trainers (sneakers) not from the sweatshop

[keyko]

i realize i'd have a much bigger trainers collection if i did not know that "made in china" or "made in indonesia" means that the shoes are produced by people getting less than 5usd per day and often with the use of child labour. i work in "corporate" Hong Kong and visited factories in both China and Indonesia, not for sport shoes though but I have a clear idea what labour conditions there are. I also know that nike adidas etc do not produce stuff themselves but outsource production from local companies.

I am a normal bloke though and I like wearing my jeans with trainers, so i thought we could have a thread here to list out nice looking trainers which are either produced in 1st world countries or if in developing countries, by labour-friendly fair-trade companies.

Alien vs Predator, Freddie vs Jason, Nudie vs A.P.C.

Edited by keyko on Jan 26, 2006 at 12:06 AM

[Ryan]

i believe FEIT fits into this category? not 100% sure though

[keyko]

I just saw FEIT at www.norsestore.com.

I've got a pair of black VEJA's www.veja.fr which are made in Brasil with "community trade" principles (as asserted on their site)

I can name other brands as Premiata (Italy - love my black-olive canvas keds) , Kowalski (made in Spain but personally i don't like their over-vintage style), Munich (also from Spain, but colours too loud).

Walsh.. what else?

Alien vs Predator, Freddie vs Jason, Nudie vs A.P.C.

[haberdasher12]

reebok has always been a company that has promoted it human rights, and I have to tell you after working in the industry for a long time, that they are one of the few companies of thier size that will hurt thier bottom line to make sure people are being treated respectfully. I've been to a lot of factories in the far east and have had some projects being developed at factories that produce Reeboks and the factory managers always complain to me about how strict thier human rights enforcers are.

[ddohnggo]

great thread. i think that new balance is pretty decent with their human rights.

[nairb49]

new balance has a couple lines, some made in china and some in the UK.

purists always say that the made in UK are far superior etc etc

strangely though, i have a pair of each, china and UK and I have to say that the quality ie. stitching finishing etc etc is much cleaner on the made in china pair.

nairb49

[peteyross]

I was under the impression that New Balance left China years ago. They disagreed with the property rights situation (ie fakes) and even after they officially left, the factories they used continued to produce fake NB's.

New Balance has a "Made in UK" line which is very nice. They also have a "Made in the USA" line which I think is made in their Boston location.

Most designer shoes (ie Marc Jacobs) are probably made in Italy.

Where is Vans made?

[giantreptile]

walsh, walsh, walsh. i said it before and i'll say it again. walsh: made in england.

p.s.

walsh

[kumo]

http://adbusters.org/metas/corpo/blackspotshoes/home.php

these've been around...

[Kasper]

for their Hello Nasty tour, the Beastie Boys endorsed DC Shoes cause they said that the shoes were produced in a humane way with decent salary and working condition. i remember DC got a lot of good publicity out of that since the Beastie Boys reputation in that area is pretty solid. the shoes used to be made in Korea but i haven't owned a pair for a long while so i'm not sure about now. and well, DC shoes are not for everyone , i really hope myself they would stop making shoes with the huge tongue.

[keyko]

Quote:

reebok has always been a company that has promoted it human rights, and I have to tell you after working in the industry for a long time, that they are one of the few companies of thier size that will hurt thier bottom line to make sure people are being treated respectfully. I've been to a lot of factories in the far east and have had some projects being developed at factories that produce Reeboks and the factory managers always complain to me about how strict thier human rights enforcers are.

--- Original message by haberdasher12 on Jan 26, 2006 06:25 AM

it's good to hear that reebok enforces the HR clauses in heir outsoursing contracts... i believe many (not all) others have them just for PR purposes.

I like what Reebok did together with Paul Smith (was it 2003?), but unfortunately the project did not last long and i did not get a pair for myself. hopefully adidas will be more creative and revive reebok's classic line (limited eds, co-ops, some $$$ pairs made in UK, the works).

well, it's not that i am agains buying big brands trainers at all, i buy them for the gym for instance regardless of HR issues, but i can pay an extra buck for nice looking dress trainers and i'd feel a bit better in them knowing that they are made by people whose labour is properly valued.

