Are China-made shoes really Vegan?

[Recycler]

Many of us are vegan for animal rights reasons, and buying leather-free stuff is the obvious choice when it comes to footwear. But so many shoes (leather and non-leather) are made in huge Chinese factory operations where workers are required to live at the facilities and work 60+ hours per week. Check out *** www.ChinaLaborWatch.org *** for many specifics. The low wages help keep prices on these products low in the U.S. (with some exceptions). But is it really worth it, and are such factory products really "vegan" if humans are being treated as unfairly as is portrayed on ChinaLaborWatch.org? After all, humans are animals too, and the central theme of being vegan is to not exploit animals. From Payless (cheap) to Earth Footwear (expensive), too many vegan shoes are still made in uncertified factories. Any thoughts?

[newstars]

I totally agree. I also believe human lives are more important than other animals. Some here might disagree, but i feel more for the 12 year old working 16 hour shifts while not making a living wage. Or the abused and sexually harrassed women in many factories abroad.

As well, we should be supporting our local economies as much as possible. Some might say that they need jobs too, but these sweatshops don't help them, nor do they help us. Industries have deteriorated here.

So i agree, humans are animals too and if you want to be socially conscious you should also care about who is making your shoe, not just what it is made of.

[newstars]

"The low wages help keep prices on these products low in the U.S. (with some exceptions). "

There are a lot of exceptions. Cheap labour costs are rarely handed down to the consumer. It is more likely to increase the profit margin for company and go into the pockets of the guys up top. Sports jersies are literally produced for a mere $2-$3 and are sold for $100-$200. Same with shoes. Look at the price tags in a footlocker and you'll see shoes for $150-$200. So cheap labour doesn't benefit anyone but the rich.

[kpickell]

Yes, they are vegan if they contain no animal products.

[Jinga]

Haha.

What Kpickell said. :up:

[MollyGoat]

Yeah. Vegan does not equal ethical, and unethical does not equal unvegan.

[IamJen]

Ditto.

[newstars]

I suppose from a technical stand point the product itself is vegan, but i'd rather wear a leather shoe made in canada by a worker who is paid and treated properly than a vegan shoe made by a 16 year old girl in china who makes $0.33 and hour and works 16 hour shifts.

Thumbs down to vegan shoes made in china.

And vegan does = ethical. That's why pretty much every vegan is vegan (or so i believe), because they believe in the ethical treatment of animals. But i'm not even vegan, so what do i know?

[Kurmudgeon]

It's their choice to work in the sweat factories. If they don't like it, they can starve to death, or prostitute themselves, or steal. They should be thankful they have the opportunity to earn an honest day's pay.

[Foxy]

Not all shoes made in China are animal-free and even the ones that say "all man made materials" sometimes contain animal ingredients. I bought shoes from a "Vegan" company and was sent out an email warning me that several of the shoes they carry(actually from China) had been labeled "all man made materials" but had animal glue and silk...

[Artichoke47]

I prefer to buy fair-labor shoes, and most of the online vegan stores sell sweatshop-free shoes, but sometimes I buy the cheap ones, as nothing else is available in my size.

But yes, they are vegan.

[kpickell]

Way too often fair-labor means it was made in the US or Canada. :(

If the decision is to support companies that pay a living wage in the United States or companies that pay an average wage in China, I'll buy the shoes from China any day.

[kpickell]

It's their choice to work in the sweat factories. If they don't like it, they can starve to death, or prostitute themselves, or steal. They should be thankful they have the opportunity to earn an honest day's pay.
I assume that was sarcasm, but it's unfortunately true since most of the people who boycott sweatshop goods present no alternative forms of employment for the people locked into those jobs.

[Walter]

Sure, if they're animal-product free, then they're vegan. That doesn't mean you have to but them though. Luckily we can be vegans and humanitarians at the same time.

[organica]

SEcondhand shoes are the way I avoid the debate. They might still be leather, but no one died for it directly & I am keeping the shoes from a landfill.
I do however own a couple of pairs of sweatshop vegan shoes. :(
So I am not 100% out of the debate!!

[newstars]

It's their choice to work in the sweat factories. If they don't like it, they can starve to death...


haha, hope it's sarcasm too.


Way too often fair-labor means it was made in the US or Canada.

If the decision is to support companies that pay a living wage in the United States or companies that pay an average wage in China, I'll buy the shoes from China any day.


I assume that was sarcasm, but it's unfortunately true since most of the people who boycott sweatshop goods present no alternative forms of employment for the people locked into those jobs.

Unfortunately it's up to governments to present and enforce labour laws that will ensure that these exploited workers are treated fairly and paid living wages. And it's up to the companies that exlpoit these workers not to bail out on them whenever a country improves it's labour laws, as that is the case whever that happens.

And by supporting these companies, you don't help these people or their economy, you only give the companies more reason to abuse and exploit them for wages that they can't even live off of. If you really think you're doing a "good deed" by buying sweatshop made merchandise, take this article for one example of how many workers are treated.

http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/en/web/article.php?article_id=50212

Thanks for the great site Recycler.