Will running in the new Hylo Athletics Impact everyday training shoes help me make a global shift in the running shoe industry toward greater environmental sustainability? It’s an overly simple question to a complex situation, but I give the brand high marks for what it’s trying to do.

Someone told me recently that every pair of running shoes I’ve run in is still on earth somewhere, the majority of which are probably buried in a landfill somewhere. That’s a troubling thought, especially given that I’ve probably run in and wear-tested more than 2,500 pairs of running shoes over the past 30 years or so. 

During that time, though, I have never directly thrown out any pair of running shoes, no matter what condition they’ve been in after I’ve had my way with them. Instead, I’ve given hundreds of shoes to friends and schools, and donated even more to organizations like One World Running, which helps distribute used shoes to runners in need around the world.

When it comes to running shoes, I hate to admit it, but it hasn’t been a very green industry. For decades, running shoes were made without sustainability as a key intention, although that was both due to the fact that sustainability wasn’t a key purchase criteria for consumers and also because performance-oriented “green” materials were not yet commensurate with the abundance, structural application, performance qualities of the industry staple materials. Fortunately, that’s changed quite a bit in recent years, so making shoes with better materials is much more cost-effective than it used to be.

I don’t need to get into the details of how long it takes for the materials of a running shoe to break down or a discussion of microplastics, nor am I here to suggest that shoes built with green materials or more environmentally friendly manufacturing processes are going to make drastic changes. But I am happy to report the industry as a whole has started to make small and big shifts. 

Over the past decade, several big established brands (including Brooks, Saucony, On, Ice Bug, and Merrell) have made huge strides by using recycled or more sustainable materials, while more recently a few key start-up brands like Hylo Athletics, Mount to Coast, All Birds, 8000Kicks, and more, have used sustainability as a starting point. Both are win-win situations for runners, even if that’s not your prime concern when you’re training for a half-marathon this summer. 

I’ve been running on and off in a pair of Hylo Impact ($165) shoes for the past six months, so I’ve probably logged 150 miles in it so far, and I report below why I think this is a good everyday trainer. One of the biggest things to know is that Hylo Athletics is passionate about sustainability and not just giving it lip service, so much so that it’s put its money where its mouth is by creating a circular system of recycling its own shoes in similar fashion to what On and ASICS have done.

What’s New: The Hylo Athletics Impact utilizes many sustainable or green materials, including castor bean derivatives, bio-based foams, recycled polyester, and water-based glue. The shoe’s midsole is a supercritical nitrogen-injected foam with added bio-EVA to increase responsiveness and reduce weight. The breathable, lightweight knit upper is made from 100 percent bio-based nylon derived from castor beans, with a DWR coating for water repellency, corn-derived lining, lace closure and gusseted tongue.

The laces are made from 100 percent Tencel Lyocell made from regenerated cellulose, while the outsole consists of 60 percent natural rubber. The hope and belief is that those materials are better for the environment at the start of the process, and will break down sooner at the end of the shoe’s life, even if it doesn’t get recycled into the Hylo Athletics circularity program.

Fit/Feel/Ride: The Hylo Athletics Impact fits true to size with a medium volume interior, but only a little bit of wiggle room in the toe box. (The removable sockliner can be taken out and replaced with an aftermarket footbed if you choose, although forefoot volume might be even more snug depending on your choice of footbed.) The interior feels soft, plush, and comfortable, with a medium-thick, fully gusseted tongue, a soft sockliner, and ample heel collar padding.

The ride produces an incredibly smooth, rolling sensation that gives off a little bit of an energetic spark as you toe off into a new stride. The supercritical nitrogen-injected midsole material feels dense and stable like a polyurethane midsole, only much lighter, more nimble, and more responsive. 

Specs for the Hylo Athletics Impact

Price: $160
Approximate Weights: 8.4 oz. (women’s size 8), 9.8 oz. (men’s size 9)
Heel-Toe Offset: 8mm; 33mm (heel), 25mm (forefoot)

Why It’s Great: Why the Hylo Athletics Impact is great depends on your worldview perspective, but this shoe is great because of how it has pushed the envelope of sustainability. That said, if it’s not your main concern when you buy running shoes, the good news is that for a “green shoe” this one is a legitimate everyday trainer. (Heck, for any shoe, it’s a pretty good one.) Hylo has done a lot of good things with this shoe — it’s comfortable, it’s responsive, it’s breathable, and it’s just light enough — and, of course, it’s been designed with a green thumb in mind.

Why You’ll Love It: Hopefully you’ll enjoy this shoe, as I have, for a variety of runs — mostly slow to moderately paced runs from 4 to 7 miles — during your weekly training. I’ve run two long runs in it (10 miles and about 12 miles at about 8:30 to 9:30 mile pace) and don’t have any complaints, except perhaps that it doesn’t have top-end gears for faster running. It’s one of those shoes that I have enjoyed lacing up and running in, in part because it is consistently comfortable and functional without any glaring negatives.

Pro: The outsole of the Hylo Athletics Impact is made of simple segmented strips of rubber that has a less-complicated manufacturing process than more detailed outsole configurations, plus it carries the message “Run Like the World Depends on It,” which is certainly a nice reminder of the brand’s intentions.

Con: As I mentioned above, the Hylo Athletics Impact doesn’t have a giddy-up-and-go vibe to it. I’ve done plenty of post-run strides in it and a few fartlek-style spontaneous speed-changing intervals during runs, but it’s not going to be my choice for faster-paced running. I love the midsole and the makeup of this shoe, but compared to a shoe like any of the Saucony Endorphin Speed or Hoka 6, for example, it doesn’t have the same lively spunk. (I’ve found the Saucony Ride RFG to be one of the highest performing models with a vast amount of sustainable materials and features.)

As far as green shoes go, the Hylo Athletics Impact stacks up very well, both on an everyday performance level and its place on the ethical moral high ground of running shoe manufacturing. 

For more discussion and commentary about green shoes, read this article my good friend and fellow shoe dog Adam Chase wrote last fall and this article from Sustainable Jungle. And if you missed Tina Muir’s Earth Day article about “How Runners Can Be More Environmentally Sustainable,” that’s a good one, too.

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