After hiatus, subject of skate shoes oddly intense

[Nigel Houston]

The Cariuma shoes themselves don't look that bad. Kind of like a Koston 2. But the logo just ruins it.

The logo is way too big and weird. It looks like some clan tag on online first-person shooter games.

Also, Scientology is far more prevalent in skateboarding than many people here could ever imagine.

[MisterSpaceman]

Why not just be open about your position at this company, man. There's a New Balance guy and an Emerica guy that answer questions in Shoes/Gear every week. Why did you think this would work

I actually work for Osiris. Have you considered a D3 high top lately?

[professional]

let's be pretty clear here on the "ethical" topic - there is no ethical consumer choice under capitalism. Every skate shoe made is done so under slave-labor conditions in the global east or south. However, some shoes are manufactured with less slave-labor, and some (these days) is manufactured with more, such as the case with Nike or adidas using forced labor from the ethnic Uighur minority in China --> https://www.forbes.com/sites/siminamistreanu/2020/03/02/study-links-nike-adidas-and-apple-to-forced-uighur-labor/?sh=3fc6d4061003

That said, be it wage/slave labor or forced slave labor, there is no ethical choice to be made here. It comes down to whether you're down with cool skateboarders and companies(probably owned by a venture capital fund) or cool corporations doing it.

[MisterSpaceman]

let's be pretty clear here on the "ethical" topic - there is no ethical consumer choice under capitalism. Every skate shoe made is done so under slave-labor conditions in the global east or south. However, some shoes are manufactured with less slave-labor, and some (these days) is manufactured with more, such as the case with Nike or adidas using forced labor from the ethnic Uighur minority in China --> https://www.forbes.com/sites/siminamistreanu/2020/03/02/study-links-nike-adidas-and-apple-to-forced-uighur-labor/?sh=3fc6d4061003

That said, be it wage/slave labor or forced slave labor, there is no ethical choice to be made here. It comes down to whether you're down with cool skateboarders and companies(probably owned by a venture capital fund) or cool corporations doing it.

Extremely valid point.

There’s for sure no 100% ethical lifestyle possible today. I try to steer to a slightly more ethical choice when possible.

That’s why I made the point in an earlier comment, where I said I hold no judgment for those others that do ride Nikes. 

A capitalist society makes it often impossible to live ethically. 

The blame resides on the corporations not the individuals. You don’t blame a dog for eating the shitty food the owner feeds it. We are trapped in here.

I would love more ethical options in skateboarding because the culture at one point stood at odds with corporate greed.

Every now and then a company starts up that claims to shake things up but it always seems to come with a catch.

[cky enthusiast]

if i cared this deeply about men’s footwear i would skate my way over to a mental asylum

[MisterSpaceman]

if i cared this deeply about men’s footwear i would skate my way over to a mental asylum

I mean, if you skate regularly you can go through 8 pairs of shoes a year? give or take.

It’s pretty understandable to not care, but it’s also pretty reasonable to want to know where those shoes are coming from.

[Vomit Lust]

Cariuma is just whack. No need to overthink it.

[Billy Bitchcakes]

You already said yourself that you read the first thread on them, not sure why you'd need to start another one just to check if anyone in there might have been lying. Nobody here is going to tell you it's a good idea to buy cariuma shoes. If you feel you're someone who's able to make decisions without being reaffirmed by a bunch of strangers on the internet then go nuts.

[cky enthusiast]

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if i cared this deeply about men’s footwear i would skate my way over to a mental asylum

[close]

I mean, if you skate regularly you can go through 8 pairs of shoes a year? give or take.

It’s pretty understandable to not care, but it’s also pretty reasonable to want to know where those shoes are coming from.

“were these shoes made by vietnamese children or uighur children?”

[johnes]

yup, fuck those carumias 

[MisterSpaceman]

You already said yourself that you read the first thread on them, not sure why you'd need to start another one just to check if anyone in there might have been lying. Nobody here is going to tell you it's a good idea to buy cariuma shoes. If you feel you're someone who's able to make decisions without being reaffirmed by a bunch of strangers on the internet then go nuts.

I wanted to know if there was a real reason not to like them or if people didn’t like them because they “weren’t cool” or are ugly.


Like I said we can buy around 8 pairs of shoes a year so it is indeed a huge part of skateboarding. I put my money where my mouth is.  I think it’s a legitimate thing to discuss. 

We can downplay the slavery of Nike manufacturing if we want to be cool and callous but I think I’m being reasonable in wanting alternatives.  Apparently Cariuma isn’t a great alternative but it’s worth discussing IMO.

Edited because TLDR lol

Not tryna fight y’all just wanted to know what you had to say

Is that crazy?

[MisterSpaceman]

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if i cared this deeply about men’s footwear i would skate my way over to a mental asylum

[close]

I mean, if you skate regularly you can go through 8 pairs of shoes a year? give or take.

