12 Shoe Brands Like Allbirds for Eco-Friendly Comfort
You bought them because they felt like slippers you could wear to a meeting. Then the wool went thin over the toe, the sole flattened out, and the same pair costs another $110. Allbirds builds its range around two material lines, Wool and Tree, and prices the Wool Runner at $110 and the Tree Runner at $100. The pitch is comfort out of a natural fibre instead of a logo on the side. These 12 brands sell the same idea. Four of them build shoes from wool, three make them waterproof, and the cheapest pair here costs $55.
Quick comparison:
| Brand | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Rothy's | $125 to $160 on sneakers | Shoes that go in the washing machine |
| Native Shoes | Mid-range | Moulded slip-ons you rinse under a tap |
| SAOLA | $109.95 to $139.95 | A merino upper in colours Allbirds skips |
| TOMS | $70 to $100 on sneakers | The cheapest way in |
| Vivobarefoot | Premium | Thin soles and natural foot movement |
| Will's Vegan Shoes | $58 to $124 on sneakers | Comfort with no wool in it |
| Baabuk | €99.95 to €199.95 on the Wooler line | Portuguese felted wool |
| 8000Kicks | $55 to $199 | Hemp that shrugs off rain |
| Vessi | $130 to $200 | Wet commutes, vegan throughout |
| Glerups | $105 to $250 | Wool felt indoors and out |
| Giesswein | $143.94 to $191.94 on wool shoes | Merino from a 1954 wool house |
| Thousand Fell | $145 to $205 | Sending the old pair back to be recycled |
Rothy's
Rothy's knits its shoes from thread spun out of recycled plastic bottles, and the sneakers run $125 to $160. The Original Slip On Sneaker ($125) is the pair to hold up against a Wool Runner, the Men's Court Sneaker is $150, and the RS01 is $160.
The washing machine is the whole argument. Wool wants a careful hand wash and a long dry, and it holds a smell in the meantime. A Rothy's upper goes in on cold with the laces out.
Rothy's says it has used over 200 million recycled bottles, and that knitting each upper to shape leaves under 1% material waste against the 25% to 50% it describes as typical in shoe manufacturing. Fit runs true to size and wide sizes are online only. Our Rothy's alternatives guide covers the flats and the bags.
Best for: Shoes you can put through a wash cycle.
Native Shoes
Native Shoes moulds its shoes from lightweight foam, and the Jefferson is the model that made its name. The construction sits closer to a clog than a sneaker, one piece you rinse under a tap and leave on a step to dry, which is a different sort of easy from a knit upper you have to baby.
Say this one plainly: the Native Shoes site blocks automated checks, so we couldn't confirm current prices for this refresh. Go and look before you set a budget around it.
Where Allbirds sells one adult staple in muted colours, Native runs deep on kids' sizes and loud ones. It tends to end up as the family brand, the pair that goes to the beach and comes back full of sand without anybody minding. The trade against a Wool Runner is warmth, because foam does nothing for a cold morning.
Best for: Beaches, kids and shoes you can hose down.
SAOLA
SAOLA prices its shoes from $109.95 to $139.95, and the Tsavo 2.0 Wool ($139.95) is the closest thing here to a Wool Runner with a different personality. The upper is 85% ZQ-certified merino wool with 10% polyamide and 5% spandex, and it comes in wine.
The rest of the shoe is documented as carefully as the upper. SAOLA lists an insole of 85% recycled PU plus cork, a midsole of 35% recycled EVA, a lining of 40% recycled microfibre, an outsole blended from 55% natural rubber, 40% synthetic rubber and 5% cork, and laces of 100% organic cotton.
Colour is the split with Allbirds. Allbirds holds to greys, blacks and naturals. SAOLA runs the Cannon Canvas 2.0 at $109.95 in navy and the Bali at $109.95 in brighter shades, and there's a waterproof line the standard Wool Runner has no answer to.
Best for: A merino shoe that isn't beige.
