kidtwisty

you realize that he was being sarcastic, right?
settle down ftw.

blickblocks

Sort of on a tangent, any of you guys ever tried making shoes? A couple friends and I are thinking of buying a couple pairs of rubber soles and making the lasts ourselves with just really basic designs. Since we don't have access to a cobbler's industrial we can do it by hand with upholstery needles.

bicycle

Yeah, they're great. But they are rather expensive, possibly from the lack of cheap labor

Lenore

hey elliott. still in philly?

soyboy

vegan and sweatshop free but the pair i bought had an incredibly long break in period for canvas shoes and the falling apart period starts almost as soon as the break in period is over, don't worry though, what they lack in durability and comfort they make up in being vegan and non-sweatshop

jmichaeldesign

I disagree. A lot of things that are outsourced don't go down in price afterwards. What happens is the stockholders and the CEO get richer. So just buy your stuff from small companies.

time bandit

and what stance do they take? If im 8 years old and starving, you'd better believe I'd be sewing up some nikes.

dmg

This is true - however, sometimes big companies (like Nike) have the power and financial overhead to make sure that their factories are inspected frequently and their workers are being treated well, while a smaller company is left trusting the manufacturer.

I get all my sneakers from thrift stores and apply the savings to first-world made cycling shoes.

humancongereel

really/ i've never known anyone to be let down by them. sounds like you got a dud pair.

humancongereel

i don't trust them to do this.

asherlighn

Just a quick question to the people involved in this discussion:

Any of you ever study international trade?

data

Some new balances are made in the USA -- they usually say it. But even New Balance can't compete without foreign sweatshop help on their more technical shoes.

That said, I think I a majority of people don't mind foreign labor, trade is a good thing. What we do mind is the horrible conditions and poverty wages they get paid -- but thats the market...

ryanday

Here's the solution to the sweatshop labor problem:

1.) Get Americans to accept more expensive products at a similar quality to what they already get for cheap.
2.) Once Americans are ready to accept this shift, major corporations can stray from the cheapest labor available business model and can bring up the pay and quality of the workplace in countries where the labor is outsourced to.

This seemingly simple solution wouldn't work for two reasons: 1.) Most Americans have a major problem with parting with their money, which is the reason that politicians are always talking about cutting taxes and why a place like Walmart exists, and 2.) Even if Americans were willing to pay more for a product, major corporations would simply charge more and still use the current sweatshop labor system as this would raise profits greatly.

So, what does this prove? Absolutely nothing, but it is interesting to think about. It also doesn't provide any sort of solution to the sweatshop labor problem. Too bad.

Jonny Pockets

WWJD?

Sandals.

johnprolly

Yeah pretty much any NB's 576, ect make great riding shoes. They even make "cycling shoes" with harder soles. You can find them on eBay sometimes.

ryanlovesyou

+1. They're usually really ugly, but every pair of Simples I have had have been really comfortable. They sponsor a festival I help put on at my college, and they give us free shoes every year. I highly recommend them.

prufrock

Agreed.

It also doesn't make sense that America is a spending culture, we have a negative saving rate. Meaning, to finance the debts of America we have to look abroad for money. Exactly the reason why Bush had to "borrow" 100 Billion dollars from China, ****ed up thing is he just gave it to the rich people via tax cuts. Americans are fickle - we hate spending too much money but we also don't save as much as we should. The only people willing to pay top dollar are the well off. Middle America doesn't want to spend the extra money, nor should they have to with the rising health care and other costs of living.

dobber

So the workers are better paid but the shoes are apparently of the same or lesser quality?

making

Dare I say it is all WalMarts fault. I have not seen a good WalMart hating thread on BF.

veganwar

Both New Balance and Saucony played games with their product lines, using the label "made in the USA" when either the material was manufactured here and the stitching was done overseas or vice versa. Both companies used to be entirely made in the US. I had a pair of rather old canvas Saucony running shoes. They were the last of old stock that the Cambridge, MA outlet had when I bought them in 2002 and I didnt' wear them for about 3 years. They are now making canvas and hemp ones again although I don't know where the shoes are actually made or if Saucony just licensed the name. Check the MooShoes website or call them and ask them. The employees there are helpful and will understand your concern.

Maybe MacBeths were once made in the US but the pair Im wearing right now were made in China. They do take a bit to break in. I first found them too soft and thought they would wear out in a few weeks but ended up wearing them all the time for over a year. Today is the first day I have worn the pair that are currently on my feet and will have to switch back to clips and straps to tell you how they feel on a pedal.

1fluffhead

I love their shoes. Just picked up a pair for work that were the last ones in the store, on sale and luckly for once there were in my size. I have been loving them so far, super comfy. Don't know if I would ride in them though because the soles are real soft/squishy, even more than vans. According to the website the soles are called crepe, which is a natural rubber from the hevea tree.

Moto-Velo

The real solution is to kill the Malaysian prime minister.

jpmac55

Are "No sweat" sneakers junk or results may vary?

reluctantfeste

ot, but in defense of Vietnam, it is my understanding they are highly unionized and highly worker-oriented. it's workers' child-care provisions are some of the best in the world. unfortunately, the latest import-rationing regime is killing them now.