Plant your feet in Reebok’s NPC UK Cotton + Corn sneaker ($95), the first 75-percent USDA-certified bio-based shoe. When it comes to making run-of-the-mill footwear, “Most of the harm comes on the front end—the energy lost to drilling, refining and transporting petroleum,” says Bill McInnis, head of the Boston-based brand’s Future team. For the shoe’s sole, Reebok explored materials like beetroot and castor bean oil before settling on industrial corn, which McInnis explains “can be grown almost anywhere.” Introduced in August, the five-years-in-the-making first run is currently sold out, with another release set to drop this fall. Reebok’s also developing a 100-percent compostable version, meaning you could kick up your heels knowing the shoes would break down within six months after you dispose of them—instead of adding to the 300 million pairs that end up in landfills every year.

WHERE TO BUY IT?
Reebok, 25 Drydock Ave., Boston (617-772-0267) reebok.com