TOMS
TOMS sneakers run $70 to $100, which undercuts the $100 Tree Runner and the $110 Wool Runner. The Izzy Lace-Up and the Emily Slip On are both $70, the TRVL Lite Palisade is $90, and the TRVL Lite Wedge is $100.
This is canvas rather than wool, so the comfort works differently. A TOMS slip-on gives you no thermal regulation and not much structure. What it gives you is a shoe you can leave in the boot of a car all summer and stop thinking about.
On its impact page TOMS reports "$200M+ given in the form of grants and shoe donations since 2006" and "100M+ pairs of shoes given", naming Save the Children, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services and GirlForward as partners. The shoe-for-a-shoe model people remember has changed shape since then. Our TOMS alternatives guide goes through that end of the market.
Best for: A $70 pair you don't have to look after.
Vivobarefoot
Vivobarefoot builds shoes with thin, flexible soles and a wide toe box so the foot bends the way it would with nothing on it. That's a different definition of comfort from the foam under a Wool Runner, and the switch takes weeks of short walks before it feels normal.
The overlap with an Allbirds shopper is the person who reads a material list before buying and wants the shoe to do something for their feet. The divergence is the sole. Allbirds adds cushioning. Vivobarefoot takes it away.
We've left figures out of this section because the shop wouldn't serve them for checking, and the range sits in the premium band. Barefoot shoes are the one category here you shouldn't buy unseen, since the fit decides whether the pair gets worn at all. Our Vivobarefoot alternatives guide covers the specialists.
Best for: Anyone curious about barefoot shoes.
Will's Vegan Shoes
Will's Vegan Shoes sells sneakers from $58 to $124 and holds the one position Allbirds can't, which is a soft everyday shoe with no animal fibre in it. The LDN Biodegradable Sneakers ($91) use a Tencel knit for the upper, lining, laces, tips, padding, tape and stitching, over an Apinat outsole and a wood-fibre and natural-latex insole.
The claims attached to that shoe are specific enough to check. The brand states the LDN is certified carbon-neutral and that its materials are certified compostable and biodegradable under industrial, home, soil and marine conditions against Din Certco, Vincotte and US BPI standards.
Everything is made in Portugal and shipped through what the brand calls a carbon-neutral supply chain in paper and cardboard. Cheaper options sit inside the range, with the Chicago Low Tops at $58 and the WVSport Recycled Freedom Trainers at $60, and prices display in dollars.
Best for: Everyday comfort with no wool in it.
Baabuk
Baabuk makes wool shoes and prices them in euros, from €99.95 to €199.95 across the Wooler line. The Classic Wooler (€99.95) is the entry model, the Urban Wooler is €135.95, the Sky Wooler is €145.95, and the Shunya Wooler is €199.95.
The wool story runs deeper than a materials tag. Baabuk describes a natural Portuguese mulesing-free sheep wool upper, a merino blend lining and a TPU sole, designed in Switzerland and made in Portugal on century-old looms. The reference point is burel, the felted cloth Portuguese shepherds used against bad weather.
The brand says it's B Corp certified, runs a recycling programme and puts a 365-day warranty on its products. Pricing in euros is the thing to plan around from the US, because the exchange rate lands on top of the sticker. Shipping is free on most orders over 200 EUR, CHF or USD.
Best for: Cold mornings and wet pavements.
8000Kicks
8000Kicks makes its shoes from hemp, from a $55 slip-on up to a $199 Chelsea boot. The Explorer V2 ($129) is the model the brand calls the first waterproof hemp shoe, the Hemp Runners are $145, the Trekker is $149, and the SunSlide slip-on is $55.
Hemp behaves nothing like merino. The weave is coarse and visible, the crop takes little water to grow, and the finished upper reads handmade next to the smooth knit of a Tree Runner. Part of what people like about Allbirds is that the shoe disappears on the foot. This one won't, by design.
The Hemp Runners page lists hemp insoles, a speed board in the sole, reflective laces, ankle support and a wide toe box. Shipping is free in the US and EU above $90, returns run 60 days, and the catalogue stretches into hemp backpacks and hats.
Best for: Rain, without a plastic coating.
