Fair-Trade Bike Shoes?
 

Ok, here's a question for all of you; I've looked into this a lot, and haven't turned up anything good:
Can anyone recommend a good bike shoe, not clipless or anything, just stiff and good looking, that is either fair-trade, or Union made in the U.S.?

I really like the style of a lot of shoe companies like Diadora, or Puma, etc, but am not willing to buy their product (At least not first-hand), for ethical reasons.

If you have any suggestions, that would be great!

Look comfy in the sock-with-a-sole way, I f'in love minimalist shoes
http://www.mooshoes.com/invoice_vari...oduct_id=76916

Straight outta compton
https://secure11.nexternal.com/share...owID=1357&All=

Groova
http://www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk/pc...hoe-black.aspx

No Sweat Apparel out of Boston

Nike

No Sweat's chuck taylor copy cats are nice and cheap, Vegetarian Shoes has more hip styles and they should hold up longer but they are more expensive (order them from Moo Shoes so you dont pay overseas shipping)

I had a pair of the Ben Shermans. They held up great and would work well for clips.

the high end Sidis are made in italy

oh wait, not clipless. meh.

red wing shoes are union made. they won't fit in toe clips, though.

personally, i'm loving platform pedals again.

ben shermans are made in southeast asia somewhere. they are vegan though

hmm, must be tough being true to the fair-trade, union made, vegan way? What about bike parts, food, electronic equipment such as tv, stereo? Are those also according to the guidelines? No offense but it must be damn hard to live up to those wishes.

Go Adidas!

of course it's hard.

I just got all excited there as I mixed up Ben Davis and Ben Sherman and couldn't think why Ben Davis were making shoes in asia. I'm going to bed.

Sounds like dude needs to go live here:

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/

I wonder how they made the website? Did they use a union made computer? I myself love every second of my Made in China laptop.

some of us buy used. your view of the world is about as broad as a pinhead, huh?

or maybe I'm just blowing off steam. I'm well aware of all the aspects on this issue and I do respect the cause. It's just not my cup of tea. What I do need now is to go to bed. Good night!

lol, and buy them at Walmart...

Anyting made in the USA should suffiently guarantee ethical treatment of those who made it.

Any product sold by a willing seller to a willing consumer at an agreed upon price is "fair-trade" in my book

your book is missing a few pages.

and i wouldn't say that USA make ensures a well-treated employee. union made is always best. the AFLCIO rates companies without unions in terms of how well they treat their employees. or at least they used to.

That outlook worked pretty well for slaveowners.

i'm not positive, but i believe new balance are all synthetic and made in america. maine i think.

^^^
not bike shoes, but whatev. i actually do have a pair of their bike shoes, but good luck finding them.

Yes, yes, play the slavery card---it works so well

GO over to china and ask one of millions of people there who moved from a muddy hovel barely eating into a city to work for what you think is pittance----to them its a fortune and for every person that quits, there are 500 more waiting in line to take his place. Not that the workers there arent underpaid---but its all relative to their standard of living beforehand---Plus, those workers over there have one heck of a work ethic.

I try to buy american as much as possible, but the reality is, most AM products these days are overpriced compared to foreign goods and with a neglgieable increase in quality. Most of the price difference is the company recouping the health benefits/pensions to its employees. SO its not like the increased price is representing a corresponding increase in quality. Thats the primary reason GM is having so many problems--its got so much build in fixed costs with union benefits, they can't price their vehciles competitivly and to do so means reducing other costs--i.e. making a sub-par quality product.
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So rather than judging a transaction by its voluntariness, you judge it by a self-imposed "fairness" standard. Who, pray tell, is the all knowing, all powerful adjudicator of what is "fair"---what great circle of my "betters" gets to decide what is fair? What elitist platonic guardians get to tell me when and how i can sell or buy something?

Go to the Confederate States and ask any involuntary plantation employee ("slave" is an unfair term used by the liberal media to play on your sympathies) who moved from a muddy grass hut in Western Africa to a sturdy, well-built dormitory in Virginia to work for what you think is a mere subsistence diet and a bed of hay--to them it's a cornucopia and a comfortable paradise. And for every one who makes an unauthorized night-time exit ("runs away" is another biased media term), there are hundreds who stay, which proves that most of them enjoy their circumstances. Not that the non-compensated employees aren't underpaid, but it's all relative to their standard of living beforehand. Plus, with the help of the overseers, they have a heck of a work ethic. And you can tell that they're happy because they're always singing and clapping.

I try to buy cotton from plantations with monetarily-compensated employees whenever possible, but the truth is, most "free state" (another biased media term) cotton is overpriced and the increase in quality is negligible. Most of the price difference is in the plantation owner compensating the employees for their labor with money, so it's not like the increased price is representing a corresponding increase in quality. That's the primary reason "free" plantations have so many problems--they have so many built-in fixed costs with monetary benefits (i.e., paying wages to their employees), they can't price their cotton competitively and to do so means reducing other costs--i.e. making a sub-par quality product.

So rather than judging a transaction by its voluntariness, you judge it by a self-imposed "fairness" standard. Who, pray tell, is the all knowing, all powerful adjudicator of what is "fair"---what great circle of my "betters" gets to decide what is fair? What elitist platonic guardians--the so-called "abolitionists," perhaps?--get to tell me when and how i can sell or buy something?