About Planet Kicks

Most sneakers today are made from plastic. That means oil. And when they’re worn out, they usually end up in landfills, incinerators, or eventually our oceans, food systems, and bodies. Even brands claiming to be sustainable often lean on recycled plastic, which still sheds microfibers and delays, not solves the problem.

This platform was born from a search for something better.

I wanted to find sneakers that aligned with my values: plastic-free, plant-based, repairable, traceable, regenerative. What I found instead was a market dominated by the same materials, the same marketing, and the same handful of brands. Meanwhile, many indie companies doing truly interesting work were hard to find, or already gone.

This site aims to make those brands easier to discover.

It’s a living directory of footwear that challenges the norm, a place to explore materials, innovations, and ideas that move us closer to a post-plastic future. No hype. No greenwashing. Just real efforts to build better shoes and a better system.

About Me

I’m Anna Nicholls, a sustainability strategist and fashion industry outsider based in the San Francisco Bay Area, exploring what it will take to move beyond fossil-fueled fashion. I co-created Rethink the Runway, a community-led platform that inspires and educates through events and exhibits highlighting circular design and material innovation.

Previously, I led corporate partnerships at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and participated in the Climatebase Fellowship, a 12-week program for professionals advancing climate solutions and systems change.

Planet Kicks is my field journal for the footwear revolution, a place to track the innovators, materials, and ideas shaping what comes after plastic.

If you’re working on something connected to sustainable footwear, circular design, or material innovation, I’d love to hear from you at anna@planet-kicks.com

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