It’s an exciting day around here in Welcome Objects land! I’ve been reviewing Everlane products for two years on this little blog and Everlane recently noticed and got in contact with me. They sent over a sheet with new products and asked if there was anything I was interested in checking out. So this is my first post with a gifted Everlane product. While I started this blog for fun (and hoped that other people would find it helpful), blogging takes a fair amount of work. So, it’s nice to be noticed and taken seriously.

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This post is not sponsored but it contains affiliate links and a gifted item. If you shop through my links, I may earn a commission. As always, all opinions are my own and I only write about items I’m interested in. Thanks for supporting Welcome Objects.

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I decided to review the trainers from their new sneaker brand, Tread. They were released at the end of April and have gotten a fair amount of hype and press. (Everyone from GQ to Wired has written about them). But, I thought I’d add my opinion to the mix as someone who has wide feet and problems finding shoes that comfortably fit. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that Everlane shoes have been mostly misses for me.

Sustainability & Construction

So, what’s the big deal with these shoes? Everlane calls them “the world’s lowest-impact sneakers” and they reportedly took two years to develop. I gotta applaud a brand that keeps trying to figure out how to manufacture more sustainably, as they did when it came to denim.

A conventional sneaker has 15 to 20 different components, many of them plastic, says this story in Vogue about efforts by Everlane and Adidas to do things differently. According to stats on Everlane’s site, the sole of the Tread trainers is a mix of recycled and natural rubber and it’s 94.2% free of virgin plastic. (Everlane has pledged to nix virgin plastic entirely from its supply chain by 2021.)

The leather is from a Gold-certified tannery, Saigon TanTec, that uses solar energy, 42% less electricity, and 56% less fresh water than other factories. (Everlane seems to work with a few Vietnam-based factories that are on the cutting edge of more sustainable manufacturing. Their denim comes from Vietnam-based Saitex.) The laces and lining are made out of recycled plastic bottles, 9.5 to be exact, per pair of shoes.

Overall, manufacturing these shoes emits fewer greenhouse gases than conventional sneakers. To further reduce their impact, Everlane offsets its carbon emissions by working with NativeEnergy, a leading carbon offset provider, to support projects that reduce greenhouse gases.

Style

First off, I love the look of this sneaker. It’s kind of retro and slightly chunky. I find the contrast of materials (regular leather and suede) satisfying. There are 10 colors currently, and I thought Everlane did a great job with them. Many of them are neutrals or muted shades like blush pink, light grey, or pale yellow. Most of them are monochrome. I’m a fan of this! I love when the whole sneaker, from the laces down to the soles, are one color.

Though I was very tempted to get the yellow (called butter), I was practical and went with navy because my wardrobe is mostly dark colored. In fact, I just purged a pair of sneakers from my closet that I barely wore because they were beige-ish and I felt like they never went with anything.

Sizing & Comfort

Tread only comes in whole sizes, from 5 to 12 in women’s and from 7 to 13 in men’s. I am a wide-ish 6.5, so I ordered a 7. They fit me, but snugly. I have to loosen the laces quite a bit to get my foot in. But thankfully, my toes don’t push up against the front of the shoe. I’m pretty lazy when it comes to laces — I don’t like to tie them every single time. So I prefer to keep the laces a bit loose and use a shoehorn to get my foot in, which turned out to be a bit challenging with these sneakers.

The only other sneaker brand I have around here to compare with is New Balance, which also tends to run small. I also wear a 7 in that brand. But my New Balance 574s (which has a similar look to these Tread trainers) in 7s run roomier than the 7s in Tread. If you’re between sizes, you should definitely size up. But even if you’re not, you still might want to size up.

Now, these are not sneakers for actually running. I mean, I did run to catch the bus in them and they were fine for that. But I wouldn’t run a race in them. These are fashion sneakers. They don’t have the bounce of running shoes. They’re also a tad heavy. My New Balance 574s weigh 11 oz per shoe. The Tread trainer weighs in at 13 oz per shoe. But those 2 ounces per shoe feels noticeable to me. For running or working out, I’d get proper running shoes designed for those purposes. (Not that I actually run. I hate running. But if I did run, that’s what I would do.)

Although I had no problem walking around in these sneakers right out of the box, initially, I found them to be stiff. Stiff and sturdy. But after wearing them for a few days, they relaxed a bit. I’ve worn them every day for more than a week now and find them comfortable and supportive. They still have a sturdy kind of feel to them, as opposed to a bouncy feel.

They’re not comfortable in the cloud-puffy way that I found Allbirds to be. But they also haven’t given me any problems like blisters or rubbing in spots. Compared to other sneakers, I find them similar in terms of comfort level, though the sturdy feel of them is different. Also of note: the insoles are removable, so if you want to put your own in, you can do that with these shoes.

As to styling, the monochrome aspect of them makes them easy to wear. I think they’re pretty cute. Here’s a casual outfit I wore over the weekend.

And here I paired the trainers with a T-shirt dress. While I’m generally not into wearing sneakers with dresses, I think these sneakers might change my mind.

Overall, I am a fan. I find Tread to be stylish, easy to wear, and reasonably priced at $98. (Shipping is free too.) I’m also so glad that they’re more sustainably-made.

UPDATE 1/3/20 – The newer Tread releases come in half sizes now! For the sake of being thorough, I tried the newer Tread Trainers at the store. The sizing is the same as the prior releases. I am a wide-ish 6.5. (Sometimes I wear wide but mostly I wear mediums in wider brands.) I tried both the 7 and 7.5. The 7 was snug and took a bit of finagling to get my foot in. The 7.5 was much easier to put on and roomier in the toe box. I still recommend going up half a size. If you have wide feet, long feet, or just prefer a roomier fit, go up a full size.