Following up to my post in November about the Blackspot Sneakers I ordered, I find that my organic hemp, fair trade, unionized and somewhat expensive sneakers are quickly falling apart. They also were not that comfortable the first couple weeks or so.

Reminds me how dependent we are on unfair and cheap labor for "quality" footwear products. The Adbusters Media Foundation, which created the shoe, spent a very, very long time trying to find the resources to create a quality shoe with fair and more earth-friendly practices -- in my opinion they weren't able to get quality. The shoes are crap. Still fun to wear, though, and in the end, they work fine.

It's too bad, honestly. Maybe they'll figure it out in version 2, which is now on their website. I think its worth it to support a small organization (even if I don't always agree with that organization) fighting against a corporate conglomerate when that small organization has higher ethical standards. I additionally support having more diversity in the marketplace and I support companies that treat their employees more fairly than others... so I may end up getting their next line of shoes, despite my poor experience with the first round.

Concerning treating employees fairly: don't get me talking about the fucking hypocritical garbage those yellow bracelets are.