• quill7513@anarchist.nexusEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    all of the major athletic shoe brands are up to shady shit because they profit from slave labor in the global south.

    • nike donates to conservatives in the US
    • adidas (who owns reebok) and asics furnish discounts to the IDF
    • puma stays out of politics directly, but should still be side eyed for how fairly their laborers are compensated. of the majors they probably win the “most least evil” award
    • under armour’s founders have been very active promoters of CPAC
    • new balance has a recent legacy of their ceo backing conservatives in the US but has since replaced him. side eye them
    • brooks outright provides shoes to the IDF

    the only shoe companies that i feel genuinely comfortably recommending:

    • luna sandals
    • enda running shoes
    • veja
    • wildling
    • xero if you’re into court sports like pickleball or basketball
    • Em Adespoton@lemmy.ca
      0·
      3 days ago

      What about Wolverine/Saucony? I don’t seem to be able to find anything out about their labour or politics practices.

      • quill7513@anarchist.nexusEnglish
        0·
        3 days ago

        i don’t have anything specific on them. i’ve bought plenty of altra’s so clearly i’m not above buying wolverine

        • Em Adespoton@lemmy.ca
          0·
          2 days ago

          It’s currently my go-to brand (helps that they actually fit my foot type and terrain use), but as I was reviewing runner manufacturers and their social stances, I realized that while Nike and Adidas are relatively transparent about what they do so they’re easy to critique, Wolverine seems to be more in a “don’t ask / don’t tell” space — which could mean they’re actually just as bad or worse than the others.