shoes

I hear girls on TV talk about how much they love shoes or how a fancy/shiny pair of new shoes makes any day better or by owning hundreds of pairs of high heels you have some how...arrived. I laugh at them and then I puff up just a tiny little bit because I think to myself "haha...i'm not part of your system...I throw your shiny high heeled shoes on the ground!"

I do hate those kind of shoes...the bedazzled, pointy-toed, fancy instruments of pain that I am sure a boy came up with because it supposedly makes lady's legs look hot. My sister likes high heels a lot. She does look hot in them...she is tall, has long legs, and tiny feet. I am short and even though I like to walk around barefoot and carry my shoes, I would like my shoes to be comfortable enough to stay on my feet.

So as I was laughing at all the future husbands who are going to have to allow and perhaps pander to this shoe addiction of their lady of choice...I noticed that I have a Firefox bookmark entitled "shoes." Oh goodness...my high horse just became shorter.

My research into sustainable business and corporate social responsibility has led me to many a shoe company's website...what is it with shoe companies and wanting to change the world...one step at a time...haha...cheesy joke alert! Well, whatever it is about shoe companies wanting to instigate change I am happy about it.

When my mom asked what I wanted for my birthday all I could think of was shoes...haha...I guess I love shoes too, just a different kind. They have to look good with Smartwool socks in them!

Here are a few of the shoe companies I love or want to love.



 Simple shoes started as a reaction to the over-marketed, over-glitzed shoes that were inundating the store shelves. As they were growing, they realized that mother nature was taking a beating and they didn't want to be throwing any punches. They use natural products like organic cotton, bamboo, and hemp as well as recycled materials like bike tires, car tires, and plastic bottles.

Their goal is to make a 100% sustainable product. Less>More is their new campaign which is "a call to action for those who are fed up with the over consuming. over stuffed. super sized world we live in."

Check them out at: www.simpleshoes.com


Timberland is an awesome company. Their CEO is awesome. Their corporate social responsibility efforts are awesome. They own Smartwool...that is also awesome. The fact that they don't want to hire me is not awesome...I am trying to get over it.

Timberland wants to be ethical, sustainable, and responsible as a company. Stewardship is important to them. Their "new long-term CSR strategy focused on four strategic goals:

• Energy...Become Carbon Neutral by 2010
• Products...Design Recyclable Products
• Workplaces...Fair, Safe and Non-Discriminatory Workplaces
• Service...Service Campaign: Community Greening"

Their CEO, Jeff Swartz is an activist at heart and wants to do good business which is so refreshing. EarthKeepers is their entire website dedicated to being transparent and joining us in the fight. www.earthkeeper.com

Check out their shoes and their CSR at: www.timberland.com


Birkenstock prides itself on not being a bandwagon hop-on to this green revolution we find ourselves in today. They have been dedicated to "environmental sensibility" for 230 years. Yikes! That is a long time. Quality materials and low-waste production is their mantra. They also want us to know that their packaging comes from recycled paper and we can have our shoes repaired instead of just trashing the old ones and buying new ones. "A company with a conscience" is the label they give themselves and if you would like to learn more...

Check them out at: www.birkenstockusa.com


Wrapping it all up...We say something about ourselves with what we wear everyday...I'd be proud to advertise for these shoe companies and support them with my dollar.

I cringe when I say it...but I do love shoes...shoes on on mission. But...this doesn't make them have any less of a negative effect on my wallet and therefore my love needs to be kept in check and my credit card not involved in my "research."