Terra Plana Haiti Boots Review

Typical price:

£120

We like:

The design; the comfort; the sustainable factor

We don't like:

The scratches that appear after only a few days

SmartPlanet judgement:

So far these are the best winter boots we've ever put on our feet. They are comfortable, stylish, produced in the most environmentally friendly way possible and the Chinese workers who made them have been paid well. The only downside is that they get scratched easily, which makes them look worn quite quickly.

Score:

Contact:

Nice Car Company at http://www.terraplana.com
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7407 3758

Every winter we hunt for a pair of ethical and eco winter boots that don't cost the earth or make us look like we've just stepped out of a hippy commune. And every year we just end up with a pair of vintage boots from Portobello Road Market. This is not always a bad thing, but worn out soles and cold feet made us look further afield this year. And we found a gem.

Terra Plana's Haiti boots are simply the best winter boots we've ever had. At £120 they're not exactly cheap, but they're worth every penny. They're extremely comfy and sturdy, but still stylish and feminine with a small heel that gets you off the ground and still allows you to run for the bus. We love that our feet can breathe and aren't completely ruined after a whole day of running around.

There are only three things we would change if we could. We would make the leather and the heel more hard-wearing. Even without climbing trees and jumping in puddles, they get scratches a little too quickly and the heel wore away after only a couple of weeks (admittedly, we did wear the boots constantly, but still). We would also make the leg (upper) just a wee bit longer, which would make the boot look just that little bit more elegant.

Our enthusiasm for these boots wouldn't have been this great if they were made in a sweatshop and had polluted the environment in the process. Luckily this is not the case. These boots have been dyed with chrome-free dyes, and the brown Haiti boots are dyed using vegetable extracts. Minimal amounts of glue have been used, and when it is used the glue is water-based. The soles, meanwhile, are made from natural latex. Terra Plana also offsets carbon emissions and ships all its shoes and boots rather than using airfreight.

The boots are made in China, which made us a bit sceptical to begin with, but Terra Plana explained to us that the factories it uses all have European standards (e.g. the SA8000  standard, which deals with working conditions). The company's MD, Galahad Clark, and the designers spend lots of their time in China working directly with the factories, too, according toTerra Plana.

All in all, as far as we're aware, this is as good as it gets when it comes to people- and planet-friendly winter boots this season.

Score breakdown:

 

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