Alien vs Predator, Freddie vs Jason, Nudie vs A.P.C.

[Handlethevibe]

Quote: i really hope myself they would stop making shoes with the huge tongue.

They're skate shoes, what do you expect. Practically all skate shoes are big and bulky, except vans.

[minya]

I'm hoping Feit steps up their designs. I love the construction, and materials used, but the designs just strike me as totally uninspired and dull.

Where are Alife's Ritefoot sneakers made?

[tangerine]

Quote:

I was under the impression that New Balance left China years ago. They disagreed with the property rights situation (ie fakes) and even after they officially left, the factories they used continued to produce fake NB's.

New Balance has a "Made in UK" line which is very nice. They also have a "Made in the USA" line which I think is made in their Boston location.

Most designer shoes (ie Marc Jacobs) are probably made in Italy.

Where is Vans made?

--- Original message by peteyross on Jan 26, 2006 07:17 AM

Vans (including most recent MJ, patent) are made in China.

ask a cassowary

[keyko]

Does anyone know where JB Classics are made?

http://www.suite2206.com/boutique.htm

Alien vs Predator, Freddie vs Jason, Nudie vs A.P.C.

[RedFoxxworth]

I did this thread earlier this month basically....

http://superfuture.com/city/supertalk/index.cfm?page=topic&topicID=7867

IT GETS WACKER BY THE SECOND!

[giantreptile]

yeah, and i got ignored on that thread, too.

[damnIam]

I am not saying it is always the case, but in some countries 5 dollars a day ain't bad pay, especially if you are a child or woman, when the other options can be quite unsavory.

[dnnsmanace]

Quote:

I'm hoping Feit steps up their designs. I love the construction, and materials used, but the designs just strike me as totally uninspired and dull.

Where are Alife's Ritefoot sneakers made?

--- Original message by minya on Jan 26, 2006 10:32 AM

Alife is in China.. Everything is made in china.

[kiya]

most New Balance are made in China, but at factories that support living wages and such.

BUT, their Tier One line is all made in either England or Boston (usa)..

their tier one line is basically, in my opinion, the highest quality sneaker/trainer money can buy.

they range in cost from 140 to 170, but they're worth every penny, and the colorways are mindblowing.

-k

[alex_844]

it's not necessarily a bad thing that something is made in china. i know we would all be more comfortable with everything being made in the 1st world, ie. guaranteed living wage, rights etc, but thats not possible due to economics and all that.

just an aside really, but shoe companies among others are so entrenched in the 3rd world with sweatshops and the like, that for them to pull out now would actually be disastrous to many workers in indonesia etc. they don't have another job/career to fall back on. it's not bad to buy from these companies (like nike) but if you do buy and you think it's made by a sweatshop, then let the company know how you feel. if enough CUSTOMERS say something, corporations listen.

[keyko]

i agree that china (vietnam, indo etc) made brand sneakers are made with top quality, and of course i don't view brand manufacturing there as evil. that is not the point for me, i am not an anti-globalist (at least not in the context of this board and not unless my job is outsourced to india) and i can see both pros and cons of outsoursing. and i don't think that if i choose not to buy made in china stuff i will undermine the livelihood of chinese workers because the vast majority out there will continue to buy this stuff regardless.

but, as someone who can afford made in the 1st world clothes (i think it is the case with most on this board) i'd rather support higher labour costs with the purchase of dress trainers rather then paying for china made "exclusivity" of some "limited" models around so i started this thread to learn about more options available.

Does anyone know if Adidas or Puma are still making anything in Germany except football boots?

Alien vs Predator, Freddie vs Jason, Nudie vs A.P.C.

[MilSpex]

Hey Kid! Stop slackin and get back to work. I want my `06 Jordan I retros (I wish) yesterday!

Be Advised: Morgan Nixon AKA Moman631 AKA Moman6040 is a fraud.

[giantreptile]

calling all keykos: this just in. if you are looking for a 1st world sneaker, look at walsh. made in england. more on that at 11.

http://www.walshsports.co.uk/running.asp