TreadRight Sustainable Winter Chelsea boot in Cognac

TreadRight’s Winter Chelsea Boot is perfect for tackling Toronto Winters

On the hunt for sustainable Winter boots that don’t compromise on fashion? TreadRight has you covered.

Note: The TreadRight team sent the author of this post a pair of boots for review. All opinions are that of the author; TreadRight gave no direction regarding the tone or content of this review.

Seeking Sustainability

In a fast-fashion capitalist world that’s deteriorating at an alarming rate, consumers are growing tired of buying cheap, trendy clothes that aren’t designed to last past the next fashion cycle. That’s why we’ve taken a look at the best sustainable Winter boots in Toronto to find a fashion piece that can handle even the worst Canadian Winters.

In this sustainability boom, brands like Nudie Jeans and Patagonia are growing from eco-friendly initiatives like free repairs. Even brands like Uniqlo and H&M offer eco-friendly product lines made from recycled fabrics.

Enter TreadRight:

A Mississauga-based shoe brand with a meticulous focus on design quality and sustainability. With a quality-over-quantity philosophy, TreadRight offers a small assortment of Fall & Winter boots, with Made-to-Order customizable variants.

In recent years, Ontarians’ choices for Winter boots have been few, with the market dominated by Blundstones, Dr Martens, or excessively-bulky brands like Sorel. While Dr Martens are a classic for rockers and Blundstones are quickly becoming a Toronto uniform, neither brand was made with harsh Canadian Winters in mind (with respect to England and Tasmania, of course).

The Flagship Winter Chelsea

TreadRight’s flagship Chelsea Boot features a waxed calfskin exterior that comes in either black or cognac. Ribbed nylon forms the elastic gussets, and Vibram soles provide the boots with comfort and traction. While most down-insulated boots lose their warmth in wet conditions, TreadRight uses 90% goose down between its outer calfskin layer and a thin layer of nylon that reinforces the boot’s construction, so the feathers would never make contact with rain or snow. Instead, a thick layer of soft merino wool lines the boots, keeping your feet warm, dry, and relatively breathable.

On the product pages, TreadRight features comprehensive material breakdowns for full transparency regarding the construction process and efforts towards sustainability.

Made-to-Order

TreadRight’s MTO customization options include sole material, insoles, and any number of color variations for the sole, leather, and gussets. You can also choose to reduce the amount of insulation in the boots (wool, down) if you live in a warmer area where such materials would be excessive. This extent of customizability really shows how involved the TreadRight team is in every step of the design process, and this meticulous level of care is reflected in the quality of the final product. Due to the business’ smaller scale, turnaround is quicker than one would expect; Current estimation from the TreadRight website says to expect Made-to-Order boots to arrive within 4-5 weeks of order confirmation.

Included on TreadRight’s website is a detailed care guide for your boots. This includes everything from conditioners and waterproofing sprays for leather, instructions on Vibram sole replacement, repair guides for various materials, and even a guide to replacing wool or down if they start to tear loose from your boots. It’s clear that TreadRight builds these boots to last, focusing on creating products they can stand behind even if it means slower brand growth.

In Conclusion

If you’re looking for sustainable Winter boots in Toronto that are strong enough to endure the worst Canadian weathers, the TreadRight Winter Chelseas are for you. If you’re looking for a comfortable fashion piece that you can take straight from the office to the bar, the TreadRight Winter Chelseas are for you. Due to the construction process, high quality products at a mid-range price are rarer in footwear than similar fields like denim or workwear. It’s a niche that TreadRight fills, and it’s a role they clearly don’t take lightly.

If you’re in the market for a new pair of Winter boots, I highly recommend you buy a pair of TreadRights before their inevitable success does what it always does to small businesses. After giving their Chelseas a shot and absolutely loving them, I reached out to TreadRight and got an affiliate link for 20% off of every first-time purchase.

Click here to check out their ready-to-wear product line.

Click here to see their MTO lines for more options to express yourself.