“Imagine a better world,” the slogan on the glass wall enticed. So I walked in.

“Um, that’s sort of just our tagline,” said the Camper helper guy, a little frightened, I think, by my overenthusiastic questions about how Camper was imagining a better world.

But then he introduced me to these plush, red, comfy, recyclable AND biodegreable shoes (left, model 29906-002).

Ok — I know Camper’s Wabis aren’t exactly new — Treehugger wrote about them way back — but I’d never seen the cush, indoor kind before.

I forget what the top part’s made of, but both that and the coconut fiber insole are biodegreable. The TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) sole’s recyclable.

And the top, insole, and sole are the only 3 parts in this shoe. Which not only makes the shoes easy to dispose of once they get old and gross (decomposed?), but also makes the stuff efficient to make. According to Treehugger, “the WABI concept is to reduce the production of a shoe to its bare minimum to save consumption of time and energy.”

I wore them driving back from San Francisco — They were super comfy and made me feel better when I got stung by a bee as I was getting back in the car after a potty break.

At $90 a pair, these Wabis aren’t cheap — but Camper does have a good return policy and a 6-month quality guarantee. Best of all, there’s a Camper in LA too — just down the street from me –

Camper. San Francisco: 39 Grant Ave. 415.296.1005. Los Angeles: 103 S Robertson Blvd. 310.276.2949.

Update, 2/3/06: This trip to Camper, BTW, is part of my Dov-free shopping spree, detailed here.

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