Monday, November 9, 2009

Dear ShoeSellers Betts, Novo and Zu: I Want To Shop

I wrote to the Shoe Elves about their sneaky practice of slipping leather quarterlining into shoes that are otherwise all synthetic and vegan-ok, but the force of my tantrum and the flood of my tears as I rejected pair after pair of shoesies that I wanted to wear to weddings, parties, anything, was not enough.

So I wrote to their bosses at various shoesie emporia.



Hello,

I would like to bring to your attention an issue about the labelling of some shoes in your stores.

As a vegan I do not use any animal products, including leather, and I am always pleased to find a wide range of synthetic shoes in your stores which look great and suit my needs. However, I have noticed that a number of shoes which state that they are made from all synthetic or manmade materials have leather quarterlining, which is not disclosed on the shoe.

It may be that product disclosure laws only require manufacturers to state the composition of the main lining material, but for people like me who avoid leather and suede it is terribly frustrating to discover that an apparently animal-free pair of shoes in fact has leather quarterlining.

I urge you to contact your manufacturers and suppliers and request that they use non-leather quarterlining on shoes that are otherwise all synthetic. As well as broadening your market it would ensure that the actual components of the shoes match the product disclosure, and bring consistency to the labelling of your shoes.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Yours sincerely,

Miss T
Shoe Enthusiast and Lover of All Things Shiny

4 comments:

lia said...

good luck with that. maybe if you state that you have a hypoallergenic reaction to leather the manufacturers will feel legally compelled to mention it, fearing they might be sued. perhaps start a group of people who are emotionally hypoallergenic to all animal products you might get somewhere.

lia said...

good luck with that. maybe if you state that you have a hypoallergenic reaction to leather the manufacturers will feel legally compelled to mention it, fearing they might be sued. perhaps start a group of people who are emotionally hypoallergenic to all animal products you might get somewhere.

x said...

I just read you letter to the Shoe Elves and I'm so annoyed that I might have bought shoes in the past that have a leather quarter lining even though they're labelled as synthetic :/

Sasha said...

great work Miss T, I'll be double checking into the future :)