13 Shoe Brands Like Toms for Stylish & Ethical Choices
The Alpargata Classic ($60) is the shoe you put on when you don't want to think about shoes. That's the appeal of Toms, and it's also where the brand runs out of road, because canvas slip-ons flatten out and a wardrobe eventually wants a boot too.
Toms has moved on from the one-for-one giving it launched with. Its impact page now counts "$200M+ given in the form of grants and shoe donations since 2006" alongside "100M+ pairs of shoes given". These 13 brands sell footwear you can wear the same careless way, and every price and material below came off the brand's own site this month.
| Brand | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Allbirds | $75 to $160 | Sockless everyday sneakers in wool and tree fibre |
| Veja | From $140 | A sneaker that reads as designer, made with Amazonian rubber |
| Rothy's | $55 to $185 | Machine-washable flats knit from recycled bottles |
| Nisolo | $39 to $268 | Leather boots and sandals you keep for years |
| Vagabond Shoemakers | $140 to $210 on loafers | Scandinavian shapes with a harder fashion edge |
| Saola | $109.95 to $139.95 | Vegan sneakers in recycled PET and cork |
| Native Shoes | From $50 | Washable slip-ons for kids, water and mud |
| Blundstone | $134.95 to $394.95 | One Chelsea boot that outlasts the trend cycle |
| Good News | £110 to £170 (GBP) | Loud retro trainers on recycled rubber soles |
| Everlane | $98 to $348 | Plain leather flats and boots at a mid price |
| Vivobarefoot | From $125 | Thin-soled, wide-toed shoes for foot strength |
| Matt & Nat | CA$85 to CA$160 | Fully vegan sandals, mules and Chelsea boots |
| Ethletic | €79.90 to €129.90 | Fairtrade cotton canvas, if you're shopping in Europe |
Allbirds
Allbirds is the closest swap for a pair of Toms if what you want is a shoe you can pull on barefoot and stop noticing. Shoes run $75 to $160. The brand's materials page states its aim plainly: "We replace petroleum-based synthetics with natural alternatives wherever we can. Like using wool, tree fiber, and sugarcane."
The Cruiser ($105) is the one to start with, and the Cruiser Slip On in canvas ($100) is the nearest thing on this list to a laceless Alpargata. If you want the style that made the brand's name, the Wool Runner is still in the line, and the waterproof mid version runs $160. Half sizes run all the way through the size grid, which isn't a given at this price.
Best for: a soft everyday sneaker you wear without socks.
Veja
Veja is the pick when you want the ethical sourcing story and a shoe that looks like it cost more than it did. The French brand's sneakers start around $140 for the Etna in suede or leather, and its own site describes the project as "mixing social projects, economic justice, and ecological materials", with rubber tapped by Amazonian seringueiros.
Where Toms keeps the silhouette soft and slouchy, Veja's is flat, structured and logo-forward, with that outsized V on the side panel. The Campo and the V-90 are the models you've seen on other people. Expect a firmer footbed than you get from a canvas slip-on, and a break-in of a week or so on the leather versions. Veja also runs kids' and running lines from the same store, so a household can stay on one brand.
Best for: a clean white sneaker with a traceable supply chain.
Rothy's
Rothy's knits its shoes from recycled plastic bottles and then lets you put them in the washing machine, which is the practical argument for buying a pair. Its counter reads "200,647,202+" bottles used, and the sustainability page says the thread is "knit into every product we make".
Footwear runs $55 to $185. The Casual Clog ($160) and the Ravello Penny Loafer ($185) sit at the smarter end, and there's a kids' line from $55. This is the alternative that works for an office where canvas slip-ons don't, and the washability means light colours stay wearable past week three.
Best for: a washable flat you can wear to work.
Nisolo
Nisolo sells leather footwear at $39 to $268 across sandals, flats, loafers and boots. On its about page the brand says "100% of our leather is certified by the Leather Working Group, the largest and most recognized certification for responsible leather manufacturing", and describes itself as women-led.
The Go-To Chelsea Boot 2.0 ($250) and the Marco Everyday Chelsea ($268) are the anchors of the men's line, while the Go-To Flatform Sandal ($49) is the cheapest way in. Nothing here shares the Toms silhouette. What it shares is the argument that a shoe should still be worth wearing in year four, which Nisolo puts on the front page as "Made to Matter. Designed to Last".
Best for: leather you plan to keep for years.
Vagabond Shoemakers
Vagabond Shoemakers is the Swedish label to reach for when you've outgrown the slip-on entirely. Loafers run $140 to $210, with the Sammie at $140 and the polished-leather Linn at $210, and the range covers ballet flats, sneakers, Mary Janes and boots.
The shapes are harder and more directional than anything Toms makes, all squared toes and chunky lug soles. Shop the US store at vagabond.com/us for dollar pricing, because the brand's regional sites default to local languages and currencies depending on where you land. Land on the Swedish one by accident and the whole site switches language on you.
Best for: a fashion-led shoe that still gets worn on a Tuesday.
Saola
Saola makes vegan sneakers between $109.95 and $139.95, and it's specific about what goes into them. The upper is "made with Recycled PET (rPET) derived from recycled plastic bottles", the cork is "recycled from wine bottles", and the cotton is organic, grown without synthetic pesticides.
