British brand Good News has gone full stride into sustainable footwear since its 2016 start. The company prides itself on its small yet effective size, ensuring the environment and the people who make its shoes are priority with every drop. “When you’re small, you gotta fix what you can!” exclaims the brand on its site.

For its Fall/Winter 2021 line, Good News mixes classic silhouettes, natural and recycled materials, all with vibrant splashes of color and patterned texture. This season offers five models — the Palm High Top, Opal Low Top, Aster Low Top, Roopa High Top, and Yess Low Top — each available in various colorways and material options on top of its signature large soles. All FW21 Good News sneakers use an insole made from recycled gym mats and include lining made from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) organic cotton. Both Aster and Roopa models feature an outsole constructed from 100% recycled renewable EVA foam, while the Palm, Opal, and Yess have an outsole developed from a mix of 70% recycled rubber sourced from old shoe soles and 30% natural rubber.

The most popular silhouette is the Palm with eleven iterations of the sneaker available this season. Standout versions include the Palm Tri Color High Top with a TENCEL lyocell upper. These cellulose fibers are produced using environmentally responsible processes from sustainably sourced wood and offer unique physical properties including strength, moisture absorption, and a gentle feel.

The Palm Corduroy Orange High Top sneakers use GOTS organic cotton for its upper with a playful mix of colors created from natural dyes. In contrast to the unique dye look, the Palm Dogstooth Red/Green High Top silhouette uses a traditional yet oversized houndstooth pattern on top of the GOTS organic cotton upper.

The Palm Moroccan Purple/Orange High Tops uses 100% recycled teddy bear-like material and OEKO-TEX certified dye for its upper. This standard in dye classification ensures safety for human use from harmful chemicals throughout all stages of production

Two special additions to the Good News Palm High Top offering are one white and another beige pair made using VEGEA, a leather alternative developed from grape skin, stalks, and seeds discarded from wine production. The material is made in Italy and both solvent free and animal friendly. It is also compliant with what the brand claims is the “most stringent” European regulations (REACH). The beige Yess Low Top sneaker is also crafted with VEGEA.

Rounding out the Fall/Winter 2021 collection is Good News’ all-new Aster Low Top hybrid sneaker made with a jute upper and grape leather wrapping around the lower portion of the shoe.

The Earth-friendly footwear brand has been in steady growth now in its fifth year in the industry. Good News launched a marquee collaboration with global retailer H&M earlier this year — a project Good News co-founders Ben Tattersall and Nia Jones went in with highly critical lens on. “With H&M, we’ve done our due diligence and felt like they’re a company who are constantly making themselves better,” Jones told WWD. “A black and white attitude will not solve the problem, and we want to be part of the solution, we want to create these conversations even if they can be controversial.”

Any form of scrutinizing by the co-founders was not done in malice, but in actuality, it’s the attitude of wanting to come together to do something that is right — something bigger than the brands — that’s needed, like transitioning to more sustainable materials at scale.  “The world cannot sustain the fashion industry as it is, materials have to be self-sustainable, it has to move this way — there’s no alternative, this will become everyone’s norm,” Tattersall added when speaking to WWD about the H&M collection.

The new season of Good News footwear ($125 – $222 USD) is available now via goodnews.london.

In other footwear news, Heron Preston and Zellerfeld teamed up to launch a recyclable 3D printed sneaker.