i’ve never bought basketball shoes, but i recently read an article in a running magazine about the most environmentally friendly running shoes. i think it would be worth a look through the websites of the manufacturers to see if they make basketball shoes too. ”Adidas, Brooks, and others have stopped using polyvinyl chloride (PVC was once a footwear staple but is toxic to workers and known to form carcinogenic dioxin when it burns); New Balance and Brooks are using recycled boxes; Mizuno has replaced some plastic with materials made from castor oil; and Nike has pioneered better glues. Asics is starting to add rice husks to its outsoles. Some newbies are also shaking things up. Oboz, which makes trail runners, is planting trees to offset its carbon emissions, and a Portland start-up, END, is using partly recycled soles.” This is tangential, but if you’re not satisfied with the level of earth-friendliness of the basketball shoes available on the market, you can also look into donating them when you’ve worn them out.