• FASHION
Cariuma Shoes Review: Stylish, Sustainable Shoes
Reviewed by Matt Hayes
Last Updated January 2022
Finding sustainable, comfortable, stylish sneakers can be a challenge. Luckily, Cariuma has come up with some fantastic sneaker options.
Featured Product: Cariuma IBI Off-White Knit Sneakers
The Cariuma IBI Off-White Knit Sneakers are made from bamboo and recycled plastics. These sneakers come equipped with removable, lightweight insoles for added comfort. The insoles are made of cork, Mamona oil, and memory foam. Everything about this shoe is sustainable and/or recycled, built to last, and extremely comfortable to walk around in daily. Plus, they look pretty cool!
Ratings Breakdown
QUALITY
★★★★★
The highly sustainable materials used to make these shoes make them extremely durable, plus the fun colors don’t hurt either.
VALUE
★★★★★
The price point for Cariuma sneakers are on par with plenty of others in the same market. But their sustainability alone makes these more than worth it.
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
★★★★★
Cariuma sneakers are some of the most comfortable sneakers on the market to wear, but have a more narrow toe box.
BRAND
★★★★★
This brand is highly transparent about where they source their materials, their factories, and the philanthropy they embrace to help make the world a better place.
Who is Cariuma?
Cariuma was founded in 2018 by David Python and Fernando Porto. The two had worked together for a few years and began to realize that what they were doing wasn’t cutting it. They had bigger dreams to create more sustainable products, while also positively impacting the world. And since they were both huge into board sports, it only made sense that the arena they chose was classic, cool sneakers.
Besides creating high quality, sustainable, classic sneakers, Cariuma makes a global impact with every pair purchased. For each pair of sneakers purchased, 2 trees are planted. And, if you sign up for their mailing list, they’ll plant another tree also.
They do this through their reforestation program that was founded by Cariuma in 2020. This program is meant to help the massive rainforest deforestation that has been happening in their home country of Brazil. They also have plans to begin a new phase of this program in the Amazon to help with the deforestation happening there. So, it appears this philanthropic piece of the Cariuma family is just getting started and who knows what their global impact will be in a few years.
Cariuma is another company that donates their gently worn and returned sneakers to the Soles4Souls non-profit. They also donate these products to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them get started. On top of all of these great steps, Cariuma has also engaged in beach clean-up’s and is working on getting their B Corp certification.
Pros
- Comfortable
- Stylish
- Sustainable
- Lightweight
- Free shipping
Cons
- Toe box is pretty narrow, so may not be a great fit for those with wider feet
Cariuma Shoes Fit & Style
Since I have already dipped my toe in the sustainable shoe market with my Allbirds, I was interested to try Cariuma. As opposed to the running shoes, these are a more classic, everyday sneaker to wear. I decided to try two different Cariuma shoes to get a wider feel for the offerings.
I ordered them both at the same time and they came well within the 2-5 business days that Cariuma purports.
The first shoe I tried was their most popular seller, the IBI Off-White Knit Sneaker. Of course, they have multiple colors to choose from, but I went with a classic. These were surprisingly lightweight for a sneaker. And I loved the look of them for everyday wear.
The big bonus for me was the cork insole. I have higher arches so most insoles don’t work well for me. But these felt really comfortable and were much more supportive than other sneakers I’ve tried in the past.
The other pair of Cariuma shoes I tried were the OCA Low Green Canvas sneakers. I loved the color of these shoes and they fit almost exactly like the other shoes.
However, the toe box in both pairs of shoes were a bit too narrow for me. I ordered the size I normally wear, and the length was great. So this leads me to believe that the toe boxes are just made a bit too narrow for those of us with a wider foot.
Out of the two options, I got more comfort from the IBI sneakers. I think this was due to the higher lip in the back and the fact that they felt a bit more lightweight. But either way, I was pleased with both options and continue to wear them to this day.
Are Cariuma Shoes Good Quality?
When it comes to quality, Cariuma is going to be difficult to beat. This is not only due to the materials they use, but also the factories and certifications. All of the materials they use are sustainable and a lot of them are recycled or recyclable.
Plus, close to 50% of their sneakers are completely vegan. Cariuma aims to make more and more of their products vegan in the future because by doing so, they increase the sustainability and quality of their products.
Their current products are made with the following materials:
- Bamboo – highly regenerative when cut from the stalk. All of the bamboo they source is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, OEKO-TEX, and the Organic Crop Improvement Association.
- Rubber – sourced through ethical tapping
- Organic Cotton – sourced ethically and GOTS certified
- Sugarcane – sourced from Brazil and fully renewable, plus it’s I’M GREEN certified.
- Cork – gathered by scraping the bark from the tree so the tree can form new bark.
- Mamona Oil – organic, plant based alternative to petroleum.
- Recycled PET Plastic – certified by Global Recycled Standard
- Leather and Suede – responsibly sourced from Argentina, Thailand, Brazil, and China and are certified by Leather Working Group.
- Dye Chemicals – all are Bluesign certified to help reduce water usage and pollution.
- Packaging and Packaging Paper – all are recycled and recyclable, and are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Even though they use great products, quality can still come down to where the products are sourced and the factories that produce the end product. In Cariuma’s case, they perform IPE audits on all suppliers once a year. These audits are performed to ensure there aren’t any environmental issues that may have occurred during the year by those suppliers.
The factories they use in Singapore actually have to abide by a higher standard because they are WRAP – GOLD certified. This certification requires that the factories abide by certain fair management policies to ensure compliance for all workers and products.
They also have different levels of traceability for the raw products, end product manufacturers, and everything in between. Plus, the producers, factories, and Cariuma as a company combined hold 7 different certifications. So if that doesn’t speak to the quality of the overall product as a whole, then I don’t know what does.
Are Cariuma Shoes Worth It?
Cariuma has done an especially good job of creating classically styled, sustainable sneakers. And they’ve been able to do this while keeping the price point well within the normal range a consumer would expect to pay. Therefore, it’s difficult to find any real reasons why Cariuma sneakers wouldn’t be a great option to try.
With the exception of the more narrow toe box. Which is unfortunate for those of us with wider feet. Hopefully, this will be something they can remedy in the near future.
FAQs About Cariuma Shoes
For any consumers in the market for more sustainable products, there are usually a lot of questions prior to any purchase. And the purchase of Cariuma sneakers isn’t any different. So we wanted to answer the most common questions from consumers prior to making the leap into Cariuma shoes.
Cariuma Shoes Review Summary
Ultimately, Cariuma seems to be a sneaker company on a larger mission. While they are creating long lasting, sustainable, classic style sneakers, they are also working hard to improve their global footprint.
They offer a wide variety of colors and styles to choose from. Plus, every time a purchase is made, trees get planted to help their reforestation philanthropy. It will be interesting to see how this young company grows and changes in the near future and what new, cool, sustainable products they come out with.