for their uppers is sourced from a LWG Gold-rated German tannery that works with regenerative farms and is carbon neutral and ECO₂L certified. VYN has full visibility into where this leather is sourced and how it is processed so they can follow a hide from the farm to the tannery.
Italian leather is used for the shoe linings, and cork fabric for the insoles.
Supply chain & labor practices:
VYN sources all materials and components from European-certified parters. Their repairable leather shoes are produced in a family-run factory in Italy that holds the Bureau Veritas’ environmental certification.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
VYN is focused on creating a circular system for its sneakers, which is one reason why it emphasizes their repairability.
2. GORAL
About GORAL
Price Range: $247—$389
UK-based GORAL offers a lifetime repair guarantee for all of its handmade resoleable shoes and sneakers. Every shoe they produce is handcrafted in their family workshop in Sheffield, meaning they can directly oversee the quality and repairability of every pair they sell.
While they specialize in repairable men’s shoes with several styles of trainers, loafers, and boots, they do also offer one style of classic sneaker for women. International shipping and repair services ensure that you can enjoy their products no matter where you’re based.
GORAL’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
GORAL resoleable sneakers feature full-grain leather uppers sourced from carefully selected tanneries. The lining, lasting board, and heel counter are also leather. The insoles are made from moulded rubber, and the midsole is made from felted wool. The Selkton line features a waxed cotton upper combined with leather accents.
Outsoles are made from a combination of natural latex and rubber. They also feature recycled plastic heel and tongue padding, and waxed cotton laces.
A unique Blake Stitch construction allows for the separation of the insole and outsole from the upper allowing for easy replacement through their REBUILD+ service. You can also buy new insoles and laces to replace yourself.
Supply chain & labor practices:
GORAL’s shoes with replaceable soles are produced in-house in their UK workshop. They source their leather from tanneries in Europe and the UK and share the tannery details (including a link to the tannery’s website) in the introduction to each collection.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
GORAL offers a lifetime repair guarantee on all its shoes, meaning that they will happily take care of any repairs needed during the usable life of each pair (at a reasonable cost). You can also shop their REPURPOSED line to help put factory leftovers and scraps to good use.
They ship in locally-sourced FSC-certified packaging and offset the emissions.
3. Vivobarefoot
About Vivobarefoot
Price Range: $120—$280
Barefoot is the best, or so Vivobarefoot says. They sell sustainable running shoes and lifestyle shoes, all incorporating barefoot, feet-friendly technology that supports the natural shape and needs of feet.
Their shoes range from ballet flats to rain boots to repairable running shoes like the PRIMUS LITE IV ALL WEATHER. Vivo’s water-resistant version of their Primus trainer features a 2mm performance outsole and an insole made from 98% recycled PU foam.
Currently, their Revivo repair service is only available to folks in the UK and Germany, but they’re working on developing partnerships with Vivo-approved cobblers globally. Also note that whilst all new styles are designed to be repaired, several of their older styles (Kasana, Primus Lite, Primus Lite II, Primus Knit, Stealth, and the Ultra models) are not repairable.
Vivo’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Vivo is working to incorporate more sustainable fabrics into its designs, such as recycled polyester, recycled PU, plant-based TPU, algae foam, and natural rubber.
Most of their leather is “wild hide” leather sourced from free-roaming cattle in Ethiopia and wool is sourced from Woolmark-certified farms in Australia.
Supply chain & labor practices:
As a Certified B Corp, Vivobarefoot has committed to transparent business practices, including sharing its supply chain and labor policies. Their shoes are made in ethically monitored factories in China, Vietnam, and Portugal.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Committed to developing a sustainable business (and acknowledging there is much work to be done), Vivobarefoot shares its aims and progress via its Unfinished Business annual reports.
With the goal of eventually making entirely closed-loop footwear, their Revivo line either repairs shoes for resale (or for return to you) or recycles shoes that can’t be repaired into new ones.
Community & charitable giving:
The Livebarefoot Fund is Vivo’s in-house impact fund supporting sustainable innovation in the footwear industry. It supports a diverse range of projects, from ethical trading and preserving indigenous shoe-making to conservation and regenerative farming projects.
4. Nisolo
About Nisolo
Price Range: $138—$250
Handmade shoes are typically conducive to repair, so you can rest assured that a pair of Nisolo shoes will be a long-term footwear investment if cared for properly. They offer shoes for women, men, and kids, including ethical heels, flats, mules, oxfords, boots, and repairable dress shoes.
If you’re on the hunt for some repairable boots, we can personally recommend the Ana Heeled Chelsea Boot. After wearing them for over a year now, we can vouch for their durability and love how comfortable and versatile they are.
Nisolo’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The best repairable shoes are made of leather due to its durability and ease of repair. 95% of Nisolo’s leather comes from LWG-certified tanneries.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The factories Nisolo owns or partners with span several continents—such as their own Peruvian factory which manufactures most of their shoes—but the people-first ethos verified by third-party audits is consistent regardless of location.
