Friday, May 15th, 2009...12:31 am
Payless’ Zoe & Zac: Missed Opportunity
Here’s a shoe I wanted to be excited about: zoe & zac, the green line Payless Shoes released last month. But no, these shoes weren’t designed for me. My first impression was that they were designed for mainstream appeal, and I could get behind that, but wait — even collectively, we have better taste than this, right?
Commerce with a Conscience wrote a smart and hilarious review of Simple‘s similarly poorly designed “green shoes,” which can be directly applied to this line. I’ll cut straight to the serious part, where he wrote,
“One of the greatest obstacles facing the widespread acceptance of socially responsible spending is convincing others that buying according to their ethics doesn’t automatically mean dressing terribly. I ask you, please, help us overcome this hurdle. Use your principles for good.”
Amen.
Each pair of shoes in the zoe & zac line are under $30. If you must, at least go for the wedge!
8 Comments
May 15th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I’d like the flats if they were basic black, I think. It’s a step in the right direction at least; there aren’t a lot of eco-friendly cute shoes.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Agreed. The ballet flats are decent, but they’d be so much more versatile without the flower print…
Like Target, Payless has been doing some pretty good designer collaborations recently, so I had high hopes for these designs. Wouldn’t it be amazing if, of all places, PAYLESS were the store to introduce affordable, socially responsible AND fashionable shoes?
Hopefully next time!
May 19th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
i could not agree with you more!!! i am not impressed…and your post inspired me to find some eco-friendly shoes online for around $50 (they’re there!) that (i think) you would actually wear…i would, and do wear some of them. http://www.greengrechen.com/2009/05/19/must-read/ecofriendly-shoes-50-ugly/
May 19th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Grechen, you’re awesome! Thank you!! I love your list!!!
And I must admit… I’ve been putting together my own! Will post it soon. But I wasn’t focusing on price, so I’m glad you did. Once people know where to look for eco-friendly shoes, price is one of the biggest deciding factors. You’re so smart. :)
May 19th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
oh, i can’t wait to see your list! it wasn’t easy to focus only on eco-friendly shoes around $50, but with a little searching, it can totally be done…
May 20th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
[...] response to my blog-friend Janette’s recent post: Payless’ Zoe & Zac: Missed Opportunity and a comment left by a reader that “there aren’t a lot of eco-friendly cute [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
These shoes look so comfortable! Perfect for a college student, and my blog (on SUGAR!) beautyandthebudget.onsugar.com!
June 1st, 2009 at 11:35 pm
[...] weeks ago, I started a conversation about shoes that are both socially responsible and stylish. Amber commented, “there aren’t [...]
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