Ethletic makes stylish fairtrade and vegan unisex sneakers.
The founders of Ethletic, James Lloyd and Dr. Martin Kunz started the company in 1998 to make the world’s first fair trade football. But after a supplier meeting in Pakistan, one of the founders accidentally left a canvas shoe with a rubber sole, and they had a new goal: to make a fair trade sneaker. So in 2004, Ethletic pivoted to producing vegan sneakers.
Price
Ethletic footwear prices start at €59,90 for the women’s ballerina up to €109 for the unisex hi-top sneakers. The company also has an online outlet store where you can pick up discontinued items for as cheap as €29,90.
Animal rights
Ethletic is a vegan-forward company—meaning that they’re not trying to hide that they’re a business that seeks to avoid animal suffering as much as is practical. Even though Ethletic doesn’t use the word “vegan” in their name, they reference it throughout their branding.
As a vegan customer, you don’t need to wonder if some of the range isn’t vegan or if they use animal-derived glues. And if that wasn’t enough, Ethletic has PETA-Approved Vegan certification.
Human rights
When it comes to human welfare, Ethletic is an industry leader. In fact, Ethletic was the first sneaker manufacturer to disclose its supply chain.
You can verify Ethletic’s super clean supply chain through their “trace your sneaker” initiative—where you see every step of production through the TRACYCLE website. It’s incredible.
Ethletic also goes above and beyond to help their workers. The company has set up a “tip button” on their website so that customers can directly tip the workers who made their shoes. The company also donates a portion of its profits to build schools in its factories’ communities.
Materials
Ethletic does a wonderful job sourcing and using sustainable materials in shoe production. Let’s take a closer look.
Organic cotton
Ethletic only uses organic cotton in their shoes. Unlike conventional cotton, organic cotton is grown without harmful pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
The cotton farmers that Ethletic works with get a guaranteed fixed price for their organic cotton, plus an additional Fairtrade Premium. This premium is used for community projects like healthcare and education initiatives.
Natural rubber
Ethletic shoes are made with natural rubber from FSC®-certified plantations. The rubber is then processed into a paste, rolled, dried, and sent to the Ethletic manufactory as crepe in bales.
There, the crepe is vulcanized—baked in a special oven—which turns it into elastic rubber soles. Ethletic also uses latex milk, which is vulcanized, to connect the sole and shoe instead of synthetic adhesives.
Recycled polyester
The laces, eyelets, and counter reinforcements on Ethletic shoes are made from recycled polyester. Recycling polyester uses much less water, and energy than producing virgin polyester does.
To give their shoes an extra pop of color, Ethletic uses water-based dyes on the recycled polyester laces and eyelets. These dyes don’t require any heavy metals or toxic chemicals to adhere to the fabric—unlike traditional dyes.
The result is a beautiful and sustainable sneaker you can feel good about wearing.
Product line
The Ethletic product lineup is ultra-focused on sneakers, whether lo-top or hi-top. You’ll also see the occasional women’s flats, flip flops, or indoor/outdoor slippers.
Ethletic doesn’t have a kids range.
Payment and shipping
Ethletic is an online store based in Germany and ships to Europe and the USA. The company has plans to expand to Australia and Asia in the near future.
All payments are processed in EUR—although you can browse currencies in GBP and USD. You can pay for your order with Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Klama, or a bank transfer.
Ethletic offers free shipping to EU customers if your cart size is over €115; otherwise, it’s a flat rate.
| Country | Price | Free Threshold |
| EU | €10,70 | €115 |
| Switzerland | €17,40 | NA |
| USA | €16,72 | NA |
Within Germany, delivery times are 2-4 days. A shipping time of at least 5 days should be anticipated throughout Europe. Orders going outside of Europe may take up to 6 weeks to arrive.
Ethletic also has a wholesale program, so you could contact your local shoe shops to see if they could stock the brand. Be sure to Google “Ethletic sneakers {my city}” to check availability first.
Returns and exchanges
Ethletic has a pretty standard return and exchange policy. Goods can be returned within 30 days of receipt—with the customer bearing the shipping cost.
Shoes need to be in a new, unworn condition to be eligible for a return or exchange. If you’ve only tried them on indoors, that’s usually fine.
Customer service
Ethletic provides customer support through a contact form on their website. We couldn’t find their trading hours, but they appear to have a ticketing system to address any queries you may have. You can also find self-service support pages on the Ethletic website for topics like returns and exchanges, sizing, and delivery.
What could be better?
Ethletic could improve its international website presence by adding multiple currencies for payments. They could also offer more free shipping options and free returns. This would make it easier for customers to shop from around the world and would encourage more people to try out their products.
But overall, Ethletic is a fantastic, ethically and sustainably focused company. We highly recommend checking out their website if you’re looking for a new pair of vegan sneakers. You won’t be disappointed!