The ideal flip-flops for protecting the environment and your feet Try to estimate how many pairs of shoes the US population throws out each year. 300,000,000 pairings. In landfills, the shoes take 30 to 40 years to decompose. However, discarded shoes are not the only polluting factor. When mass quantities of shoes are made, industrial fumes and toxins from leftover dyes pollute the environment. Is there a way for us to preserve the greenery of our planet? Here is a sustainable flip-flop that will help the environment: Ewig221. Ewig221 is