wordsmithlind

I recently set myself upon a quest.  At first I foresaw no difficulty in this journey into consumerism.  I had grown tired of sub-standard merchandise produced overseas and sold for outrageous profit here in the “Western” world after a pair of Vans I owned had fallen apart after a mere six months of wear.  In the past I have owned the same pair of Vans that have lasted upwards of three years, and this pair with this pair dying after such a short period of time, I’d had enough, thus began my quest for ethical shoes…

            My quest took me to every shoe store in Ansbach, Berlin, and other random cities throughout Germany that did not look like a Footlocker.  For weeks I searched and I searched, and nothing could I find.  I found “ethical” shoes in the fight against poverty made in Vietnam.  I found “earthy” shoes from Thailand.  And as always, I found sneakers of all varieties from every alternative brand with the “Made in China” tag below the tongue.  Only one brand, El Naturalista, was made in a non-traditional sweatshop country, Spain, thus theoretically having to follow EU guidelines.  They offer a decent selection of shoes, but after trying on a few pairs, these shoes just did not work for me.  All the while, I searched online, from which I learned that I am not alone in this quest.  The few shoes made in the USA fall mostly into the category of dress or boots, and then there is the German made Birkenstock, none of which help me in my search for casual gym shoes.  I did find smaller brands made in the USA that did offer gym shoes, but most of these looked like bad imitations of Chuck Taylor’s (I guess this would be the shoe equivalent of a soy steak).

            Frustrated and fed-up, I decided to look up Simple Shoes.  I remember reading that they were working on shoes that were 100% recycled—maybe a company concerned about the earth is also concerned about people.  To my sad discovery, Simples are made in China, but the company does display on the website their “Ethical Supply Chain Guidelines.”  These guidelines give the consumer the reassurance that the company is not using child/forced labor, unpaid overtime, poor working conditions, etc.  Unfortunately, Nike offers a similar, though less detailed statement on their website, so take I had to take it for what it was worth. 

            After more debate and sole (sic) searching, I opted for Simple’s Toemorrow shoe.  It is 100% recycled and falls into the ecologically “Best” category.  If I can’t prevent the use of sweatshops, at least I can do my part for the environment.  I am having these shoes shipped to my house in the US courtesy of UPS, thus a large part of my effort to save the environment is negated by the use of a door-to-door delivery service.  No matter the effort to be ethical and eco-friendly, it is almost never enough.  I am yet to try on the shoes.  It is going to be interesting to see if my quest will end a success upon my return to the US.

http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/escGuidelines.aspx?g=info

http://www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/cr_governance.html

photo by wordsmithlind

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