Crocs says its clogs are 25% 'bio-circular,' but some pairs may contain no plant-based material

Crocs is facing questions after a viral Instagram video challenged the way the brand describes what its shoes are made of.

Venetia La Manna, a sustainable fashion creator, questioned how Crocs promotes the Classic Clog as having 25% "bio-circular" material, even though "the physical amount of plant-based content present could actually be much lower, or even zero."

What's happening?

In La Manna's video from July 8, she says that the company's claim that it uses lower-carbon materials depends on "mass balance accounting." Rather than using plant-based products in each individual pair of shoes, La Manna argues that Crocs means it uses lower-carbon materials more broadly across its supply chain. 

Essentially, the shoes are mostly made from plastic material, and instead of using only fossil-fuel-based ingredients, Crocs mixes in plant-based waste materials, like used cooking oil, to generate some of the plastic for its clogs. Because everything is chemically mixed together in production, there is no way to physically track which final product contains the plant-based material. 

For example, if the factory uses 25% plant-based material and 75% fossil-based material, Crocs can argue, using mass balance accounting, that 25% of everything it produces is bio-based — even though each individual pair of shoes might contain more, less, or none of the plant-based material. 

This is a larger transparency issue, La Manna said, arguing that Crocs can "market shoes as lower carbon, even if the pair on your feet is still entirely made from fossil fuels." 

Why does it matter?

Claims like this are sometimes called "greenwashing," which is misleading environmental marketing. It can make it harder for consumers who care about the environment to tell which products are sustainable and which are just using certain lingo. 

It can also help to learn the warning signs of misleading environmental marketing. The Cool Down's page on greenwashing breaks down how to spot claims that may be more about branding than real impact.

What can I do?

If you're skeptical of a company's sustainability claims, trust your gut. The Cool Down recommends seeing if the brand or item has third-party certifications or credentials. 

Consumers can also send feedback directly to brands, ask for clearer labeling, and support companies that publish detailed material disclosures instead of relying on buzzwords. Individual purchases alone will not fix the system, but informed buying can help people avoid spending money on products that do not match their expectations.

As one commenter wrote on La Manna's video, "Transparency is the bare minimum."

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