Recently on an episode of The View, an eco-friendly shoe company got noticed in a big way by one of the co-hosts, Whoopi Goldberg. She did a segment on her favorite shoes and Terra Plana was on the list. Terra Plana, which means “Flat Land”, makes a variety of products that fit into one or more of the following three categories:

1. 21st Century Artisan – Their artists don’t only understand and have great passion for shoe design, but they understand the importance of new innovative design techniques and materials to help the environment.
2. Recycled Materials – One of their sub brands, Worn Again, focuses only on design and manufacturing shoes.
3. Bare Foot - Terra Plana understands that we would all rather be barefoot and it’s better for our bodies, but we have to wear shoes. Their Vivo Barefoot and Dopie are two concepts attempting to marry the barefoot feel with the necessity of a shoe.

According to the Worn Again site, they use the most unusual items in making their trainers. Everything from old men's suits, car seats, granddad shirts and prison blankets to fireman's trousers, jeans and coffee bags! Now that they have a firm grasp on the materials, they can concentrate on utilizing local materials and trying to minimize the miles the shoes have to travel to get to the stores! They also have a strict ethical policy, trying to help the world, starting with the way the company is run. They are concerned with how their employees get to work, how the workers in the factories are treated and committed to quality. Terra Plana boasts they are compliant with the most current ISO standards and pride themselves in taking every step possible to ensure they are helping the planet while offering stylish shoes.

Terra Plana also makes purses in the Worn Again line, plus their next-best-thing to being barefoot Vivio Barefoot and Dopie, clips to keep the back of blue jeans from getting ruined by dragging on the ground.

Photo Credit: Terra Plana website