Bared Footwear makes steps towards a more ethical and sustainable shoe industry

Every shoe crafted by Bared Footwear is made with people and planet front of mind.

In 2008, Anna Baird was a podiatrist recommending shoes she would never want to wear herself. She saw a gap in the market for beautiful shoes that were comfortable and good for your body, and Bared Footwear was born. Each Bared design features a unique footbed that stabilises and cushions your feet, promoting proper foot function and providing added support.

Bared takes a holistic approach to sustainability in business by balancing people, planet and profit and ensuring that 97% of workers in tier one of their supply chain are being paid a living wage.

However, over the last few years sustainability has become as critical to the brand as comfort. Bared takes a holistic approach to sustainability in business by balancing people, planet, and profit. The company’s goal is to design and sell a shoe that the laziest person in the world can throw away without a thought - and for that shoe to have zero negative impact on the Earth.

Bared is on a journey to trace their supply chain to farm level, and undertaking consistent third-party audits of their tier one suppliers to ensure that all garment workers involved in tier one of their supply chain are paid a living wage. Bared is achieving these goals while donating thousands of dollars from collaboration sneakers to local and international charities. Customers have the opportunity to purchase footwear that is made ethically and using as many biobased materials as possible, while giving back to the community.

Bared's highlights of 2023 include:

• Displacing petrochemicals in the supply chain by incorporating plastic-free and biobased materials into Bared shoes, including a 72% biobased footbed and an 100% natural rubber outsole.

• Donating $219,000 to The Hunger Project, who are empowering communities in Malawi to reach self-sufficiency. In 2023, the second community Bared has supported, Nsondole, reached self-sufficiency.

• Donating $92,000+ to Children’s Ground since the beginning of their partnership to support First Nations health, education and employment outcomes in the Northern Territory, and showcased artworks by First Nations artists Rachael Sarra and Caitlin Davis-Plummer on our sneakers.

• Offsetting over 2,780 metrics tons of CO2 emissions through their partnership with Greenfleet, who planted hundreds of native trees throughout Australia and New Zealand.

• Ensuring that 97% of workers in tier one of their supply chain are being paid a living wage, with the remaining 3% set to reach living wage in 2024.

• Diverting 100% of waste output from landfill in their two main factories through reuse, recycling, and energy recovery.

Bared's goals sit within Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: responsible consumption and production. However, factors to consider when manufacturing responsibly include workers and their quality of life (SDG 8: decent work and economic growth), reduction and management of waste and carbon emissions (SDG 13: climate action), having a positive social impact in the community (SDG 10: reduced equalities; SDG 1: no poverty; SDG 2: zero hunger; SDG 3: good health and wellbeing; SDG 4: quality education), and who to partner with to achieve these goals (SDG 17: partnerships for the goals).

Purpose and profits can and do coexist. The footwear industry is filled with plastics in production and poor human rights in the supply chain. Bared Footwear does not accept it has to be this way, and is working hard to make a difference for people and the planet.

In 2024, Bared Footwear was the winner of the Banksia Foundation's Responsible Supply Award.