To be shocked that you can buy a pair if shoes for £4

[Bemyclementine]

In primark? I saw someone post on a Facebook group, lots of people raving about them. A couple if people questioning ut.

I kniw good shoes can be expensive, and I know the saying (not exactly...)that a poor man pays £10 for boots that last 6 months, a rich man pays £50 and they last 10 years.

But still, they must be crap, they can't be comfortable or good fir your feet, not to mention the conditions if the people making them?

I know there's a cost if living crisis, I am struggling very much myself. I'm lucky that in years gone by I bought decent shoes that I can still wear.

Considering how most people on MN compete to walk everywhere, never travel, hate people who own a car, knit their own shampoo etc, I am surprised nobody cares about the impact of this cheap shit. Those shoes were not hand stitched in Wolverhampton. They are not made of degradable leather. I hate hate hate those Lorraine type shows where they have a theme like lladies day at ascot and suggest an entire outfit for 20 quid and proudly proclaim this little clutch bag comes in at 5 pounds from Tesco. So we are obsessed with the environment, boycotting the world Cup but buying cheap, unenvironmentally unfriendly shit made thousands of miles away in ACTUAL slave conditions by children. So no, I wouldn't rather poor people could afford a four quid pair of shoes in England. There shouldn't be any need.

? I’m often in charity shops and they always have size 18 and up available. It’s just that the clothes are not trendy enough for you isn’t it? More important to be on trend than ethical.

I completely agree. I think this is more of an issue of fast fashion made in terrible conditions for the masses who care not a jot about the problems of mass consumption.

Yes of course so long as the planet is saved, who cares about slaves?

Agreed, @JustFrustrated would you go without shoes for 5 years just to save up for some? Jeez, the lack of understanding of poverty on here sometimes.

Omg thank you so much

I don’t like primark because I think it encourages throw away fashion which my teenage daughter fully embraced for a while btw. but if it means having a pair of shoes that fit instead of shoes that don’t and that is your only option for your kids then what’s the alternative?

If you only have £4 and need shoes then I can see why people would buy any £4 pair they can find but primark shoes are rubbish. George at asda is much better quality that primark imo and not hugely dearer.

Bought 4 pound shoes from Primark that had gone to 2 pounds in the sale...they lasted a day...never again...

I think the word is just 'comfort'

Well, I suppose I could go to work in a £55 strapless purple nylon ballgown and a pair of knackered size 8 men's workboots in mustard yellow for £20/mix it up with a pair of size 3 silver stiletto heeled sandals that need reheeling and straps cut off and swapped for string.

But I think I might just be told that I'm not meeting the required standards for professional business attire - and that I'm a trip/fire hazard.

Personally, though, I'd rather have a pair of shoes in my size and some trousers that fit my backside, my abdomen and my leg length. Something difficult enough when buying new, never mind when going through charity shops mostly stocked with clothes from house clearances as the best stuff goes to dealers.

i can usually find professional work wear in charity shops- black & navy dresses but they are usually £20 or more. I don't think I have ever spent less than £20 in a charity shop but I have bought new dresses for far less than that!

There’s some extremely naive people lecturing others on this thread. Plenty of very much more expensive shoes will also have a terrible environmental impact and will have been made by people, including children, who are fundamentally slaves.

I can’t find it in me to point the finger at people with very limited incomes buying the shoes they can afford when the reality is many of us spending more will not have made a more ethical choice.

How many people realistically stick to trends? Especially people that rely on charity shops for clothing.
I am not trendy at all, but I can not stick any sort of print. I only wear straight colours (black or grey, mostly). If I go to a charity shop, I am not buying stuff just because it happens to fit. It has to suit me as a person too.

Or do you actually mean that 'beggars can not be choosers'

I think there's probably also some market for extremely cheap shoes as a very short term option. For example if you're out and your feet hurt or you break your heel or you're on holiday and your luggage gets lost or you forget to pack flats. You don't want to spend the time shopping and pay the money for a "real" pair of shoes when you have plenty at home. Equally it's not a big deal if they only last a few weeks as they've served their immediate purpose. In fact, they may be literally/intentionally a throw-away purchase. (Not endorsing this, just saying it happens).

They're cloth ballet shoes with a cardboard sole. Useful for a wedding when your feet had had enough of heels or to throw under your desk at work for meetings where your usual trainers might raise an eyebrow, but absolutely not suitable for wearing outside in any kind of damp weather. I've had a couple of pairs.

I mean that's exactly not what I said.

I said, buy the cheap pair, and save as much as possible, for as long as possible until you can buy the 10 year ones.

I'll be honest. I don't consider the conditions of the people making what goods I buy. I assume even more expensive high end items are made in less than ideal circumstances, unless otherwise said. I also buy factory farmed meat and non free range eggs. I'll probably get flamed but vast majority of people are like me. Shopping ethically is still a very niche habit and usually a privileged one. I don't live in dreadful poverty whereby if I don't buy a £4 pair of shoes I'll be walking round barefoot...I just don't really think much about it.

@JustFrustrated But if every penny is already accounted for, what is there left to save? And then there are the health and wellbeing implications of having wet feet for five years - I know this is essentially a fictional example but it really illustrates the additional stress and obstacles faced by people who are too poor to save; it's not just not having the stuff, it's all the additional problems (and costs) incurred by not having it.

A warning on ballet pumps.

Heels have been known to be bad for your feet for ages, well totally flat ballet pump type shoes give no support and are also bad if worn all the time. I was a lover of ballet pumps. I’m paying that price now.

Many older women suffer with bad feet, it’s because they tend to wear shoes that are less supportive and put the feet under stress.

I said, buy the cheap pair, and save as much as possible, for as long as possible until you can buy the 10 year ones

Because you might not have any spare money to save and if you do, you have a million and one other things you need to save for...which are more of a priority

The main question is: what IS the best high street shop from an ethical point of view?

I mend stuff while watching training videos (need something mindless to do while sitting through them, see also kids homework and kids films ) so I do keep stuff for years.

i THINK M&S is supposed to do okay? I have started buying a lot of the stuff I do buy from them so I hope so. Also concerned that I actually like a lot of their clothes too their jeans are amazing.

Also I have been so poor that I could only afford primark/charity - it is really hard.

I have ballet pumps that I've had for a few years from Primark - I love them and have bought another pair for when they go in case they stop doing them. I've also bought their version of converse and they've lasted me a few years. I don't wear either every day though obviously as it's often not the weather for them.

I've also bought expensive hiking shoes and found the vibram sole has been glued on and has fallen off while hiking in hot weather or expensive hiking shoes that are supposed to be waterproof but after wearing in the wet a few times really aren't. Primark stuff exceeds my expectations a lot more than many expensive items I've bought which I've often been disappointed by. I don't see the stuff I buy as disposable though and keep wearing it as long as possible. I go shopping at Primark a couple of times a year and get most of my clothes there - recently found their bralettes which are amazing and seem well made too.

I think just because something costs a lot more doesn't mean it hasn't been made in sweatshops or child labour or by people poorly paid - look at the Nike scandal - and doesn't always mean the item has been really well made either.

None of them. The most ethical thing you can do is buy second hand, maintain your clothes well so they last a good amount of time, repair them if you can or get them repaired, and only buy new clothes / shoes when you actually need them and you really have no other option.

Where are you? The charity shops round here always have regular clothes, coats and shoes in a wide variety of sizes with prices ranging from 50p to £5 (for jeans). Jeans are the most expensive item.