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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

So fucking cross - £45 Clarks shoes not even fucking leather???????

158 replies

inlovewithhubby · 27/08/2016 19:01

As above. Two pairs bought today for 4 and 6 year old. Bought patent for first time ever as my last child starts school and I caved. Just took the stickers out and discovered to my horror they aren't even leather?? How on earth can they justify that cost for man made fibre shoes? I am going to kick off massively, I got them in John Lewis so I'm starting there, but does anyone know how they manage it?

Man made fibre makes feet sweat. Leather also 'gives' in a way man made fibre doesn't. It's also cheap and I could have got a pair of plastic shoes off the shelf for about £7 from any supermarket. I thought I was paying for quality but I'm clearly not.

Interestingly there is a confusing sign on the labels if both pairs which resembles the leather sign, but they then clearly state that they are man made fibre. Im initially going after misrepresentation but i didn't even look at the signs - I just presumed that a 40 plus quid pair of Clarks shoes would be leather. AI really being U for having that expectation?

OP posts:
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OverlyLoverly · 27/08/2016 20:19

OP, make sure you are comparing the cost of the same size shoes. I think they are the same as Clarks. If they were not not you could et the diffences using John Lewis's Never Knowingly Undersold Policy.

opheliaamongthelillies · 27/08/2016 20:19

As an aside- even if you buy leather shoes- if they are covered with patent the feet will not be able to breathe anyway and they will also not mould to the feet as well as uncoated leather so you may as well buy man made. (not for £45 though) :)

Wannabe2015 · 27/08/2016 20:20

Ok. I know I said I was going to bow out but you mentioned hens and the egg industry.

The living conditions of the hens is not the only issue. In order to maximise egg productions vast numbers of chicks are bred. Billions. But only the females are needed.

Subseqently male chicks are either gassed or put alive into grinding machines when they are but a few days old. Billions of living creatures. Gassed or ground alive.

Ok. I promise I'll go. I realise no one likes a preacher.

On a parting note. Veganism is an enjoyable achieveable way to live. If this thread has inspired you to seek out less cruel products then I applaud that and hope it progresses further.

Peace and love.

OverlyLoverly · 27/08/2016 20:23

Wannabe. Maybe start your own thread..... Hmm

squiggleirl · 27/08/2016 20:23

Clarks shoes are awful quality. I've tried a number of different styles, and all wear terribly.

For my kids with narrow feet, they wear some Geox styles, some Ricosta, but mainly Superfit and Richter.

For the one with wide feet, he wears Pablosky or Merrell.

Sometimes my kids wear leather shoes, other times they wear ones with man made uppers. Goretex is a godsend. Non-leather shoes doesn't always mean plastic shite.

Original poster
inlovewithhubby · 27/08/2016 20:24

It gets worse Overly, I just checked my receipt, thinking I might now kick off about price rather than the leather (why ever not?) and I forgot about the two sets of stripey girl pants I bought there too so rather than 45 quid each they are, indeed, 34 and 38 respectively. Apologies to John Lewis for insinuating that they may have been unknowingly undersold. But I'm not apologising to clarks for their shitbag label system, no way.
What on earth am I going to kick off about now?????

OP posts:
Original poster
inlovewithhubby · 27/08/2016 20:26

Wannabe I'm about to tuck into my chicken and feeling a bit grim now...

It's a shame they are so delicious because I hate to think of an entire gender being killed for no reason. Surely we just eat the boys, like with cows?

OP posts:
Justfivemoreminutesplease · 27/08/2016 20:26

What torch and toy?? Bought the black Trixi Beau Pre today for DD today in Clarks - admitably paid £34 but no sign of any extras. They do have a flashing light on the heel which can (thankfully) easily be switched off

OverlyLoverly · 27/08/2016 20:27

OP, it's not Clarks own labeling it's an industry wide standard. C'mon now, I think you owe Clarks an apology too. Wink

Original poster
inlovewithhubby · 27/08/2016 20:28

Ophelia - thank you, there's my kick off right there. Shame I can only kick off inwardly for being such a dickhead to bow to the pleas of patent from small children. Live and learn...

OP posts:
Gmbk · 27/08/2016 20:29

Does the label not mean the insidey bits of the upper, the kind of squishy inside material?

GeneralBobbit · 27/08/2016 20:31

I've always had hens hence the not being a vegan (for eggs) and I don't think the male chicks should be crushed or gassed as its a horrible practise.

I've also rehabilitated some battery hens for the trust.

And I buy ethical meat as I don't have a problem with animals having a good life and them being stunned and killed for my dinner. So I only buy from local producers. So I consider that ethical though I appreciate as a vegan you don't want to eat meat (for many reasons including environmental reasons)

I'd be happier if we could get people away from eating battery eggs and broiler chickens and for people to eat much less meat.

