'The Best Slippers That Won't Make Your Feet Sweat'
"These Nootkas felted wool slippers could be your perfect pair if you want an open-back style slipper built with breathability and indoor use in mind."
- Bustle Magazine
Happy customers tell us:
"With or without socks, these are the most comfortable slippers I've ever had. My feet are toasty warm, without getting hot and sweaty like the previous pair of slippers I had."
- Review for the Men's Astoria Slipper
'So Comfortable!'
"These slippers are very comfortable and nice and warm in the winter. They also breathe well so they don't make my feet sweaty and oddly enough aren't too warm for the summer."
- Marie S. for the Women's Astoria Slipper
How wool slippers can help.
Felted wool creates a temperature stable environment inside the slipper that discourages sweating. If you do sweat, wool will help manage it by absorbing mosisture, wicking it away from your foot surface and allowing it to quickly evaporate. Wool is also naturally anti-microbial and prevents odor causing bacteria from making your slippers stink.
What causes feet to sweat?
There are a great many causes of foot sweat or general hyperhydrosis, as doctors call it. Genetics plays a role, overall health can impact foot sweat, the materials you choose for socks and shoes can have a big effect on how much you sweat. Most people don't know this, but many common prescription drugs and SSRIs can also cause or increase foot sweat. Foot sweat is a common issue for many people and we're happy to be able to bring a bit of relief.
Our Sustainability
- Entirely handmade using a traditional wet felting process with no use of machines.
- Slipper components are organic materials and biodegradable: Merino wool and genuine suede.
- Dye-free wool colors are available, and dyed colors are made with a natural, AZO-free dye.
- Nootkas slipper packaging is plastic free. Please note: third-party fulfillment partners may require outer plastics for shipping.
- Nootkas shoe boxes are made from 98% post-consumer recycled cardboard.
- Any plastics or plastic sheeting required for international shipping is recycled in Oregon via Ridwell. All cardboard used is recycled locally as well.
- Our Nepalese supplier is Fair Trade USA Certified. They practice equal pay for equal work, pay a living wage, and provide artisans with medical benefits and a retirement plan.
- The Nepalese facility is powered entirely by solar, and zero water is discharged into the environment from the felting process.
Our Sheep
Our slippers are hand felted from 100% Merino wool. The Merino wool for Nootkas Astoria slippers is sourced exclusively from New Zealand. Our Mongolian-made slippers and house shoes are felted with locally sourced Mongolian Merino wool.
New Zealand has banned mulesing and has passed a number of strict anti-cruelty laws, making it among the safest places in the world to source raw wool. Our Mongolian wool is purchased from nomadic sheep herders who depend on sheep for their livelihood and treat them like part of the family.
While most of our wool slippers contain wool that has been colored prior to felting, we do carry a selection of colors that is 100% natural and completely free of dyes . These colors represent the natural color of the sheep’s wool, and we call these slippers “Nootkas Naturals.” Visit the Nootkas Naturals Collection.
How Our Slippers Are Made
Before felting begins, the wool is cleaned with very gentle soap, removing dirt and other impurities while leaving many of the natural oils and lanolin in the fiber. Strips of raw wool are placed in a crosshatched pattern and rubbed by hand with soap and water to combine the layers.
This process is repeated dozens of times per slipper and creates a thick piece of wool called a “sock.” The wool socks are again felted using agitation and water, creating a dense textile that can be shaped into a slipper by stretching it around a wooden shoe form called a last.
These newly felted slippers remain on the shoe last and are set out to dry in the sun for three days. The result is a thick, seamless slipper with tiny micro-pockets of air throughout the wool. Air is nature’s greatest insulator, and this old-world method keeps the wool as close to its natural state as possible.
Read more about the benefits of wool and why it works so well for slippers.
All production on our Astoria slippers happens in a Fair Trade Certified facility in Nepal. Our facility is clean, treats employees well, pays a fair wage, and provides stable employment in a remote region where good jobs can be hard to come by.
Our Nepalese workshop is committed to eco-friendly, sustainable production and uses solar power for all of its energy needs. Our partners in Mongolia are also Fair Trade certified and pay a fair, living wage, providing much-needed jobs and fine wool products for the local economy.
About Us
Nootkas found its inspiration thanks in part to the rainy Pacific Northwest and its grey, drizzly seasons spent inside. Similar in climate to many Nordic countries, but with more rain, the Pacific Northwest inspires a certain satisfaction with warm, inviting indoor spaces — a sentiment akin to what the Danish call hygge, and the rest of us think of as cozy.
While we are not associated with the Nootka tribe, now known as the Nuu-chah-nulth, of western Canada, we hold deep respect for their history, heritage, and the beautiful area that carries their historical name.
— The Nootkas Family