Mumsnet Deals: £10 off 'indestructible' boys' school shoes

[HannahGMumsnet]

Treads Shoes are offering Mumsnetters £10 off a pair of leather boys' school shoes (£35, were £45) with free delivery across the UK, and a 1-year indestructible guarantee.

Put them to the test here.

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I agree @cropshe

I have purchased for my DS's and so far so good. I am eagerly waiting to give the girls shoes a go next year.

I might just buy a pair of those for DD, given the removable bloody holy grail insole for orthotics.

Still lousy advertising policy though.

FWIW dd has doc marten school shoes....indestructible and “for girls”

Tedious excuse there about boys being “more active” has really put me off even looking at the product because it sounds so bloody patronising as well as implausible.

I have a boy and a girl btw, both active and hard on shoes.

My DD wears boys shoes. Always has all the way through school. Her feet stay warm and dry and she can do what she likes. Ridiculous advert...

My daughter is on her fourth pair this year. DS still ok from September. Meh.

Hi all,

Thank you for your feedback and apologies - we’ve really misstepped here.

We were hoping to pass on a useful deal, but failed to spot the gendered messaging on the Treads site.

As you’ve all pointed out, this is very much not MN. We’re going to hide the thread shortly while we have a chat with the Treads team, and we might come back and post something on their behalf later on.

Thanks again for all of your feedback and apols again - we’ll do better next time!

Impressed you’re acting on this, thought raising the smallest of eyebrows at failing to spot the gendered messaging. It wasn’t exactly hidden.

"Let shoes be shoes"

HOWLING at let shoes be shoes

This is horrendous though, did no one check before posting?

I am really glad MNHQ are acting on this feedback.

Hi everyone,

We offered Treads Shoes the chance to respond to your feedback; here's what they said:

Having received feedback from Mumsnet users about our marketing, we thought it might help to clarify our position on the issues raised.

The majority of the criticism seems to focus on the fact we are not offering girls’ shoes, and the reason we gave for doing so. We have launched Treads as a two-stage process and girls’ shoes will be available in 2019. This was always our intention as we fully appreciate a lot of parents and guardians struggle to find durable school shoes for both boys and girls.

As a result of the comments made by Mumsnet users, we have reworded the FAQs on our website in order to better explain the situation regarding the launch of our girls shoes and accept that the previous information was misjudged. We openly encourage feedback from our customers and welcome their suggestions for improvement.

We are incredibly proud of the shoes and confident in their durability, which is why we offer our unique no-risk guarantees. We hope that you will still try Treads Shoes for your sons and, later, your daughters.

Thank you again for this valuable feedback,
Treads Shoes

So no change then.

WHY CAN’T THEY JUST BE SHOES?!

My Dd wears 'boy' shoes. They are the only ones that allow her to do everything she wants to.
Treads seem to have (deliberately?) misunderstood our message. They already make shoes suitable for girls they just need to rethink the shoes fie boys marketing.

Luckily my Dd is bloody minded and happy to have shoes from the boy section. Many others aren't and are forced therefore to wear shoes unsuited to an active child's lifestyle.

BTW dd's clarks shoes are regularly submerged in puddles and the brook on the way how from school, they seem to stand up fine. The caveats in the guarantee make it next yo useless.

Jeez! They just. don't. get. it.

They're selling a pair of black, sturdy shoes.
Do you need a penis to wear black, sturdy shoes?
No? Then they're just shoes, not boys' shoes.

Converse - just shoes.

DMs - just shoes.

Anyone remember 80's Chukka's? We all wore them. Just shoes.

Shoes are shoes are shoes.

So what would happen if my dd put her dainty little feet into these shoes? Would she become a boy? Let parents and children decide for themselves whether the shoes are suitable. This aside indestructible (unisex) boots with removable insoles for orthotics would be great especially if cheaper than Doc Martens.

The majority of the criticism seems to focus on the fact we are not offering girls’ shoes

Did it? That's not how I read it.

It's because you are calling them boys shoes instead of shoes. That's the problem.

You could play a drinking game on the Treads homepage using the word boys. It's really hammered home that these are boys shoes made for boys.

https://www.treads-shoes.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwttbWBRDyARIsAN8zhbICJms1THcIKvpkbax6s8QGbH2QUqDa71NNfu1FKfJNHX7VmYKBg5YaAlJgEALw_wcBB*

Are they boys shoes, Savoy? I missed that they are boys’ shoes for boys. They don’t make it very clear on their boys’ shoes website about shoes for boys.

Boys.

Presumably it’s just taking longer to source the pink leather and indestructible sequins for the girls’ version.

They so don't get it, do they?

Thanks for this MN, we've been looking for a good strong pair of shoes for my boy, I'll give them a try.

I'm getting really tired of this PC nonsense everywhere!!!

How on earth can people be offended that they call them boys shoes! Everywhere you go, you find 'girls shoes' and 'boys shoes', it's called marketing! Can't you see, you are creating a problem that doesn't exist! Buy them for your girl, who cares? They were designed as boys shoes, that doesn't mean you need a penis to wear them, and your girl is not going to turn into a boy by wearing them ffs.

When we deny the fact that girls and boys ARE different, we miss the opportunity to appreciate the beautiful differences!

Everywhere you go, you find 'girls shoes' and 'boys shoes', it's called marketing! Can't you see, you are creating a problem that doesn't exist!

It’s called SEXISM. It’s the same as marketing tea towels and cleaning products to women and briefcases to men. Girls shoes tend to be pretty rather than functional, which sends a clear message to girls that they shouldn’t get dirty or climb trees, as their delicate female feet can’t handle that. That ripples through their lives and we see the impact it has in labour market surveys and looking at equal pay.

My 7 year old daughter is exactly the same as her 7 year old male friend in every way except what is in her pants. Their feet are the same. They both like to run and climb and jump in puddles. They both need the same support and toughness in their shoes. So why not just sell kids’ shoes rather than deliberately brand the tough ones for boys?!

(The “boys are tough” message is also damaging to boys.)