I think there a stop between normal life and veganism that people could strive towards Wannabe

So eat less meat, only buy truly free range eggs, completely free range chickens eaten much more rarely, eat beef occasionally etc

But there must be more ethical producers of leather shoes ?

Original poster
inlovewithhubby · 27/08/2016 20:33

Just five - website said the gloform ones comes with a torch and toy? I thank John Lewis thought better of that merchandising bollocks.

Overly - another reason not to apologise to them!! Selling toys with shoes is scandalous, one child today was refusing to try on the shoes suggested by the fitter because they weren't the ones she wanted with a fucking doll in the heel (WTF???). Her parents were pandering to that too, wanted to lamp them one as well.

Gosh I'm angry aren't I?

OP posts:
OverlyLoverly · 27/08/2016 20:33

In fact the labeling is a legal requirement THESE are the regulations

Every day is a school day on Mumsnet

dowhatnow · 27/08/2016 20:34

The toy is under the insole. You fix it to the torch bit which should be in the box. Only should be there for the gloform ones though.

Justfivemoreminutesplease · 27/08/2016 20:37

Ahh ok don't think these Trixi ones are gloform but thanks anyway. Only got patent ones as when we went to DD's introductory school session, her teacher actually said patent tended to be more hard wearing.

Wannabe2015 · 27/08/2016 20:38

OP, We don't eat the boy chicks, no. They are not deemed commercially viable.

The way you live is the cultural, societal norm. Eating a piece of chicken is to most people as natural as getting dressed or going to the toilet.

The trouble is we have all been misled and allowed to ignore the enormous suffering that occurs as a result of our habits.

Don't feel guilty OP. Feel angry that the reality has been deliberately kept and hidden from you.

That small voice of grimness and revulsion is worth holding onto inlovewithhubby. It can grow into something really good if you let it. (Unmumsnetty hug).

Original poster
inlovewithhubby · 27/08/2016 20:39

Overly PLEASE don't make me read regulations...that's my day job, can't I just be unreasonably shouty and remain ignorant of the law? Just for today?

Weird purple thing on heel but no torch in box, thank fuck. What on earth would a six year old want with a torch in her heel? Crackers.

OP posts:
Wannabe2015 · 27/08/2016 20:39

Ok. I really gotta go this time...I'm supposed to be out seeing people. (Not to preach at them I promise!)

dowhatnow · 27/08/2016 20:41

One of the insoles lifts up and has a blue girl creature in it. Only one of the shoes,mind.

HarryPottersMagicWand · 27/08/2016 20:43

I sent Clarks an indignant email about the toy as DD was disappointed. Didn't know it was in the heal until they replied. Whoops.

The torch was in the box though, DD loves it and considering the bloody Gloforms are more expensive, I expect the toys to be in there. If you email Clarks they will send it to you.

DS's shoes were £44! I newly had a fit but I guess it's because he is getting in the bigger sizes now. Both DCs have narrow feet like me, they need shoes with widths as any time I buy something that isn't Clarks I have an absolute nightmare finding something that fits.

Never had an issue with Clarks apart from the ones that had a seam across the top and DS had been scraping his foot across the floor. Apart from that every pair has lasted the whole school year in great condition, unlike any other cheap shoes that others seem to swear by.

m0therofdragons · 27/08/2016 20:43

Toy is under the sole. One shoe has a tab heel end that you pull and it lifts the innersole and toy sits under that. Remove and push sole down again.
Torch should have been in the box so email clarks - they should send you one and maybe a voucher.

lougle · 27/08/2016 20:48

Don't they have to be declared as man made because the leather has been modified?

bellie710 · 27/08/2016 20:49

I have spent the last 10 years buying Clarks, Startrite, Geox etc I have 3 children and spend around £120 at the start of every school year as well as all the extras throughout the year. My kids all have really skinny feet and school shoes are a nightmare, this year I left it last minute and ordered tescos shoes for £13 which I thought would do until I got to John Lewis etc. They are brilliant and I can't believe how much money I have wasted over the years. Unless you specifically asked if they were leather you need to get over yourself, take them back and ask for a refund or keep them and accept school shoes are expensive at Clarks and John Lewis!

Gabilan · 27/08/2016 20:53

It's a shame they are so delicious because I hate to think of an entire gender being killed for no reason. Surely we just eat the boys, like with cows?

The trouble is that breeds bred for meat/ leather/ wool/ eggs or whatever are rarely dual or triple purpose. So the one that's the most economical for meat production isn't the one that will produce whatever else it is you're after. Animal farming is an industry with animals treated as units within that industry.

I'm not vegan. I buy eggs from local providers who sell them for about a pound for half a dozen, usually with an honesty box just by their gate. I appreciate it's only really one step removed from the industrial version though. I'm also trying to cut down on the amount of dairy I consume.

Anyway, if I had a point, I've completely forgotten what it was.