While we always encourage walking when possible, according to an MIT study a typical pair running shoes actually generates 30 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to keeping a 100-watt bulb lit for one week!
The study noted, “The researchers found that more than two-thirds of a running shoe’s carbon impact can come from manufacturing processes, with a smaller percentage arising from acquiring or extracting raw materials. This breakdown is expected for more complex products such as electronics, where the energy that goes into manufacturing fine, integrated circuits can outweigh the energy expended in processing raw materials. But for ‘less-advanced’ products — particularly those that don’t require electronic components — the opposite is often the case.”