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I’ve been making a big effort to shop sustainably this year, opting to buy clothes secondhand and being choosier about when I actually hit “Add to Cart.” Clothes have been easy. As a vintage shopping veteran, I can find pretty much any clothes I need with a little time and patience. When I do buy clothes new, I make sure to shop from brands that value sustainability just as much as I do. But when it comes to finding sneakers that are sustainably produced and stylish, I’ve been coming up empty handed. Sneakers are not the kind of thing I personally want to buy used, but the modern footwear industry is legendarily wasteful. There had to be a solution.
You can imagine how elated I was when I saw Thousand Fell’s fully recyclable sneaker. According to Thousand Fell, 97% of all footwear ends up in landfills. That’s a mind-boggling number. With that in mind, their company mission is to minimize waste in the footwear industry using a revolutionary closed-loop system for their shoes: after you wear out your sneakers and are ready for a new pair, you send them back to Thousand Fell, who then recycle your shoes and give you a discount on your next pair. The shoes are specially designed to be both comfortable to wear every day and easy to disassemble when it comes time to recycle them. My wish for more sustainable sneakers seemed to be finally answered.
Eager to see if their shoes were comfortable (and cute) enough for daily wear, I tested out the Thousand Fell Women’s Lace Up sneaker, wearing them every day for a week. At the start of this experiment, I was full of questions: Would the shoes’ sustainable materials mean compromising on comfort? Would the recycling-optimized design mean sacrificing a few style points? How would they hold up after a week of around 15k steps a day? How easy is their returns system? I was very surprised by the results.
Read on for my honest review of Thousand Fell’s Women’s Lace Up Sneaker.
First Impressions: Style and Substance
First, a sidebar: Thousand Fell may have the coolest shoebox I’ve ever seen, using cardboard tabs to hold the shoes in place instead of wasteful filler material like styrofoam. As soon as my pair arrived, I slipped them on and took them for a spin around my block. I could immediately tell that the sneakers are well-constructed and sturdy. The shoes were so comfortable that I ended up walking around the local park for much longer than I had anticipated. Usually my desire to wear shoes as soon as I buy them means a rough breaking-in period, but the Thousand Fell Lace Ups were soft and supportive right away. They actually require zero break-in period!
Fashionable & Flexible
On the morning of Day 2, I paired my new Thousand Fell sneakers with a workout set and walked over to yoga. They were easy to put on and take off – essential for me as I am always running late to class! Thousand Fell also has a Vans-esque slip on model – definitely a candidate for my next pair! After class, I went home and changed into an outfit for a work meeting. I was really pleased to discover that the Lace Ups’ chic, timeless sneaker design paired just as well with my morning athleisure as it did with my more dressy work clothes. I lead a pretty active lifestyle, walking whenever I can, and based on this first week these sneakers will be my new sneaker of choice for a full day walking around the city.
Classic Colors
Throughout the rest of the week, I wore my Thousand Fells to work, workout classes, drinks with friends, and even on a date. Their classic look meant that they went with literally everything in my wardrobe. Since I was looking for a versatile sneaker to wear every day with a variety of outfits, I decided to opt for the classic white colorway. If you’re feeling more adventurous, Thousand Fell has a lot of really fun accent colors to choose from (I think for my next pair I’ll go with the baby blue!). Their new Court Sneaker comes in some really cool colorways – I think my favorite is “Moss,” a harmonious mix of deep green, subtle tan, and grey.
The SuperCircle Return Process
Once I was sold on the sneakers’ look and quality, I immediately started thinking about which pair I wanted to get next. A lot of companies that claim to have an easy returns process for recycling actually make it quite difficult to trade in your products, so I was bracing myself for a maze of logistics when I went to investigate Thousand Fell’s SuperCircle return process. It turns out that their return program couldn’t be simpler. You quickly make a log in and are directed to their SuperCircle site. You input how many items you want to return and they generate a shipping label for you to use. Once you drop your item off at the post office, you’re immediately given a 20% off code to use on your next purchase for the next 30 days – no waiting for the return to process in order to earn your credit. A huge part of creating genuinely sustainable, closed-loop products is removing obstacles to return products for recycling, and Thousand Fell’s SuperCircle return process is as sleek and streamlined as they come.
The Verdict
It’s a good thing Thousand Fell’s sneakers are designed to be “your new day-in, day-out, ride-or-die sneakers” because I will be wearing my pair of Lace Ups non-stop until it’s time to return them and earn a credit towards my next pair. They’re comfortable, stylish, and I love wearing them knowing that I’ll be able to send them back to be recycled when I need a new pair. Thousand Fell is taking a huge, necessary step forward towards a sustainable future for fashion.
