8 Best Sustainable Shoes Like Hoka: Cushioned Hoka Alternatives [2026]
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Hoka made maximal cushioning mainstream, and the Clifton and Bondi are now as common on the school run as on the trail. Most people who go looking for shoes like Hoka still want the thick, soft ride. They usually want to pay less for it, or they’ve noticed how quickly the foam packs down, or they’ve read what the foam is made of.
We compared 8 sustainable Hoka alternatives that keep the cushioned, rockered ride. The main question for each one is what the midsole is made from, because the foam is where most of a running shoe’s footprint sits. Two of them are more than half plant-based. Three are cheaper than a Clifton.
Our Favorite Hoka Alternatives
Here’s how the 8 alternatives compare at a glance:
| Brand | Closest Hoka model | Midsole material | Price | Vegan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hylo Impact 2 | Clifton | Sugarcane-blended supercritical foam | $165 | Yes |
| Saucony Triumph RFG | Bondi | 55% corn-based foam | $160 | Yes |
| Allbirds Tree Dasher 2 | Clifton (for walking and easy runs) | SweetFoam® sugarcane EVA | $140 | No (merino heel lining) |
| Veja Condor 3 | Clifton | Amazonian rubber and sugarcane EVA blend | $200 | Yes |
| Brooks Ghost 17 | Clifton | DNA Loft v3 (nitrogen-infused EVA) | $140–170 | Yes |
| Icebug Järv RB9X | Speedgoat (trail) | 66% bio-based corn foam | $150–200 | Yes |
| On Cloudmonster 2 | Bondi | Helion™ superfoam (partly recycled) | $180 | Yes |
| Altra Lone Peak 9 | Speedgoat / Challenger (trail) | EGO EVA | $140 | Yes |
Prices are approximate, checked September 2026, and vary by style and region.
Is Hoka sustainable?
Hoka was founded in France in 2009 and is now owned by Deckers, the company behind UGG and Teva. Its shoes are built around a thick EVA midsole with a rockered shape, and that foam is the sustainability problem: standard EVA is a petroleum plastic, and Hoka’s oversized stacks use a lot of it.
The brand is making progress. Around 97% of Hoka footwear now includes at least one recycled, renewable or certified natural material, the Clifton 9 uses recycled polyester and nylon in its laces and upper, and Deckers reported roughly 56% recycled polyester across its footwear in 2025. Most Hoka road shoes, including the Clifton and Bondi, are vegan.
But the midsole is still virgin EVA, Hoka publishes limited detail on factory wages, and a Clifton typically lasts 300 to 500 miles before the foam is done. Good On You rates Hoka “Not Good Enough”. The brands below either use bio-based foams, publish their carbon footprint per shoe, or are certified carbon neutral.
The 8 Best Sustainable Shoes Like Hoka
1. Hylo Impact 2
Sustainability: Castor-bean bio-nylon upper, sugarcane-blended midsole foam, 60% natural rubber outsole, Tencel laces, water-based glue, Hyloop take-back recycling, carbon footprint published per shoe
Best for: The most sustainable daily trainer you can buy with Clifton-level cushioning
Price: $165
Ships to: USA, UK, EU and worldwide
Hylo Athletics is a British brand that exists to prove a performance running shoe can be made from mostly plant-based materials, and the Impact 2 is its answer to the Clifton. The upper is a knit made from 100% bio-based nylon derived from castor beans, the midsole is a supercritical foam blended with sugarcane, the outsole is 60% natural rubber, and even the laces are Tencel and the glue is water-based.
The ride is soft and bouncy with a moderate rocker. It’s lighter than a Clifton and nearly as cushioned. Hylo publishes the carbon footprint of every model on its website, and when the shoes wear out you send them back through the Hyloop programme to be recycled into new ones.
Hylo’s range is smaller than Hoka’s and there’s no Bondi-level max-stack option yet, but for a daily trainer it’s the most sustainable shoe on this list by a distance. We’ve featured it in our sustainable running shoes and vegan running shoes guides.
2. Saucony Triumph RFG
Sustainability: Midsole foam 55% corn-based, cotton upper with 100% plant-based dyes, outsole 80% natural gum rubber, no plastic in packaging
Best for: Max cushioning for long runs with the highest plant content of any big-brand shoe
Price: $160
Ships to: Worldwide
The Saucony Triumph RFG (“Run For Good”) is the most ambitious sustainable shoe any major running brand has made. The Triumph is Saucony’s max-cushion trainer, the direct competitor to the Hoka Bondi, and the RFG version rebuilds it with a midsole that is 55% corn-based, a cotton upper coloured with plant dyes, and an outsole of 80% natural gum rubber.
