mmm....shoes :-)

Simple Shoes are advertisers on this website...but placing their shoes in an "article" is inappropriate, even when "other brands" are featured.

I expected more from Treehugger.com.

When the editorial becomes commercial, the faithful readers will look elsewhere.

**At least mention in the post the business relationship between Simple Shoes and Treehugger.com...respected journals worldwide know when there's a conflict of interest, and they are quick to point out parent companies, advertiser affiliation, etc. Treehugger.com writers should not be exempt!

I love SIMPLE! I have been wearing them for 13 years and I have loved every single pair I have ever owed!

I love SIMPLE! I have been wearing them for 13 years and I have loved every single pair I have ever owed!

Okay, I admit it. I am dangerously addicted to shoes, and loved this article!
But, as for Simple Hsoes....persoanly I am not sure about their ehtics. Okay, htey use a lot of recycled materials, ect. but i checked out their website and did not find one mention of where the shoes are made.
Also, I once recieved a pair of their sandals, which have a tag on htem saying 'made in China'

as long as the shoes not look dorky its all good!

That's is frightening (ie. conflict of interest). I'm also disappointed they didn't mention that (they should).

I have to admit I was a little worried when they started going big time, getting bought out, etc. Guess it's no surprise in the end.

**Author's comments**

Given the concern for conflict of interest regarding this post, we've updated the original to make it as clear as we can that there is a clear, distinct line between advertising and editorial on TreeHugger. We have never accepted, nor will we ever accept, payment for editorial coverage on this site.

-CD

I was looking into a pair of Simple shoes, but $80-120 for shoes made in China is unacceptable.

VEGAN SHOES ARE NOT NECESSARILY ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.

Faux- leather and furs are made from energy intensive petroleum based plastics and will never biodegrade!

It seems like nearly every shoe is made in china these days. Other than the NOVACAS and El Naturalista (which are made in Portugal and Spain), the other shoes listed are also made in China. I'm interested to know where you do buy your shoes from-- and likewise, if you think the circumstances those shoes were made under are truly any better than whatever you have imagined they are like in China?

i buy Dansko, they are made in Morrocco. they have an outlet website that is fabulous. yes, they are mostly a leather shoe maker, but i also WON'T PAY for shoes made in China, i don't care how cheap or how expensive they are or how environmently friendly they are supposed to be.

i made a study of where shoes are made - in general; i was curious because i couldn't find ANY shoes i wanted that weren't made in China - for a few days online, and over 80% of all the shoes i looked at (a lot) were made in China. and what is very chilling is that most of the 'GOOD', popular brands of shoes in this country are made in China.

shopping with a conscience is so bloody confusing out there.....

why would you endorse leather shoes? !

What about Earth shoes?

Looks like Treehugger fit in a disclaimer in the Simple ad...what were you asking for again? Or was this inserted after your comment?

I just purchased simple shoes for the first time, awaiting their arrival. I would like to point out that simple shoes is as least owned by the same people as TEVA and UGG. On the simple shoes site, they claim that they wish other shoe companies would follow their lead: couldn't their own partner companies hop on board?

I just purchased simple shoes for the first time, awaiting their arrival. I would like to point out that simple shoes is as least owned by the same people as TEVA and UGG. On the simple shoes site, they claim that they wish other shoe companies would follow their lead: couldn't their own partner companies hop on board?

It would be great if 'going green' was actually affordable! I would love to buy more recycled and organic products but with a household of five our family income is already tight. I cannot believe that shoes are costing over $100, guess I'll just stick to my $40 converse!!! How are we supposed to do what is best for our families and the earth when everything is so expensive?? Looks like for now I will just have to continue recycling and keeping lights off to do our part...I guess every little thing counts.

Awesome collection!! I always wear recycled stuff shoes. Its help to keep the environment fresh and healthy.

i got a pair of simples today for free at thrift store. used maybe once? curious why people donate unworn products. eco friendly shoes are designed for the middle - upper class. no none outside of a developed country cares to buy something that jeopardizes a high proportion of their income.

there's a lot of critic on this page on shoe's made in china and philosophy's how and why that's bad. how is morocco suppose to be better? i wonder how people here have actually been to either countries and observed living conditions in either.. $100 for a pair of shoes can last someone in china for a full 30 days, easy. here's the break down:

1000rmb / 30 = 33.3 / day (domestic exchange rate is 10:1 not the forex rate of 7:1)

15 for food. 10 for housing. 8.3 for anything else you need.

