Cariuma Shoes Review for 2023 [Staff Tested]

Cariuma is a fresh and fashionable footwear company that describes itself as offering old-school style with modern comfort. While I scrutinized Cariuma’s eco-friendly business practices, John took the sustainable sneakers for a test drive.

Although there is more Cariuma could do on the sustainability front, the brand is admirably eco-conscious compared to most competitors. As for comfort, Cariuma sneakers and slip-ons are a great choice for warmer climates and are rare for this genre of sneaker in that they are comfortable enough for long walks. Cariuma also offers some winter-appropriate footwear that’s more eco-friendly than most winter boots and comfortable right out of the box.

Here’s a quick overview of the main sneakers in the Cariuma collection (the company also offers a specialized collection of skate shoes). For more on the complete OCA and IBI collections, read on as we discuss several options below and some are more sustainable than others.

The Cariuma Collection Ranked by LeafScore

Starting with our top pick for eco-friendly shoes from Cariuma, we take a look at the company’s main footwear collection. Note that all of Cariuma’s shoes are minimally packaged using recycled and recyclable materials and are made in WRAP Gold certified factories and Bluesign certified. We look more closely at Cariuma’s approach to sustainability below.

1

Cariuma OCA Low Canvas Sneaker

Leaf Score

Highlights: Organic cotton canvas version of Cariuma’s signature sneaker. The most eco-friendly of Cariuma’s current collection. Available in 19 colors. Made with some recycled materials and a bio-based memory foam insole. Vegan! (Animal leather and suede versions also available.)

View on Cariuma

Affiliate disclosure

2

Cariuma IBI Slip-On

Leaf Score

Highlights: Eco-friendly slip-on sneakers made with recycled, organic, and natural materials by a sustainably minded company. Comfy, lightweight, machine washable, and with no break-in period. These sneakers are stylish and durable, meaning they’ll last well beyond a season. Low-impact, with three times fewer emissions than the industry average.

View on Cariuma

Affiliate disclosure

3

Cariuma IBI Low

Leaf Score

Highlights: Eco-friendly lace-up sneakers made with recycled, organic, and natural materials by a sustainably minded company. Comfy, lightweight, machine washable, and with no break-in period. These sneakers are stylish and durable, meaning they’ll last well beyond a season. Low-impact, with fewer emissions than the industry average.

View on Cariuma

Affiliate disclosure

4

Cariuma IBI High

Leaf Score

Highlights: Eco-friendly lace-up high-tops made with recycled, organic, and natural materials by a sustainably minded company. Comfy, lightweight, machine washable, and with no break-in period. These sneakers are stylish and durable, meaning they’ll last well beyond a season. Low-impact, with fewer emissions than the industry average.

View on Cariuma

Affiliate disclosure

5

Cariuma Caturi

Leaf Score

Highlights: Cariuma’s Caturi mountaineering style winter shoe is water-repellent and super cozy. It is lined with ultra-plush vegan shearling lining, made from recycled materials. This boot has a sturdy design with D-rings, speed hooks and two-tone laces, and is made with high-performance vegan suede.

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Affiliate disclosure

6

OCA High (Canvas)

Leaf Score

Highlights: High-top style sneaker made with either cotton canvas (not organic), suede, or leather upper. Vegan options, Pantone colors and patterns available, and features some recycled materials.

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Affiliate disclosure

7

Cariuma OCA Therma High

Leaf Score

Highlights: High-top style sneaker made with water-repellent vegan suede and vegan shearling lining for warmth. Available in Camel and Black. Features some recycled materials.

View on Cariuma

Affiliate disclosure

8

Cariuma SALVAS Sneaker

Leaf Score

Highlights: Leather lace-up sneakers with cushioned, ankle-hugging heel collar, made with LWG-certified Gold Rated leather that’s more eco-friendly than most leather. Also features a recycled mesh lining, natural rubber sole, cork and bio-based foam insole, and recycled plastic and organic cotton laces.

View on Cariuma

Affiliate disclosure

About Cariuma Shoes

Cariuma is a sustainable sneaker brand and Benefit Corporation (B Corp) founded in Brazil and based out of Singapore and the United States. The company’s founders set out to produce stylish sneakers that would remain fashionable for more than just a season and remain comfortable and usable for one year (the incredibly sad industry standard).

Think Converse and similar old-school style but with more modern, sustainable production.

Cariuma has had sustainable product development top of mind since its inception. The company’s approach includes:

• Using natural materials where possible
  • (bamboo, cork, rubber, and organic cotton, for instance)
• Using recycled and recyclable materials
  • (such as recycled packing paper and recycled PET for labels and tags)
• Moving towards a greater percentage of vegan footwear
  • (from 43% of the Cariuma range in 2020 to 65% in 2022)
• Using manufacturing partners that operate ethically
  • (WRAP certified factories, Bluesign certified processes, and such)
• Paying far above minimum wage and apply a robust Code of Conduct for suppliers and manufacturers
  • (based on the International Labor Organization (ILO) minimum wage policy guide, Cariuma’s supply partners pay an average wage 79% above the legal minimum wage; the lowest wage is 47% above the minimum wage)
• Making sneakers that last far longer than the industry standard one-year lifespan
  • (with classic designs, comfortable shoes, and durable construction)
• Creating an ecological restoration program in the Brazilian rainforest
  • (Cariuma plants two trees for every pair of sneakers sold)
• Using eco-friendly shipping
  • (carbon neutral shipping in a single box made with recycled materials).

