Sneakers and Sweatshops

Here's a little email echange that I thought would be intersting to share here.

Hi Morgan,

I've been thinking about what you told me--that one of your main concerns is the disconnect between American consumers and the products they buy. As you said, we often don't know how or where are products are made, who makes them, how they get to us, etc. Well, I've got a problem. I'm planning to buy some new clothes, but I'm having trouble finding relatively cheap stuff, especially shoes, made in the USA. Do you make an effort to buy clothing made here? Basically, I'm wondering what you do, or would do, about this problem. Check out the following...
http://www.chucksconnection.com/articles/ConverseArt07.html

When are you leaving for China? Do you plan to do any investigations into workers' rights there? Visit sweatshops? Of course I've read, seen, heard stories about the horrible conditions. I'm curious to know what you find.

Hi Paul,

I'm flattered that you thought to ask me. That's an interesting article, although 12 years old now and I dont think New Balance is still manufacturing in the U.S., although I could be wrong. One company (or activisim group) that comes to mind here is adbusters, which makes a shoe that is 'brandless', called the blackspot sneaker. http://adbusters.org/metas/corpo/blackspotshoes/ They look sort of badass, although they probably make more of a statement than you or I want to wear around every day, and they're not athletic shoes. I've bought used athletic shoes before but they don't last as long, so I generally loosen my morals when it comes to ankle support, like the article says.

For almost all my clothes now I've been going to the Women's Exchange or other second hand stores. I save money and I support the industry of reuseing which is by far the least polluting and least impacting economy out there. Basically if I can buy something outside of the corporate economy I will. It's not because I hate big corporations that make money, and its not even that I hate sweatshops - some are bad but others give people work who wouldn't otherwise have it - my biggest concern is just that consumers need to assert their power over the company and the brand because too often it happens the other way around. If we are more concientious about the stuff we buy, and get it on our own terms, then we own our stuff instead of our stuff owning us. The mass of Americans (and middle class Chinese) who are owned by their stuff is the biggest perversion of modernization.

No, I'm not going to do any investigation of sweatshops in China, partly because its the wrong part of the country for it, but mostly because I just don't see this issue as being as important as the demand for cheap products. I will be looking at Chinese consumer practices, how they (like us) are buying more and more stuff to create personal identity and establish some unique culture in the face of the onslought of mass communication and the global economy's reality of bland uniformity.

-morgan-