$2 / hour = slave labor.. really?
20rmb / hr, 8 hours a day = 160 rmb / day.

morocco lives on the same standards. north africa and the middle east just have a larger supply of leather, any non tourist souq/pazar will have 11-15 year olds cutting leather - child labor? its a family business, you do what you need to survive and they act like little kids, they'll talk to you play with you and get on with their "chores".

having shoes that feel good and are eco freindly create a conscious effort for the thought processes that help generate a guided effort to renewable and reusable products / services in our lives - that's what counts. don't overthink the who where how made process too much. live happy, inspire others and create conscious decisions (up here).

I'm confused. Why aren't Pikolinos included? Treehugger has an article, written in 2006, about Pikolinos shoes, made in Spain. They're wonderful shoes, if a bit pricey. Here's the article which details what a great company Pikolinos is.

"Oh yeah we’re getting excited about this EU eco-labelling business! We’ve just found Pikolinos, a shoe company which was awarded the ‘Flower’ last year for their Ecological City range. They are apparently the only Spanish business so far which uses the EU eco-label. We’re not sure if that says more about Spain’s attitude to the environment or the general lack of enthusiasm for the EU ‘Flower’. Having written plenty of posts on Spanish eco-design we’re not sure it’s the former! Infact you have to dig pretty hard into the Pikolinos website to find out anything about their exclusive EU eco-label status, they certainly don’t show the logo anywhere. But they do assure us that their The Ecological City range uses chrome-free vegetal tanning for the leather, water based adhesives, natural dyes and they have biodegradable soles. The company prides itself on its environmental policies and they even celebrate Pikolinos Environment Day each year. Last October this coincided with International Bird Day and all the staff went out into the local wetland area of Alicante and planted trees. Obviously we TreeHuggers think that’s a pretty cool office day out! ::Pikolinos"

"I was looking into a pair of Simple shoes, but $80-120 for shoes made in China is unacceptable."

Regarding this comment: You know that a pair of shoes or a pair of pants cannot possibly cost as little as under $40 if made here, then why do you discriminate against the Chinese workers by only willing to pay so little?! You are the people who make Walmart / Nike rich, because you support their sweatshop practice by buying things made in the sweatshops. Because of people like you, who are only willing to pay so little, Walmart et al have to cut corners to form sweatshops and produce low quality stuff. Think of supply/demand. If nobody buys any cheap stuff from Walmart, then perhaps Walmart will actually be willing to pay more to the deserving highly skilled Chinese artisans to produce high quality stuff.

Moreover, I really hate to see over and over the misconception that "made in China" = bad quality. It's simply not true any more. Chinese artisans have accumulated so much expertise in making products through all these years, that some manufacturing expertise can actually only be found in China. As suggested by Nau designers, certain type of production will have to be done there, simply because Americans don't know how to do it!

The BIG issue about "Made In China" and the environment is the ALARMING rate at which they are building COAL powered power plants, and increasing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. This is all driven of course by our rampant consumerism and need to have newer, more, better, cuter, etc. of everything. EVERYTHING is now made in China, we have exported jobs and any environmental regulations/oversight we could have had, all in the quest for cheaper labor and the ability to buy more stuff. How much do people REALLY need?

The BIG issue about "Made In China" and the environment is the ALARMING rate at which they are building COAL powered power plants, and increasing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. This is all driven of course by our rampant consumerism and need to have newer, more, better, cuter, etc. of everything. EVERYTHING is now made in China, we have exported jobs and any environmental regulations/oversight we could have had, all in the quest for cheaper labor and the ability to buy more stuff. How much do people REALLY need?

meh. eco-friendly, yes. pocket-friendly, no. i'll just get a few pairs of slippers next time i visit my relatives in egypt for $3 a pop.

leather is not eco-friendly.

anything under 50$ ??