To this end, Cariuma engaged a lifecycle analysis (LCA) company to assess the environmental impact of its IBI sneakers (see below). This LCA now acts as a baseline from which Cariuma can improve its operations to make new products even more eco-friendly.

Unfortunately, there’s no LCA for Cariuma’s backpacks, hoodies, or other products, which we recommend avoiding until these are made with more sustainable materials and designs (see Room for improvement, below).

Cariuma sneakers – out of the box

As part of Cariuma’s eco-friendly approach, the company has switched to a dual-purpose, single-box package that protects your new sneakers in transit, acts as a shoe box for home storage, and can be used for returns and exchanges. Allbirds, 8000 Kicks and other sustainable sneaker brands also take this approach.

Cariuma’s shoe box is also made with recycled card and paper and is easy to repurpose or recycle. The sneakers are also shipped carbon-neutral thanks to DHL’s Go Green program (which involves reforestation projects) and Cariuma’s own carbon capture through its reforestation project in Brazil.

Cariuma’s returns process is also more eco-friendly than most. The company uses Happy Returns to manage product returns in bulk, which minimizes carbon emissions. Returned packaging is also recycled and repurposed. So far, the company has built a reputation for responsive, friendly, and efficient customer service.

Cariuma and comfort – our experience

Cariuma designs sneakers with comfort and durability in mind. This is part of the company’s overall sustainability approach. After all, if you buy a sneaker that looks great but feels terrible on your feet, you aren’t going to wear it for long and are more likely to trash it in favor of something new.

Cariuma’s smart approach to design helps to minimize how many pieces and processes go into making each shoe. This means less material use, less manufacturing time, and fewer possible points of friction in the shoes. It also means less (or no!) break-in time because there’s less stitching overall that needs to settle and mold to your foot’s unique shape. This is one consistent high-point in reviews of Cariuma shoes – the instant comfort out of the box.

Another major selling point of Cariuma shoes is their lightweight nature. This means they’re typically much more comfortable for longer periods of wear.

In our test of the Cariuma canvas shoes on a trip to Southern California, we found the sneakers to be stylish, super comfortable, and even good for long walks. Think of Cariuma’s as a sustainable Converse that offers much more in the way of support and comfort.

Smart design for less waste and a lower carbon footprint

The team of designers at Cariuma carefully develops each new product over at least a year before beginning production. This approach allows Cariuma to create sneakers that require fewer manufacturing steps. The result is a less energy intensive manufacturing process and less waste. The Cariuma IBI has a three-piece upper and one-piece outsole for instance.

Cariuma recycles and reuses scrap rubber from one pair of sneakers to the next. It is also developing a recycling program for organic cotton canvas waste.

Cariuma’s ‘better leather’

Cariuma uses leather that is “sourced, tanned, and finished with low-waste methods, renewable and recycled inputs, and less chemicals.” The company uses a closed-loop tanning system, recycles water, and relies on renewable energy. This goes some way to minimizing the impact of its leather use on the environment.

All of the leather Cariuma uses is traceable. None of this leather comes from an area where land has been deforested to raise cattle. The cows are steroid-free, grass-fed, and live (and die) in the U.S., Brazil, and Argentina. The leather suppliers are all Gold-Rated by the Leather Working Group (LWG) which means it is more sustainable than most leather used in the footwear and fashion industries.

Cariuma claims that its leather and suppliers:

• Has a 53% smaller energy footprint than conventional leather
• Results in 78% less nutrient run-off into waterways
• Use 71% less water than conventional tanneries
• Reduce chemical waste by 64%
• Has a 71% lower carbon footprint than conventional leather.

These claims are based on calculations using the Higg Materials Sustainability Index and industry average data from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, which lends them credibility.

All in all, if you’re intent on getting new leather sneakers, Cariuma is a top brand to consider as it is much more sustainable than almost every other brand using animal leather. The more sustainable choice, though, is a vegan canvas Cariuma shoe.

Traceability and overall eco-friendliness at Cariuma

Cariuma has built traceability into its supply chain. Its manufacturing partner is WRAP Gold certified and is audited annually. The company’s Tier 1 suppliers (i.e., the folks who actually put the shoes together) are 100 percent traceable and screened once a year to ensure no environmental issues.

Cariuma has 85 percent traceability for its Tier 2 suppliers, meaning the companies that process raw materials and packaging and make the outsoles and footwear components. For Tier 3 suppliers (those making yarns, polymers, and chips), Cariuma has just 59 percent traceability. This demonstrates clear room for improvement, but also excellent accountability.

