ARE CROCS ECO FRIENDLY?

After my last purchase, I am now the proud(YES PROUD) owner of 3 pairs of Crocs.
I now have Gold, Sage and pale Pink, I have worn my gold Crocs constantly since Christmas with very little signs of wear and I now have Sage and Pink to alternate wear. They are the most comfortable shoes that I have ever owned, great for my back AND being wide shoes they are very comfortable because I have wide feet.
Many people do not like Crocs because they say they are ugly but I feel that is a purely personal opinion because there are many shoes that I find hideous and would NEVER wear. I also like wearing them because I am a vegetarian. Some of the Croc colours maybe overly bright but I personally chose Gold and Sage because they are more subtle colours. Pink maybe bright but pink is DEFINITELY not a colour that only Crocs use in making shoes.
BUT the question is ARE CROCS ECO FRIENDLY?

Here is an article from Tree Hugger

Crocs. Birkys for a New Millenium?

by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 08.25.06

When I first saw Crocs on people’s feet I wasn’t sure what struck me the most. The garish colours, or the seemingly extra wide fitting. What I did observe that the next day I saw twice as many as the first day, and the same the day after. Their popularity is just phenomenal. Exponental. According to one report they have factories pumping out about 3 million pairs a month and still can’t meet demand. And their adoption seems to be beyond the usual fashion fad. Wearers just rave about the comfort. One retail shop staffer told me she was on her feet all day, but kept her Crocs on when arriving home ‘cos they were just so damn comfy. But are they green? Well, the material is called Croslite PCCR (proprietary closed cell resin), which tells us nothing at all really. Other than it is a petroleum based foam. But two aspects do give them at least a verdant tinge.

1. Apart from the rivets on the straps they are made entirely of the one material. No adhesives, no structural weakness with one material wearing out before the others. And 2. they weigh next to nothing. While the material may come from finite fossil reserves, it achieves maximum functionality with absolutely minimal resource use. I doubt it is possible to make a lighter pair of shoes. But these two unintended eco-design attributes somewhat conspire against themselves. The simple manufacture leads to a modest price, that in turns creates over-consumption. Fans buy multiple pairs, just to have other colours and brag about how many they have. It is certainly an interesting phenomena. ::Crocs.

So maybe yes and maybe no.
Here are a few opinions that were posted on Tree Huggers site.

A +1 green: The shoes are maintainable. My daughter has broken a rivet twice now and she can just go to the kiosk and get a new rivet.

I don't understand the problem with petrolium products, we are not pumping more petrolium to product these items, they are byproducts of crude. If we didn't produce anything from the byproducts they would simply be dumped. Would you rather raping of the environment.
I do believe in less waste and better treatment of garbage (turn it into energy).

One thought about the use of petroleum for these shoes...it seems to me you get much more 'mileage' out of the amount of petroleum used in these shoes than you would if it were in your tank.

This product is recycleable

And as for the shoes ending up in landfill sites as many people seem to worry about.........well not my Crocs, I will use them in a recycled art project before I would just dump them.

Well from what I have read I think that I will carry on wearing my Crocs, they seem as eco friendly as any other pair of shoes AND in many ways more eco friendly.
Other advantages-good on the beach, in the garden and in the house and because of the holes they have brilliant ventilation and my feet smell sweet.
Sounds good enough for me.