Kane Footwear Revive slip-ons are the eco-friendly alternative to Crocs that I’ve been waiting for. Here’s our review after several weeks of wearing Revives. Spoiler alert: I love these shoes!
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About Kane Footwear
Kane Footwear is a certified Benefit Corporation (B Corp) and 1% for the Planet member. It has its headquarters in Westport, Connecticut. The founder and CEO, John Gagliardi, grew up in the shoe industry and spent more than two years researching materials and design to create the Revive. This included working with a Board Certified foot and ankle surgeon, Dr. Dan Geller, who specializes in sports injuries.
Together, the two developed a shoe that supports active recovery and is mindful of movement and sustainability.
Following the launch of the adult Revives, Kane now sells kids’ shoes, yoga mats, change mats, and other gear and apparel, all made with sustainability and performance in mind.
Eco-friendly active recovery shoes
Revive Slip-On
Highlights: Mostly bio-based and more eco-friendly foam slip-ons designed to support foot recovery and health. Super comfortable, recyclable, washable, quick drying, and available in a wide range of sizes and colors.
- Made in Brazil using carbon negative sugarcane-based EVA foam
- Available in a wide variety of colors
- Incredibly comfortable and supportive
- Easy to pull on and get off
- Washable and quick-drying (don’t absorb water)
- Lightweight but very robust-feeling
- Excellent traction, grip, and flexibility
- Shipped from Westfield, Illinois
- Eco-friendly, plastic-free packaging
- Vegan!
- Haven’t been around for long, so no sense of durability
- Not totally plant-based (around 75%)
- Can fit very snug, so size up as needed
The Revive is a super lightweight slip-on shoe in the style of Crocs or other foam-based slip-ons. The main differences are that Kane Revives are much more sustainably made and are active recovery footwear intended to support athletes and folks recovering from foot injuries.
The Revive is an eco-friendlier alternative to Crocs and is more stylish and modern too.
I strongly suspect that the Revive will quickly gain a following with:
- Athletes (professional or amateur)
- Healthcare workers and personal care assistants
- Retail, kitchen, and warehouse workers (and anyone on their feet all day)
- Seniors and folks recovering from foot surgery
- Folks who find regular shoes uncomfortable and heavy
- Gardeners
- Outdoorsy types
- Beach-lovers
- Boaters, canoers, kayakers, and so on.
The Revive feels very light, almost like not wearing a shoe at all. For reference, a pair of size 5M/7W weighs 365 grams and a pair of size 10M/12W weighs 510 grams.
Kane says that the heel loops are just for hanging the shoes, not for pulling. Realistically, though, who isn’t going to use those handy loops to help get these fairly snug-fitting shoes on more easily? Each pair of Revives comes with three swappable hang loops, which seems a tad wasteful and unnecessary.
How are Revives sustainable?
Kane Footwear uses renewable plant-based EVA foam comprising 75% sugarcane byproduct to craft the Revive slip-on. This RestoreFoam (which Kane also calls BounceBack™ foam) comes from Brazilian sugarcane that sequesters carbon dioxide (CO2) as it grows. This means the foam is carbon negative and the shoes have a much smaller carbon footprint compared to the fossil fuel equivalent (i.e., Crocs).
See also: Cariuma shoes review
Kane makes the shoes in Brazil, which is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane. The sugarcane is cultivated in compliance with Brazilian Sugarcane Agro Ecological Zoning laws, with no genetically modified (GMO) sugarcane. By producing the shoes in Brazil, using Brazilian sugarcane, Kane helps to keep its carbon emissions and overall environmental footprint low.
Revive shoes are also vegan, with no animals used in testing or animal-sourced glues or other materials in the shoes.
Kane packages the Revives and its other products using FSC certified paper and card that comes from sustainably managed forests. The shipment I received was also entirely free of plastic.
How does the Revive support foot health?
The Revives are created using injection molding for a consistent, anatomically appropriate shape. These slip-ons were developed in collaboration with a foot expert to support natural movement and promote healing and foot health.
The Revive supports active recovery and foot health in six key ways:
- Breathability
- Stimulation for blood flow
- Arch, heel, and instep support
- Rebound capability
- Cushioning
- Superior grip.
Let’s look more closely at these claims:
Breathability
The Revive has interior channels for airflow and exterior perforations for breathability. This means your feet don’t get sweaty and uncomfortable and your skin can breathe.
See also: 8000 Kicks Hemp Shoes Review
Stimulation for blood flow and good foot support
The raised footbed in the Revives helps to support proper blood flow or circulation in the foot and relieves pressure on common hotspots.
The Kane Revive has an anatomically appropriate design that enhances arch support and support for the heels and instep too. As someone with a high arch and a tendency toward foot pain, especially in the heel and big toe, I can confirm that the Revive is exceptionally supportive and comfy!
The Revive has a 10 mm heel elevation, which takes pressure off the Achilles tendon. There’s also a heel cup to help stabilize the heel. Both features help to prevent pronation and offer support if you have Plantar fasciitis.
The Revive also works if you have supination, i.e., a neutral to high arch (like me!). Whether you’re flat-footed and flexible or high-arched and rigid, the Revive helps stabilize your gait (how you walk).
Rebound and cushioning
The material and design of the Revive also help with energy return or rebound; literally putting a spring in your step. This makes walking more comfortable and easier, with smoother transitions from heel to toe. The dual-density design also provides generous cushioning, which is easy to appreciate when you slip on the Revives for the first time.
