INDULGE YOUR SHOE PASSION WITH 90% LESS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Reduce your consumption of goods made in countries thaT abuse workers
and damage the environment.
Buy shoes reponsibly made in America and reduce the environmental impact by 90%
From our founding, our mission has always included being part of solutions rather than problems. However, until we researched our own manufacturing partners, I am not sure we fully understood the impact of our personal buying decisions. 97% of women's fashion shoes are produced in developing countries, where environmental and labor regulations are lax or unenforced. We could cut our dollar costs by going there, but are those the only costs that matter?
ENVIRONMENT - Shoe manufacturing is one of the biggest polluters of our environment. There are more than 21 billion pairs produced per year, and the production of each pair creates 30 pounds of Carbon Dioxide. That's over 630 billion pounds pumped into the air every year! In addition, in developing countries, the toxic byproducts of shoe manufacturing is simply pumped into rivers and oceans.
LABOR - By now, we should all be familiar with the unsavory term "Fast Fashion" ... an epidemic that is fueled by our insatiable demand for cheap fashion. Big fashion companies are getting rich at the expense of Mother Earth, and with the sweat and blood of desperate laborers in developing countries. It plaques our world, yet many fashion-hungry consumers turn a blind eye.
To make matters worse, ethical companies can't compete with cheap goods made with a flagrant disregard for social rights and environmental abuse. Ethical production of footwear has simply dried up altogether. Many "Made in USA" products are assembled here but the parts are sourced from developing countries. That's downright deceptive.
PLATFORMS for CHANGE stands up against worker exploitation and environmental abuses by ensuring a traceable supply chain that leverages fair-wage, US labor and honors Mother Earth with sustainable materials. And, since the Platforms can be used over-and-over, you only need to get new tops for a new look, reducing the amount that needs to be manufactured.
Our shoes are are 100% Sourced and produced, responsibly in the USA. That said, we are interested in forging relationships with other production partners that can ensure a traceable and ethical supply chain, and potentially produce in other countries to satisfy their local demand.
Our revolutionary, modular approach to shoe-making reduces the need for specialized labor and specialized equipment by 82%, making it feasible to leverage more costly labor.
Due to inadequate environmental protections in China alone, one-fifth of farmland has become too polluted to grow crops, nearly 60% of groundwater is unfit for human use, and air pollution is 20 times recommended safe levels.
The human cost of this damage has been devastating to their country; huge swaths of formerly productive arable land taken out of food production over fears of rice contaminated with heavy metals; more than 450 so-called “cancer villages” where untreated or mistreated chemicals have polluted local communities; choking levels of air pollution causing underweight babies, rising rates of lung cancer, and a decline in male fertility. (Source: The Guardian.com)
If we don't think this pollution impacts us here in America, we are mistaken.
We've all bought products from China ... it's hard not to sometimes. I've done it, but now that I have educated myself, I believe buying shoes (and any other product) produced in Asia is downright irresponsible.
To compound the problem, most Chinese products are cheaply made, throw-away fashion that simply adds to landfill. Most shoes are created to fall apart so you need to keep buying more.
PLATFORMS for CHANGE soles will last for 10+ years and our tops are all leather (except the steel hardware of course.) We are definitely not doing it on the cheap here! We also have vegan options available.