Why are quality shoe companies so hard to find?

I need new shoes. No really, the shoes I'm wearing actually have a hole in them (because I guess my dad rubbed off on me and I waited till they were sooo messed up before I gave in to spending money). And so began my search for shoes.

Obviously, my first requirement was that they be green or have green accents. Because what is the point of spending money on shoes if they are going to be ugly and not my style? I work in the mall like 6 stores down from the Nike store. Everyday I walk past the window of the Nike store and see the green shoes with a grey swoosh and think, I want those. Or maybe I want the converse's from the store downstairs. Or maybe I want a different style altogether. (I do really like shoes...I don't know why.)

But then, 5 minutes into my uber consumeristic mental shopping spree, my conscience joins the party. Oh hey conscience, go away I want to buy shoes, I tell it. But it doesn't. So I decided I WILL find shoes that are coming from a company that I can trust is ethical by my standards.

So I added fair trade to my list of requirements for shoes. Sweat shop free, fair wages the whole deal. And I added they must have an anti-discrimination policy I feel like I can support. Race, national origin, sexual orientation/identity/expression, sex, creed, etc. If I had had a mirror at the time I decided this, I probably would have looked at myself like I was crazy, they way you are thinking it right now. But, it had to be possible.

When I typed in "ethical shoe companies" into to google, I got a range of responses. I found a brand called Remyxx, which makes 100% recyclable shoes! It is a small company which just got started on Kickstarter, and their shoes won't even be out until October. But seriously, how cool is that? And the designs are pretty cool to, not just plain. Go him! But they won't be out until October. (I might still buy these shoes, if his company really gets started, or maybe Santa will bring them to me).

Evidently, most people who are looking for ethical shoes are looking for vegan shoes. Being a lover of all things steak, I had literally never thought of buying vegan anything. I mean, I guess I have been accidentally semi-vegan cloth person. Fur freaks me out, I don't like wool because it's too itchy, I can't really pull off leather, and all of my T-shirts are 100% cotton because it's comfy. Vegan-ish. Either way, I had no choice but to settle into my hipster side and accept that my fair trade shoes were probably going to be cruelty-free. Don't worry, I will eat a steak the first time I wear them. :-) .

And then I found literally the best website ever. www.ethicalwares.com is a website of well...ethical products. Including hemp shoes, which would be fun because I could just tell everyone I'm wearing hemp shoes. While drinking a PBR. And listening to obscure bands. And telling everyone they just don't "get" me.

Ok, but seriously. When I found out converse was owned by Nike my heart was kind of broken. Sort of in the way your heart breaks when you remember that Urban Outfitters is worse than Chick-fil-a when it comes to equality. Just a sad moment. But then...the heavens parted.

Ethletic. These shoes are fairly traded, the workers make double the minimum wage of the country they are manufactured in, which is Sweden. They are vegan, which wasn't really a requirement but cool, I saved a few animals. They are the same style kind of as converse, so definitely wearable. They come in green, which makes them awesome. And I couldn't find out of they are welcoming and equal. But they are based in Sweden which is like the most queer friendly country in the world. These shoes are the closest thing to perfect that I have found.

Of course, New Balance came up. They are made in the USA but usually only 25% made in the USA. The rest is outsourced to china and other countries. When I need a running shoe it will probably be NB, because ethical shoes don't seem to come in running.

By the way, ethicalwares.com has vegan Birkenstocks. This might the single most Ann Arbor-y thing I have ever seen.

So, if you need fair trade shoes....try out that website. If you know of other good shoe companies...please tell me about them so I can have the best shoes always. :-).