Because it uses natural materials, the RFG is a touch heavier and firmer than a standard Triumph, and the plant-dyed uppers come in earthy colours rather than neon. But the cushioning is genuinely Bondi-level, and at $160 it’s cheaper than a Bondi 9.
Saucony is owned by Wolverine, which publishes less about factory conditions than we’d like, so this is a materials pick rather than an all-round ethical one.
3. Allbirds Tree Dasher 2
Sustainability: Certified B Corp, SweetFoam® sugarcane-based midsole, eucalyptus tree fibre upper, carbon footprint printed on every shoe, ReRun resale programme
Best for: Walking, gym and easy runs in a cushioned, natural-material shoe
Price: $140 (frequently discounted)
Ships to: Worldwide
The Allbirds Tree Dasher 2 is the shoe to buy if you wear Hokas for comfort rather than mileage. The midsole is SweetFoam®, made from sugarcane, the upper is knit from eucalyptus fibre, and Allbirds prints the carbon footprint of every pair on the shoe. As a certified B Corp it’s also one of the most transparent brands here.
The Dasher’s ride is soft and springy, closer to a Clifton than a Bondi, and it’s machine washable. Serious runners will find it too soft for fast work, which is why we call it an everyday alternative rather than a race shoe. We’ve reviewed the Tree Dasher 2 in full, and you can compare it with every other Allbirds shoe in our Allbirds alternatives guide.
4. Veja Condor 3
Sustainability: Certified B Corp, 100% recycled polyester upper, midsole with wild Amazonian rubber and sugarcane-based EVA, made in Brazil with published factory audits
Best for: A fully transparent, fair-trade daily trainer
Price: $200 (often discounted to around $140)
Ships to: Worldwide
Veja is best known for its sneakers, but the Condor 3 is a proper running shoe and the most transparent one on this list. The upper is 100% recycled polyester, the midsole blends wild rubber tapped in the Amazon with sugarcane-based EVA, and the outsole uses Amazonian rubber and silica. Everything is made in Brazil in factories Veja audits and publishes.
The Condor 3 is a neutral daily trainer with moderate cushioning, so it sits next to the Clifton rather than the Bondi. It’s the priciest shoe here at full price, but Veja discounts it regularly. Read our Veja rating.
5. Brooks Ghost 17
Sustainability: Certified CarbonNeutral® product, 59% recycled materials in the upper, recycled silica outsole, net zero target for 2040, annual transparency report
Best for: A mainstream, widely stocked daily trainer with a verified carbon-neutral label
Price: $140–170
Ships to: Worldwide
The Brooks Ghost is the best-selling neutral trainer in the US, and since the Ghost 15 it has carried CarbonNeutral® product certification. Brooks reached that by raising recycled content (59% of the Ghost 17’s upper is recycled) and offsetting the rest with independently verified projects, while working towards net zero by 2040.
Offsetting isn’t the same as eliminating emissions, and the midsole is still standard EVA. But Brooks publishes an annual impact report, the Ghost is durable and vegan, and it’s the easiest shoe on this list to try on in person. Our editor has run in Brooks for years and got well over 500 miles from a pair.
6. Icebug Järv RB9X
Sustainability: Climate footprint published for every model (around 10 kg CO2e per pair), 66% bio-based corn midsole, 50% recycled polyester upper, emissions offset at 200% since 2019
Best for: A trail alternative to the Hoka Speedgoat from the most transparent brand in running
Price: Around $150–200
Ships to: USA, EU and worldwide
Swedish brand Icebug is the only running shoe company we know of that publishes a climate footprint for every single model, and its Järv RB9X is the most sustainable shoe it has ever made: a midsole that’s 66% bio-based corn material, an upper of 50% recycled polyester, and a fully recycled lining. The company has offset double its emissions every year since 2019.
Icebug’s shoes are built for trails and bad weather, with the brand’s own RB9X rubber for wet grip and studded versions for ice, so the Järv is a Speedgoat alternative rather than a Clifton one. See our Icebug rating.
7. On Cloudmonster 2
Sustainability: Recycled polyester uppers, Cyclon subscription shoes made from castor beans, Cloudprime made with CleanCloud™ captured-carbon foam, published impact report
Best for: Max cushioning and a rockered ride that feels most like a Bondi
Price: $180
Ships to: Worldwide
If it’s the Bondi feeling you’re after, the On Cloudmonster 2 is the closest thing outside Hoka: a huge stack of Helion™ foam with On’s CloudTec pods and an aggressive rocker. Uppers across On’s range use recycled polyester, and the Swiss brand is doing interesting work at the edges, with the Cyclon subscription shoe made from castor beans and the Cloudprime built from CleanCloud™, a foam made using captured carbon emissions.