Vessi
Vessi sells knit shoes from $130 to $200 and builds the range around one claim, which is that water stays outside. The Men's Weekend Classic ($150) uses the brand's patented Dyma-tex knit, the Boardwalk Slip-On is $130, and the Alta High Top is $200.
Three Vancouverites started the company in 2018, which explains the brief it set itself. Vessi says every product is "PFAS-Free and vegan right down to the glue", so this is a waterproof shoe that reaches for neither a leather panel nor a chemical coating.
Set against a Wool Runner, the trade is warmth for dryness. Wool handles a cold morning and Dyma-tex handles a puddle. The knit runs snug, so size up if you sit between sizes. Shipping is free across North America over $150 and returns run 30 days.
Best for: A wet walk to the office.
Glerups
Glerups makes felted wool footwear in Denmark, priced $105 to $250, and it's the pick if what you loved about Allbirds was the wool rather than the sneaker shape. The slip-on with a calfskin sole is $105, the same shape comes with a rubber sole for outdoors, and the Langdal ($250) is a lace-up built for all year.
Nanny Glerup registered the company in 1993 at 53, on a farm in Northern Jutland that's still the head office, and the Gotland sheep arrived shortly after. Glerups describes the slip-on as 100% pure natural wool on a soft calfskin sole, and the Langdal as wool with chrome-free leather, coir, natural rubber and organic cotton, with an insole and midsole made from coconut left over from food production.
On certification the brand states it has "achieved the Cradle to Cradle Certification® Bronze for our slippers based on version 4.1", which sits with the product rather than the company. Kids' shoes start at $60.
Best for: Wool that works indoors and out.
Giesswein
Giesswein has worked with wool since 1954, and its US store prices wool shoes from $143.94 to $191.94. The Merino Runners ($179.94) is the flagship, the Wool Sneaker is $143.94, and the Wool Dream is $191.94.
This is the Austrian family firm that reached merino sneakers early. Brothers Markus and Johannes Giesswein run the third generation, the first slipper shipped in 1974 and over 50 million pairs have followed, and the first merino sneaker launched in 2017 through a Kickstarter campaign.
The Merino Runners lists a virgin merino upper, lining and inner sole over an EVA and rubber outsole, with a removable footbed. Across the wider range Giesswein uses eucalyptus fibre from FSC-certified forests and recycled PET. Shipping is free and returns are free inside the US, which softens the gap to the $110 Wool Runner.
Best for: Merino from a house that's made wool for 70 years.
Thousand Fell
Thousand Fell sells sneakers from $145 to $205 and takes them back when you're finished with them. The Men's Court ($155) is the core low-top, the Lace Up is $145, and the Driver is $205.
The take-back is the reason it sits on this list. Thousand Fell recycles returned pairs through SuperCircle, breaking them into component parts for new raw materials and donating wearable pairs, and it credits an account up to $65 per pair against the next order. A worn-out Wool Runner has nowhere comparable to go.
Shoes are made in a family-owned factory in Brazil with as many local materials as the brand could find, including food-waste components. The finish reads sharper than a wool upper, so this is the pair that works with trousers. Shipping is free over $250 and returns run 30 days.
Best for: Shoes with somewhere to go at the end.
Which Pair Replaces Your Allbirds
Start from whatever wore out first. If the wool went thin, Glerups and Giesswein build heavier wool than Allbirds does and charge for it. A flattened sole is the harder call, because Vivobarefoot answers it by taking the cushioning away and Vessi answers it by rebuilding the shoe around a waterproof knit. And if the pair just got filthy, Rothy's washes.
On price, the $70 TOMS Izzy and the $55 8000Kicks SunSlide are the only shoes here that come in under a $100 Tree Runner. On wool alone, SAOLA's Tsavo 2.0 Wool at $139.95 is the nearest swap you can make without changing what the shoe feels like. And if the part that nags at you is where the pair ends up, Thousand Fell is the one brand on this list that will take it back. More of our brand guides live in the archive, and the wider eco-sneaker field is in our Veja alternatives piece.
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Written by
Spencer Lanoue
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