FDRA defines shoe sustainability as shoe design, development, manufacturing, distribution, and selling processes that minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources, are safe for employees, communities and consumers, and are economically sound.

To ensure you are factually using EPMs, and know the percent of recycled or bio-based materials, you must get it certified. Based on the material type, these groups and standards below are ones to use to get this critical information. Absent certification, you cannot make real, substantiated, claims about your materials or end product. Learn about our responsible sourcing partners and certification information here.

As the footwear industry's association, FDRA and its members have a responsibility to make strides for the environment. Our industry contributes upwards of 700 million metric tons (MT) of CO2 equivalent emissions to the best we can estimate, and that is 700 million MT too many. However, it is difficult for industries like ours who source materials from a variety of upstream industry contributors to administer and manage a price on carbon. This is why, as an industry, we support a price on carbon that will equitably and efficiently incentivize lower carbon innovation and progress that our environment demands. This carbon price would be levied upstream into the foundational industries such as energy generation, oil and gas, agriculture, and chemicals. Each of our members will bear the effects of a price on carbon, but it will be borne equally and fairly by our members in such a way that protects competitiveness and does not unnecessarily burden one of our members over another. We are less concerned about the mechanism of pricing carbon, e.g., a carbon tax, dividend, cap and trade, or others, and more focused on being a leading voice to help solve climate change, one of the most important challenges of our times. We state this to plant a flag in the sand as we proceed on how this can be accomplished.

This statement was approved by FDRA’s Sustainability Working Group on December 14, 2020.

Decrease your footprint and costs of going alone—join FDRA! FDRA brings together 150 companies each month to hear from top experts and share ideas, best practices and tips on bio-materials, recycled efforts, new processes, measuring carbon and emissions. We also help companies formulate and refine strategy across all departments. All this is free to FDRA members who use our key intelligence and expert insights to chart the right sustainable path for their company. Learn more how we can support your operations​.