What I would like to see from Cariuma is greater transparency on all of its materials and processes. This includes for its water-repellent vegan sneakers, backpacks, and its organic cotton apparel (recently updated as organic but with no GOTS certification available).

Cariuma and tree planting

Tree planting is a laudable activity for companies looking to be more sustainable. That said, for some it is just another way to greenwash products. For Cariuma, its tree planting efforts hit close to home, with the company’s Brazilian founders actively engaged in a targeted reforestation project in the Brazilian rainforest.

The tree planting project run by Cariuma is well thought out, focusing on restoring biodiversity to areas of the Brazilian rainforest. The company’s program encompasses more than 120 tree species, selecting trees native to each site. This is far better than carbon capture monocrop tree plantations.

Cariuma works with Cepan, a non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in ecological reforestation. Cepan was founded in 2000 by graduate students and professors at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Brazil and manages projects across the country.

Cepan’s tree planting projects are based on university-led conservation and reforestation studies with forest, biome, and species mapping to ensure high survivability and impact. The NGO also meaningfully involves indigenous communities and traditional practices. Through these partners, Cepan collects the seeds of native trees needed for its tree planting. It works year-round, with trees planted north and south depending on the season.

Cariuma’s Carbon footprint

Cariuma collaborated with PRé Sustainability to carry out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its signature IBI Slip-On sneaker. This involved calculating the carbon footprint of this shoe from cradle to grave. This allows Cariuma to offset carbon more accurately.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology LCA study concluded that a conventional pair of sneakers typically resulted in 14 kg (plus or minus 2.7 kg) of carbon dioxide equivalents. In contrast, Cariuma’s IBI Slip-On was associated with three times fewer emissions at just 5.48 kg CO2e per pair.

Note, too, that the LCA is likely over-reporting the emissions associated with the IBI sneaker. This is because there is limited data for the biobased materials used to create these sneakers. As such, the LCA had to fall back on data from more conventional materials associated with higher emissions. In short, your Cariuma IBI Slip-On shoes probably have a carbon footprint even lower than 5.48 CO2e, especially if they’re smaller than a Men’s size 9!

Cariuma’s IBI Slip-On also boasts a ton of sustainable features:

• An upper and lining made of bamboo and recycled PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)
• Outsole made from sugarcane based EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate) 
• Insole made from organic cork and bio-based polyurethane from mamona oil
• Threads and logo labels made from recycled PET sourced from plastic bottles.

The LCA process also created a model for the company’s designers to use going forward. By toggling material inputs and processes in the model, designers can now see how different choices impact the carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of new designs under consideration.

Eco-collaborations – Cariuma

Cariuma offers a growing range of sneaker styles and has created some super fun sneaker designs as collaborations with other companies, influencers, and the like. It has also collaborated with National Geographic to create several sneakers featuring NG’s signature gecko.

One of the most eco-friendly collaborations was between Cariuma and 4ocean. This partnership resulted in a vegan sneaker made with plant-based and recycled materials, and for each pair sold, 4ocean removed two pounds of plastic and marine debris from the oceans, rivers, and coastlines. As a limited edition run, this one’s already been snapped up!

There are still several National Geographic choices available at Cariuma, though, as well as other fun collaborations.

Cariuma – Room for improvement

While Cariuma stands out as an ethical and sustainable footwear brand, the company still has room for improvement.

The most obvious blemish on its eco-friendliness report is its continued use of animal leather. Yes, Cariuma sources and processes this leather in a more ethical way than most shoe companies but the carbon footprint, overall environmental footprint, and ethical impact of animal leather remains high.

Cariuma also sells hoodies and t-shirts (view on Cariuma) that were, up until recently, seemingly made with conventional cotton. This seems like an odd choice for a brand that wants to market itself as sustainable. Conventional cotton is one of the most resource hungry fibers and it is counterintuitive for Cariuma to use this material while also trying to combat climate change and deforestation. Since I started work on this article, Cariuma updated its website to say that the t-shirts and hoodies are made with organic cotton, though there’s no indication of certification.

Similarly, Cariuma sells backpacks made with water-repellent material. This material is recycled, which is great, but the company doesn’t specify what makes it water-repellent, which may mean some forever chemicals (PFAS) are involved. The lining of these backpacks is also ‘anti-bacteria’, which may mean they’re manufactured with chemicals such as triclosan that can pose a risk of bacterial resistance and harm to wildlife.

I’ve asked Cariuma for clarification on the materials and chemicals used in its non-sneaker products and  for its waterproof vegan footwear but didn’t receive any additional information. I’ll update this review if and when the company sends me more details.

Final thoughts on Cariuma

All in all, while Cariuma’s IBI Slip-On sneakers are more sustainable than most sneakers, the company has considerable room to grow in terms of eco-friendliness. For its Ibi Slip-On sneakers, Cariuma earns ⅘ leaves. For the company as a whole, that rating drops down to 3/5.

The good news is that as a B Corp, Cariuma is under pressure to evolve greener approaches. And as consumers, we can also exert pressure to help brands already engaged in sustainable practices to follow that ethos across their entire product range.