The Revive has become popular for folks recovering after a marathon or other long distance run or intense athletic feat. This is because it helps to support the foot and relieves stress on the ankle and leg muscles to support recovery and healing.
Grip
Finally, the sole of the Revives has oversize channels or sipes (thanks, Kane, for teaching me a new word!). These siped soles make for superior grip, traction, and flexibility without cracking or tearing.
While Kane stresses that the Revive isn’t intended specifically as a kitchen work-shoe, it could easily function as such, thanks to the grip. The perforations could be a hazard, though, as your feet would be exposed to any hot liquids etc.
Compared to Crocs, the soles of Revives are far more high-tech and boast much better grip. In fact, overall, Kane Revives knock Crocs out of the water for tech-specs, comfort, and design, as well as sustainability.
Kane versus Crocs (and competitors)
I bought my one and only pair of Crocs back in 2006 and finally ditched them in 2023, once the holes in the soles got too large to ignore. The Kane Revives are my replacement and, wow, are they ever comfortable!?
Here’s a side-by-side of Kane Revives versus Crocs.
| Kane Revive | Crocs Classic Clogs |
|---|---|
| Mostly made of sustainable, renewable materials | Made of plastic (though Crocs aims for 50% bio-based by 2030) |
| Handy pull-on tags/loops at the heel | No pull tabs or just a loose heel guard |
| Don’t slip off when you want them to stay on | Sometimes fall off unexpectedly! |
| Fully recyclable at end of life | Destined for landfill or incineration |
| No sense of durability yet | Long-lasting (potentially) |
| Designed for active recovery | Not anatomically supportive |
| More limited range of colors and a single style (so far) | Wide variety of styles and colors |
| Eco-friendly cardboard packaging | Ship in plastic bags (Crocs is starting to use recycled plastic) |
I loved my Crocs, which I bought in a desperate moment in a small BC town while helping out on an organic farm. They held up impressively for 17 years, through some serious farmhand work, rock scrambles, wet and cold weather, summer heatwaves, and being thrown about in transit, among other things. They were easy to clean, kept my feet cool and supported, and didn’t chafe or cause blisters once (which is rare for me with shoes).
The Kane Revives are also wonderfully comfortable. So much so that I quickly took to wearing them on walks in the forest with my dog, rather than just as slip-ons for the garden. I plan to wear my Revives to kayak, hike, and do yard work (they’ve already made mowing the lawn with my Ego mower a much more delightful experience).
Sizing for Kane Revives
Kane’s fit snugly, like running shoes, and have a slightly wider bottom part of the toe box, tapering to the front. The mid-section is quite narrow, though, as is the heel. This creates a much more modern, less clunky aesthetic than Crocs, but it can necessitate a bit more care for sizing.
In fact, sizing issues are the most common complaint about the Revive I’ve seen so far.
Like many other folks, I found the Revives unusually tight at first and didn’t think they could ever be comfortable. Just a few minutes after tugging them on, though, and I’d forgotten I was wearing shoes. They very quickly molded to my feet and became so comfy I could easily wear them all day.
For reference, I usually wear a 6.5 Women’s and have one foot slightly smaller than the other. My pair of size 6 Revives fit perfectly.
If you’re between shoe sizes and have narrow feet, size down one, like I did. If you have wider feet, go up one size (i.e., choose a 7 if you’re a 6 or 6.5 usually).
The Kane Revives are available in a US Men’s 3-15 and a US Women’s 5-17.
If you’ve just got your Kane Revives and find them too snug, give them a few minutes or an hour or so to settle in. You may just find they’re the perfect fit after all.
Kane Revive Kids – eco-friendly kids’ Croc alternative!
Kane Footwear let loose its kids’ Revives line in Marc 2023, offering sizes C11-13 and J1-2. Like the adult Revives, the Revive Kids footwear is made with the same Brazilian sugarcane-based EVA foam.
Key features of the kids shoes:
- Fully waterproof (as in, the shoes don’t soak up water; they don’t protect feet against water!)
- Easy to wash (you can even put them in the dishwasher!)
- Easy to pull on (with a pull tab at the back)
- Closed-toe design for protection
- Cushioning and support for all-day comfort at school or camp.
Revive Kids is currently available in four colorways:
- Charcoal Black
- White Pacific
- White Caramel
- Pink.
Final thoughts on Kane Revive
If you want a lightweight, modern, cool-looking sneaker-type Croc that is more sustainable, supportive, and breathable than a plastic shoe, the Revive is where it’s at.
So far, my experience with the Revive is that this active recovery shoe delivers on Kane’s promises to support foot health while looking and feeling great. I’ve received tons of compliments on these shoes already and expect even more while out and about on summer adventures.
FAQs
Yes! Chances are you won’t need to for a while, though. But when you do, Kane Footwear’s recycling program lets you request a prepaid shipping label to send your old Revives to a third-party, Lavarubber, for recycling.
Lavarubber will grind down those old Kane Revives and blend the flakes with Lavarubber’s generic foam mix that includes wetsuit material. The company then reuses this material to create one of a kind yoga mats and changing mats, which Kane then sells in its online store. For every pair of returned Revives, you can get a $10 gift card towards new Kane products. For each yoga mat made, five pounds of scrap material stay out of landfill.
Revive Slip-On
Highlights: Mostly bio-based and more eco-friendly foam slip-ons designed to support foot recovery and health. Super comfortable, recyclable, washable, quick drying, and available in a wide range of sizes and colors.