As co-founders of the Lowest Wage Challenge, they hold themselves accountable by sharing the lowest wages in their supply chain, and all partners offer wages and employee support above and beyond the minimum for each region.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Nisolo is B Corp Certified, Climate Neutral Certified (with a 0% net carbon commitment), and a #1 Re/Make brand. Keep up to date with Nisolo’s mission by perusing their latest impact report.
While they don’t offer a repair service, offering classically-built leather models means most cobblers will be able to work on Nisolo shoes.
Community & charitable giving:
Their shoe reclamation program recycles old shoes through Soles4Souls, helping support underserved communities
5. VEJA
About VEJA
Price Range: $135–$245
French brand VEJA has been making sustainable shoes for over two decades.
They offer several active and casual designs, including running shoes, volley shoes, trekking shoes, retro-inspired skate shoes, and more. Believing that “change begins with repair“, the brand launched its Clean, Repair, and Collect program to keep shoes in circulation for longer.
They have repair stations in their Bordeaux, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and Brooklyn stores. As well as an in-store cobbler, their Paris store also has a tailor, so you can take along your clothing for mending, too.
VEJA’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
For shoe uppers, VEJA uses leather sourced from LWG Gold-certified tanneries, recycled polyester, organic and regeneratively grown cotton, and C.W.L. (Cotton Worked As Leather), which uses a 54% bio-based coating made from PU, corn starch, and ricinus oil.
Other materials include castor bean oil, sugarcane, rice waste, and Amazonian rubber.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The Certified B Corp works with a manufacturing partner in Brazil, where many of its materials are sourced.
Organic cotton is sourced from Brazil and Peru, and VEJA goes the extra mile to support its suppliers by pre-financing harvests and paying double market prices.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
VEJA has measured its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and shares the details in its carbon footprint report. The majority of emissions come from the raw materials stage, namely leather. They are working to increase the amount of ecological leather they use and reduce the total amount of leather used across their collections.
They also use renewable energy, ship by boat rather than by plane, and extend the life of customer’s shoes via the Clean, Repair, and Collect program.
Community & charitable giving:
Through a partnership with Log’ins, VEJA’s Parisian warehouse provides employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities and those facing social exclusion.
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Repairable Shoes: DIY Repairs, Cobblers, & Recycling
Are shoes repairable?
Abso-boot-ly!
While most shoe brands don’t actively advertise their shoes’ repairability, this doesn’t mean they can’t be repaired. A good rule of thumb to determine a “repairable shoe” is to check whether the soles and heels (which wear out much faster than the shoe’s uppers) can be replaced.
Shoes that typically work well for repairs include high heels, loafers, flats, dress boots, work boots, and sandals. Those made of leather (or some vegan leather alternatives) are the best candidates. Leather is a durable and sturdy material, and while they may be a pricer option, repairable leather shoes last far longer by resisting breaking down and are more conducive to repairs when they do.
DIY Repairs
If the sole of your sneaker is coming away from the shoe’s fabric, a bottle of shoe glue and some drying time will reattach it in a jiffy. You can also replace the insoles provided you have the appropriate replacement.
Some responsible brands, like Baabuk, offer a shoe repair kits. While simple repairs can be done at home, more complicated repairs require a trip to the cobbler.
Consult A Cobbler
With years of experience under their belt (err, shoe?), cobblers are a repairable shoe’s best friend. Apart from replacing soles and heels, other fixes include mending or replacing straps, redoing loose stitching, stretching tight heels, replacing the lining, dyeing shoes different colors, and repairing chewing damage from your beloved pup.
If you don’t have a local cobbler, online services such as Coblrshop offer a mail-in service for hassle-free repairs.
Prices vary from region to region, but most online cobbler-by-mail companies offer basic repairs for less than $100. More extensive repairs will cost extra, but you’ll still likely walk away with more in your pocket than if you’d had to splurge on a new pair.
Shoes Beyond Repair
If your trusty pair is beyond repair, and you’re left wondering what to do with old shoes, here are some options for recycling:
1. Check if the brand you purchased them from has a recycling program.
Some brands will either refurbish the old pair of shoes so they can be given a second life, recycle them into something new, or (like Nisolo on our list) donate them to charitable otrganizations that turn them into opportunities for individuals and communities experiencing poverty:
2. Check out local recycling options.
Recycling locally is always preferable as it reduces the carbon output associated with shipping. The American Textile Recycling Service operates donation bins across the country, and you can schedule home collections with organizations like Simple Recycling.
3. Ship them to TerraCycle.
If your local recycling center is not equipped to recycle shoes properly, TerraCycle offers a ZeroWaste box that you can purchase, fill with shoes, and send back to them to process. Consider sharing a box with a few friends to cut the cost!
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Kid Skin ? (In the ABLE part)
Thanks Lois, I’m guessing this was relating to a product that used goat leather but I agree it could be interpreted in quite the wrong way! Plus I can’t see any reference to it on the ABLE website anymore so have removed that reference. Many thanks for the note on this.