The Quito and the Cali ($129.95 each) are low-profile lace-ups in muted colours, closer to a tennis shoe than to a canvas slip-on. Fit runs narrow on some styles and Saola says so on the product page itself, which is more warning than most brands give you.
Best for: a fully vegan sneaker with the material list published.
Native Shoes
Native Shoes makes the lightest, most abusable shoe on this list. The Jefferson slip-on is $60 for adults and $50 for kids, and the cushioned Jefferson Arc Wanderfoam version is $80. The classic is made of EVA, and Native describes it as hand-washable, shock absorbent and odour resistant.
That makes it the summer answer to a canvas Toms, the one you can take to a beach or a festival without caring what happens to it. Colour choice is bright and childlike by design, and the kids' Jefferson at $50 is where most people meet the brand. The trade-off is that a moulded shoe can't be resoled, so treat it as a two-summer purchase and price it accordingly.
Best for: kids, water and anywhere you'd rather not wear canvas.
Blundstone
Blundstone is the boot people buy once. Its range runs $134.95 to $394.95, with the Terrain #2633 at $244.95 and the leather Heritage #158 at $394.95 at the top. Kids' Series boots start at $134.95, which is where most families end up after the first pair of canvas shoes falls apart in a wet autumn.
The pull-on elastic-sided Chelsea gives you the same no-laces convenience that made Toms easy, in a shoe that survives a winter. Every size in the picker is labelled in both systems, so a US 8 men's shows as "8 US Men (7 UK/AU)" and you don't have to do the conversion yourself. The leather still takes a couple of weeks to stop fighting your heel, so buy for the ten-year horizon.
Best for: laceless footwear that handles rain and gravel.
Good News
Good News is a London label making retro high-tops and low-tops at £110 to £170 in GBP. Its about page lists "Recycled rubber soles", "Organic cotton and weave uppers" and a "Recycled eco-lite footbed", which is more detail than most trainer brands publish at this price.
The SONNY at £150 is the signature shape, with a crystal-trimmed version at £160. These are the loudest shoes here, all thick gum soles and 1970s colour blocking, and they'll date faster than a plain white sneaker. Prices are quoted in pounds, so budget for the exchange rate if you're shopping from the US.
Best for: a trainer with some personality and a published material list.
Everlane
Everlane runs a full shoe line of its own, from $98 to $348 across flats, sandals, mules and boots. The Day Glove ($98) is the flat the brand is known for, the Day Crossover Sandal is also $98, and the Leather Knee-High City Boot sits at the top at $348.
Everlane names its factories on its own site, from Linea Aqua in Hanwella to Dae Yun in Ho Chi Minh, and says it has "signed the Transparency Pledge, which is an important new industry standard that holds companies and their supply chain partners accountable". That's the angle that draws the same shopper Toms does. The styling is plainer than anything else here, so if you want a shoe with no visible branding at all, this is the one.
Best for: unbranded leather basics at a mid price.
Vivobarefoot
Vivobarefoot builds shoes around a thin, flexible sole and a wide toe box, on the argument that feet get stronger when they're allowed to move. The Primus Lite IV is $125, and the range runs from training shoes to hiking boots.
Anyone coming off cushioned trainers needs to ease into these over weeks rather than days, because calves and arches take the load a midsole used to carry. The pay-off for a Toms wearer is familiar: almost nothing between you and the ground, in a shoe you can walk miles in.
Best for: readers who want minimal shoes without the flat-canvas ache.
Matt & Nat
Matt & Nat is better known for vegan bags, and its footwear is a small but well-stocked corner of the site covering sandals, mules, slingbacks and Chelsea boots, priced CA$85 to CA$160 in Canadian dollars.
The ZUKE Chelsea Boot (CA$160) and the ANGELE sandal (CA$90) show the house style, which is sharper and more minimal than the bohemian look Toms trades on. Everything is vegan, and the shoe range is around 16 styles rather than hundreds, so check stock before you set your heart on a colour.
Best for: a vegan wardrobe where the bag and the boots match.
Ethletic
Ethletic has the most detailed supply-chain disclosure on this list. Its sneakers run €79.90 to €129.90, its cotton is Fairtrade- and GOTS-certified, its natural rubber comes from FSC-managed plantations in Sri Lanka, and the shoes are made mainly at Talon Sports in Sialkot, Pakistan. A dollar per pair sold goes to the Talon Fairtrade Workers Welfare Society.
Ethletic ships to Germany, the rest of the EU, the UK and Switzerland, so a US reader can't order direct from the brand. That's worth knowing before you fall for the Fair Trainer White Cap Lo Cut (€79.90), which is the canvas shoe on this list closest in spirit to an Alpargata.
Best for: European shoppers who want the factory named.
Where to Start If You're Replacing a Pair of Alpargatas
Match the replacement to what you wore the Toms for. If it was the sockless summer shoe, Allbirds and Saola cover it at $75 to $140. If it was the thing you threw in a bag for a beach, Native Shoes does that better at $60 and survives being hosed off.
Spending more makes sense when the shoe is leather you'll keep for a decade, which is where Nisolo and Blundstone earn their $250-plus price tags. Check the currency before you check out. Ethletic sells only into Europe, Good News prices in pounds, and Matt & Nat prices in Canadian dollars. If sneakers are the whole brief, we go deeper on that category in shoe brands like Allbirds, brands like Veja and brands like Blundstones for the boot end of the wardrobe.
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Written by
Spencer Lanoue
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