Comments on: Bridging the Gap Between Sustainable Fashion and Skinny Wallets

By: skeptical

skeptical — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 04:07:49 +0000

i don’t see how a big company such as payless (who owns a lot of smaller brands) can make a small line of shoes and call them sustainable. sure, using more sustainable materials in their shoes or production methods may help but in the big picture it’s just marketing … and in trend to come up with some kind of ‘green’ story. what about all the other styles they produce. the verdict will be out to really see just how they come out. hey, ask is payless uses PVC in their shoes or packaging !
shoe making, even at it’s simplest level (like sandals), is not very environmental minded at all. think of shoes and all the components/parts and what is wasted afterward! i don’t know of any shoes that can recycled after use either b/c of all the different parts/materials used.

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:13:35 +0000

I agree @cchiovitti, I was at first skeptical and then saw they seem to really be doing it right. This reminds me of the prefab house company that I came across earlier this year that gave themselves a budget constraint within which to create their green models. And succeeded in bringing affordable greener homes to more people.

By: cchiovitti

cchiovitti — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:54:19 +0000

This is WONDERFUL news! Finally – to see “green” becoming affordable and more mainstream. YAY!

By: Emily Gertz

Emily Gertz — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:18:07 +0000

Great catch — I’ll be blogging it at Stop Global Warming on Change.org.
SRO is doing important work her, if the shoes are truly sustainable across their entire life cycle.
Green fashion advocates have seemed blind to critique over the high prices for these clothes, which repel a lot of otherwise enthusiastic adopters.