# where's a place to buy ethical running shoes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576 "2003-06-26T18:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/1 "2003-06-26T18:16:57Z")
Are there any links of places to buy running shoes that aren’t made by (near) slave labor? I see places selling shirts and hemp items (blech) of all kinds, but can not find one with running shoes. Any? ---
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/2 "2003-06-26T18:35:36Z")
I’m pretty sure that _New Balance_ are manufactured in Bangor, Maine. At least they used to be. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Plankton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@David\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/3 "2003-06-26T18:40:55Z")
dunno about who makes them, but check out a brand called macbeth - they’re vegan ---
**Author:** ![WIGGUM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WIGGUM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WIGGUM)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/4 "2003-06-26T18:47:53Z")
According to this site [http://www.newbalance.com/cms-service/stream/pdf/?pdf\_id=1942084](http://www.newbalance.com/cms-service/stream/pdf/?pdf_id=1942084), I was close. ---
**Author:** ![Blueapple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Blueapple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blueapple)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/5 "2003-06-27T17:41:19Z")
New Balance also has an [Endorsed by No One](http://www.newbalance.com/loc/en/aboutus/misc/philosophy.html?bbp.e=s&g11n.enc=ISO-8859-1&bbp.v=topic4&bbp.11.sel=topic4&bbp.i=0&bbp.s=11) philosophy. > [@](#): > > Instead of paying celebrities to tell you how great our products are, we invest in research, design, and domestic manufacturing and let our products speak for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/6 "2003-06-27T17:52:07Z")
I’m kind of partial to Saucony shoes, the company headquarters are in Peabody, MA 01960 according to their homepage at [www.saucony.com](http://www.saucony.com) I believe they manufacture there shoes there as well. I’m certainly open to correction if I’m mistaken about that, though. Satch ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/7 "2003-06-27T18:02:18Z")
I’m wary of straying into GD territory here, but are any imported products made by workers who are forced to work there? I’m aware that most of these don’t pay enough to live large, but are the workers forced, with threat of physical harm, to work there? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/8 "2003-06-27T18:09:15Z")
There’s the [Hersey Custom Show Company](http://www.herseycustomshoe.com/), which makes sneakers by hand in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/9 "2003-06-27T18:12:01Z")
Show-shoe. Preview! ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/10 "2003-06-27T18:16:04Z")
What would happen if big shoe companies stopped paying low wages to all those workers in far away destitute places? Would they go find better work somewhere or be closer to starving to death? Nike chairman: People of Guzambu, I am pleased to announce that Nike will no longer be accused of underpaying Gazambuans. Peasants: YAY! Nike: We are closing our factories this month Peasants: YAY! No more low wages! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/11 "2003-06-27T18:55:06Z")
Another vote for New Balance. Their shoes are better than anything I’ve ever gotten from Nike, and at a fraction of the price. They also contribute a portion of their money from women’s shoes to breast cancer research. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/12 "2003-06-27T20:39:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Satchmo \* > \*\*I’m kind of partial to Saucony shoes, the company headquarters are in Peabody, MA 01960 according to their homepage at [www.saucony.com](http://www.saucony.com) I believe they manufacture there shoes there as well. I’m certainly open to correction if I’m mistaken about that, though. > > Satch \*\* Actually I’d love it if someone could find the straight dope on this… Pangea sells Sauconys and they specifically state that they vet all their suppliers for ethical manufacture, including making sure they’re sweat-free. However, when I checked my now-dead Sauconys at home (dead but not that old – 6 months – I run a lot) the tag on the tongue says “Made in China.” bwah? I **think** Brooks shoes are American-made, but again, I can’t seem to find anything which says for sure. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/13 "2003-06-27T21:00:45Z")
What constitutes an “ethical” manufacturer is a matter of opinion. I’ll move this thread to IMHO because the OP is obviously looking for suggestions, not a debate about what constitutes ethical manufacturing. Debates about what is or is not ethical manufacturing practice should go in another thread in Great Debates if anyone cares to start one. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/14 "2003-06-28T13:20:37Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Philster_What would happen if big shoe companies stopped paying low wages to all those workers in far away destitute places? Would they go find better work somewhere or be closer to starving to death? > Nike chairman: People of Guzambu, I am pleased to announce that Nike will no longer be accused of underpaying Gazambuans. > > Peasants: YAY! > > Nike: We are closing our factories this month > > Peasants: YAY! No more low wages! Y’know, they could just pay them… gasp… **proper wages**! It’s a terribly revolutionary concept, I know, but well, worker’s have only been fighting for it for, oh… a couple of hundred years. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/15 "2003-06-29T19:35:05Z")
So Nike starts paying its Indonesian workers what they’d make in the US. All of a sudden, it costs more to make shoes in Indonesia than it does here… So you could say “they could just raise wages to a point still below where costs would exceed US manufacture”… So then how the heck is Vince Carter supposed to get eelskin seats in his Hummer? I mean if Nike starts paying its workers that much, obviously endorsers have to suffer… Oh wait, right, they’ll just raise shoe prices. They will then lose more and more sales to the lower (read: reasonably) priced brands, and start closing southeast Asian plants anyway. Now, if Reebok and Adidas do the same thing, sponsorship for sports across the United States and Canada goes downhill, and North American professional sports as we know them collapse. (the best thing that could happen to them, if you ask me). On the other hand, Ferrari pays Michael Schumacher more than anyone gets paid to flog high-tops, so maybe we should stop buying Ferraris too 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreaming_of_Maria_Callas)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/16 "2003-06-29T19:44:04Z")
Aren’t many “Made in US” clothing products actually made in Saipan, which is somehow exempt from most US laws on minimum wage and worker safety? UnuMondo ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/17 "2003-06-29T19:57:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kaio \* > \*\*Actually I’d love it if someone could find the straight dope on this… Pangea sells Sauconys and they specifically state that they vet all their suppliers for ethical manufacture, including making sure they’re sweat-free. However, when I checked my now-dead Sauconys at home (dead but not that old – 6 months – I run a lot) the tag on the tongue says “Made in China.” bwah? > > I **think** Brooks shoes are American-made, but again, I can’t seem to find anything which says for sure. \*\* Umm, “Made in China” does not _always_ equal sweat-shops, you know. There are ethical companies over there. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/18 "2003-06-29T20:03:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wmulax93 \* > \*\*Umm, “Made in China” does not _always_ equal sweat-shops, you know. There are ethical companies over there. \*\* Well, sure, but without some sort of independent verification, there’s no way for me to tell if this particular “Made in China” item was made by an ethical Chinese company or a sweatshop just from the tag. Hence my request for some straight dope on the question. ---
**Author:** ![Melanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Melanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melanie)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/19 "2003-06-30T06:29:27Z")
When you said ethical running shoes, I assumed you were looking for a link to non-leather shoes. [http://www.veganessentials.com/vegandotcom/](http://www.veganessentials.com/vegandotcom/) Not sure where they source them though. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576/20 "2003-06-30T07:07:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CurtC \* > \*\*I’m wary of straying into GD territory here, but are any imported products made by workers who are forced to work there? I’m aware that most of these don’t pay enough to live large, but are the workers forced, with threat of physical harm, to work there? \*\* Much of what is labeled “Made in China” is made by prison labor. And I’d expect that trying to leave a Chinese prison would result in “threat of personal harm”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheres-a-place-to-buy-ethical-running-shoes/184576.md?page=2)