By Deanna Bratter, Chief Sustainability and Compliance Officer, Crocs, Inc.
Over the last several years, Crocs, Inc. has been on a journey to reduce the environmental footprint of our products while preserving the comfort, durability and style that consumers know and love. Our Crocs brand shoes already start at a low carbon footprint when compared to those from many other brands because of their molded construction and fewer total materials than a typical clog alternative[1]. Even so, we know there’s always room for improvement through materials and innovation.
We've made meaningful progress in this area. In 2025, we reached 25% bio-circular content[2] within our iconic Classic Clog portfolio, putting us halfway to our goal of achieving 50% bio-circular content within our Classic Clog portfolio by 2030, as shared in our 2025 Comfort Report. Incorporating bio-circular content means we’re sourcing bio-based byproducts at the end of their life that were intended for landfill, like used cooking oil, and repurposing them into the Croslite™ material that makes our shoes uniquely and comfortably Crocs. Along the way, we’ve reduced the carbon footprint of our Classic Clog, reaching 1.92kg CO2e per pair in 2025 compared to 2.56kg CO2e per pair in 2021. That’s halfway towards our goal of reducing the carbon footprint of the Classic Clog by 50% by 2030[3].
To move this work forward, we utilize a mass balance approach to incorporate bio-circular content into our Classic Clog portfolio.
Mass balance may not be a term consumers hear every day.
A mass balance approach means that materials with specific sustainability characteristics are mixed or ‘balanced’ with other materials. At Crocs, that looks like sourcing bio-circular materials and mixing them with typical fossil-based materials to create Croslite, which is used across the production of our Classic Clog portfolio. This mass balance approach means we are tracking the percentage of bio-circular content at the product portfolio level, not the individual product level.
Mass balance is a widely used accounting approach that helps brands scale the use of more sustainable materials. It’s clearly defined and managed through third parties, tracking sustainable and – in the case of Crocs – bio-circular materials through complex supply chains. It enables brands like Crocs to increase the amount of certified bio-circular content we source while maintaining transparency and traceability through independent third-party verification.
For many industries, including footwear, one of the biggest sustainability challenges isn't just identifying better materials—it's finding ways to use them at scale without sacrificing performance. To make progress on our commitment to reducing our carbon emissions, we need to rely less on virgin, fossil-based materials and more renewable and circular alternatives. A mass balance approach helps us do that at scale.
We work diligently to provide transparent information and clarity around any sustainability related claims we make. Our bio-circular content claims are based on independently certified mass balance accounting, and we publicly disclose how our approach works, how it is measured, and how it is certified.
Our approach focuses on the integration of bio-circular content into our Croslite material compounds. We do this by using bio-circular material that is certified by ISCC PLUS, a globally recognized, independent third-party. Every shipment of certified bio-circular material to Crocs manufacturing facilities includes strict governance protocol and documentation designed to validate the material’s origin, its traceability through the value chain, the volume, and its sustainability attributes.
Credibility is built upon transparency, accountability, and measurable outcomes. A certified mass balance approach provides all three.
One of the reasons we've embraced this approach is because it allows us to drive impact more deeply across our core products, and not, for example, in a limited-edition single sustainable product or niche collection.
We've worked to incorporate bio-circular content across our Classic Clog portfolio, our iconic and instantly recognizable product that started it all. That means more consumers can access shoes made with sustainable materials, while still enjoying the same comfort, durability, quality, and value they expect from the Crocs brand.
Sustainability should not require consumers to make tradeoffs; affordability, comfort and sustainability can coexist. This should be more of the standard than the exception, and we believe consumers should be able to have it all.
The transition to more circular materials is a process.
It will require continued innovation, stronger partnerships across supply chains, and ongoing investment in new technologies and materials. We recognize that no sustainability solution is perfect, and we know there is still significant work ahead.
For Crocs, a mass balance approach to our materials strategy has provided an initial way to move forward today while helping support the broader transition toward a more sustainable future across footwear and beyond.
A mass balance approach helps us reach our goals of achieving 50% bio-circular content within our Classic Clog by 2030 and reducing the carbon footprint of our Classic Clog by 50% by 2030. As of 2025, we are halfway to achieving both goals.
Sustainability is not a linear path and by definition, neither is circularity. We're proud of the progress we've made so far, and we're excited about what's to come.
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