The Cloudmonster itself is a fairly conventional shoe underneath, with a mostly petroleum-based midsole, and On’s sustainability rating in our directory is middling as a result. It’s the like-for-like Hoka swap from a brand with a better transparency report, rather than a green shoe.
8. Altra Lone Peak 9
Sustainability: 100% recycled ripstop upper, packaging from 85% post-consumer waste, zero-drop design that encourages natural form
Best for: A wide-toe-box, zero-drop trail shoe with recycled uppers
Price: $140
Ships to: Worldwide
Altra is the other brand that put a distinctive shape on running shoes, in its case a foot-shaped toe box and zero heel drop. The Lone Peak 9 is the trail workhorse, cushioned enough to compete with the Speedgoat and Challenger, and its upper is now 100% recycled ripstop.
The midsole is standard EVA and Altra, owned by VF Corporation, has no take-back or recycling scheme, so it’s not as sustainable as Hylo or Icebug. It’s here because it’s the best-known alternative for runners who want cushioning without a raised heel, and it’s $15 cheaper than a Speedgoat.
How to choose a Hoka alternative
Match the model, not the brand. Clifton wearers should look at the Hylo Impact 2 or the Brooks Ghost first. Bondi wearers want the Saucony Triumph RFG or the On Cloudmonster. Speedgoat wearers should start with Icebug.
Read the midsole. The foam is 40 to 50% of a running shoe’s carbon footprint. Hylo (sugarcane), Saucony RFG (55% corn), Icebug (66% corn) and Allbirds (sugarcane) use bio-based foams; the rest use petroleum EVA or TPU with recycled uppers.
Check the take-back. Running shoes wear out. Hylo’s Hyloop is the only closed-loop recycling scheme here; Allbirds resells used pairs through ReRun.
Sizing. Hylo and Veja run true to size. Altra runs wide by design, so don’t size down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What shoes are most like Hoka?
For the Clifton, the Brooks Ghost 17 and Hylo Impact 2 are the closest in cushioning and ride. For the max-stack Bondi, the Saucony Triumph RFG and On Cloudmonster 2 are the nearest equivalents. For the Speedgoat on trails, look at Icebug and the Altra Lone Peak 9.
Is Hoka a sustainable brand?
Not yet. Hoka now uses recycled polyester and nylon in most uppers, and most of its road shoes are vegan, but the thick midsoles are still virgin petroleum EVA and the brand publishes limited detail on factory wages. Good On You rates Hoka “Not Good Enough”. Hylo, Saucony’s RFG line and Icebug all use bio-based foams instead.
Are there cheaper alternatives to Hoka?
Yes. The Altra Lone Peak 9 ($140), Allbirds Tree Dasher 2 ($140, often discounted) and Brooks Ghost 17 (from $140) all cost less than a Clifton 9 or Bondi 9, and the Saucony Triumph RFG ($160) is cheaper than a Bondi.
Are Hoka shoes vegan?
Most Hoka road shoes, including the Clifton and Bondi, are made without animal materials, though not every colourway is labelled vegan. Of the alternatives here, Hylo, Saucony RFG, Veja, Brooks, Icebug, On and Altra are vegan; the Allbirds Tree Dasher uses a merino wool heel lining.
Which cushioned running shoe is the most sustainable?
The Hylo Impact 2 is the most sustainable cushioned daily trainer we’ve found: bio-based nylon upper, sugarcane-blended foam, natural rubber outsole, a published carbon footprint and a take-back recycling scheme. The Icebug Järv RB9X is the most sustainable trail shoe.
Wrapping Up: The Best Shoes Like Hoka
You no longer have to give up the cushioned ride to buy a more sustainable running shoe. Our top three:
- Most sustainable: Hylo Impact 2. Plant-based upper and foam, with a take-back scheme.
- Best max cushion: Saucony Triumph RFG. A 55% corn-based midsole at $160.
- Best for everyday: Allbirds Tree Dasher 2. Sugarcane foam from a B Corp.
Looking for alternatives to other shoe brands? Read our guides to sustainable alternatives to Allbirds, Converse and Vans, or browse our round-ups of sustainable running shoes, vegan running shoes and sustainable sneakers.
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