Once in a while along comes a green product that is truly exceptional. By that I mean it’s uniquely designed, extremely functional, appropriately priced, and environmentally advanced. I’ve been wearing such a product for the past few weeks. When Brooks sent me a pair of its Green Silence racing shoes I was thrilled.
Nothing about these sneakers smacks of being eco-friendly. Yet, they set the standard for a performance shoe in terms of environmental attributes – 75% of the shoe’s materials are post-consumer recycled and water-based glues and non-toxic dyes eliminate the toxins found in typical sneakers. There are also plenty of environmentally advanced biodegradable materials incorporated into these designs though in general I’m personally less moved by this green attribute than I am by the others, the reason being that unless consumers are provided with an easy way to properly dispose of the biodegradable materials after their useful life, they will likely still end up in a landfill where they won’t biodegrade because typical landfill conditions don’t enable the process to occur. So I’m almost always much more excited about green products that easily enable consumers to make a better decision upfront (when they buy it) than those that require additional steps on the part of consumers (when they dispose of them) in order for the green benefits to be realized.
Regardless, these shoes are the best example I’ve seen to date of high-performance footwear that is substantively green. With the Green Silence’s pending release, Brooks has raised the bar for the entire performance footwear industry.
And In all honestly, I move better in these shoes than any other shoe I’ve ever worn. I literally feel like I’m treading lighter on the planet. Wearing them reminds of when I was a kid and my parents would take me and my brother on special trips (at least they seemed that way to us) to the sporting goods store in Jamaica, Queens to get new sneakers. My brother and I would try on a number of pairs, analyzing whether they enabled us to jump higher and run faster. Invariably there was one pair that outperformed the rest and once paid for we’d put them on and race down the street in search of our grandpa to show him how much more athletic we suddenly become. The Green Silence conjures up those warm memories from my youth.
Arriving in stores on February 1st, the Green Silence will cost $100 a pair and appeal to athletes as well as those who want to wear super cool shoes that make a bold design statement and an equally bold environmental one too.
(they’re great for blogging in too)
