Comments on Bronwyn's review of Vegan Shoes
Earth refuses to answer questions about manufacturing ethics
I fear this company is engaged in greenwashing at worst and bad customer communication at best. On its website, Earth calls its manufacturing facilities in China ethical and eco-friendly, but when I contacted the company to get the specifics behind those claims, I got nowhere. After the first cheery but answer-free response, my emails were first ignored and then, on further pressure, stonewalled. The customer service rep actually wrote, "We do not have specific answers for these questions, and I’d rather not open up the conversation."
You can read the details on my blog (where, incidentally, someone else recently put in a comment after having a similar experience with Earth):
http://www.walletmouth.com/2007/08/earth-shoes-fin.html?cid=118833522#comment-118833522
For further reading, check out this article (not sure who wrote it) on whether the vegan ethos of nonexploitation can be squared with the realities behind Asian factories whose labor standards are waaaaay lax compared with those of the first world: http://tinyurl.com/5pcjcb
... and this BusinessWeek article on factories in China: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15768032/
Bronwyn's keywords: footwear, vegan shoes, Earth shoes, greenwashing, China, factories
1 of 1 people thought this review was helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