It’s pretty understandable to not care, but it’s also pretty reasonable to want to know where those shoes are coming from.

[close]

“were these shoes made by vietnamese children or uighur children?”

Supposedly they were supposed to be made with fair wages. That’s what I was most interested in them for.  But yeah I hear you. Usually it’s like what ethnicity do you want to screw over today?

[Sila]

buy second hand shoes

[DanCorteseFromMTVSports]

let's be pretty clear here on the "ethical" topic - there is no ethical consumer choice under capitalism. Every skate shoe made is done so under slave-labor conditions in the global east or south.

Not true! I made these myself. What's up now?!?!?

[MisterSpaceman]

buy second hand shoes

Best answer yet

[yourfuckingdad]

I don't believe Cariuma has any better labor practices than Nike, Adidas, Lakai, or anyone else. It's extremely easy to say "we have ethical factories" and the big corporate companies do that too.

If the workers have a union then I'd believe it.

Like what was said above, the most ethical choice is second hand shoes. There is no ethical production under capitalism and our individual choices make very little difference in a global economy. Far too many shoes are produced in general, so the most ethical choice you can make as an individual is to create less demand overall and buy less shoes.

The environmental impact of making these Cariuma shoes likely far outweighs the positive impact of planting 2 tree per pair. Manufacturing with recycled materials is still horrible for the environment.

[ok boomer]

Wal-Mart shoes mang

[TheFandangler]

Your omission of Vans in this conversation (aside from saying they were once uncool) is odd. If you agree that most skate shoes are made with unethical labour practices but you want a company with roots in skateboarding for a fair price, Vans seems to be the easy answer. Also soletech.

What I'm most confused about however, is your one letter censoring of swear words. Everyone knows you're saying "asshole" and "fucked." Why omit the letter? Who are you trying to protect? It's even worse than when religious people say frick instead of fuck. The meaning is the same, might as well fucking say it.

[TheFandangler]

Wal-Mart shoes mang

I'm just gonna say I don't know where your sig is from, maybe it's highly relevant. But I really miss the last two you had going on.

[MisterSpaceman]

Your omission of Vans in this conversation (aside from saying they were once uncool) is odd. If you agree that most skate shoes are made with unethical labour practices but you want a company with roots in skateboarding for a fair price, Vans seems to be the easy answer. Also soletech.

What I'm most confused about however, is your one letter censoring of swear words. Everyone knows you're saying "asshole" and "fucked." Why omit the letter? Who are you trying to protect? It's even worse than when religious people say frick instead of fuck. The meaning is the same, might as well fucking say it.

I was censoring the swear words because I’m new here and didn’t know how much mods trip about that sort of thing.  Some of the car forums I’m on are weird about it. 
Anyway thanks for the input. I like half cabs ok but generally I’m just not crazy about how vans skate. They look good but are always too wide for my feet. I kind of lumped in emerica with “core brands”

I will likely stick to Lakai honestly.  This thread has made me exhausted of thinking of cariumas

[MisterSpaceman]

I don't believe Cariuma has any better labor practices than Nike, Adidas, Lakai, or anyone else. It's extremely easy to say "we have ethical factories" and the big corporate companies do that too.

If the workers have a union then I'd believe it.

Like what was said above, the most ethical choice is second hand shoes. There is no ethical production under capitalism and our individual choices make very little difference in a global economy. Far too many shoes are produced in general, so the most ethical choice you can make as an individual is to create less demand overall and buy less shoes.

The environmental impact of making these Cariuma shoes likely far outweighs the positive impact of planting 2 tree per pair. Manufacturing with recycled materials is still horrible for the environment.

Honestly yeah used shoes are actually the best bet.

It’s like how a used Honda Civic will always be more environmentally friendly than a new Tesla or Prius. You’re taking the manufacture of something new off Of the equation.

[GuessAgain?]

Where was the proof that Lakai's are made anymore ethically than any other big name skate shoe brands anyway? Or did I miss that of school?

Sad truth is if you want to buy ethically produced sneakers for less than $90 then the only thing I can suggest is to save your money up, cause it ain't happening.


EDIT - I heavily back the used shoes/ebay/thrift store route though, good shit

[MisterSpaceman]

Where was the proof that Lakai's are made anymore ethically than any other big name skate shoe brands anyway? Or did I miss that of school?

Sad truth is if you want to buy ethically produced sneakers for less than $90 then the only thing I can suggest is to save your money up, cause it ain't happening.

They’re not.  I mentioned it somewhere in the thread. The conversation is sort of going in circles. Company owned by skaters vs not, even if they are all assholes, blah blah blah

I think the thread has exhausted itself

Anyway I came to have a conversation about if the c-word shoes are actually better, which I think is a reasonable thing to discuss. And we discussed it.  Seems like there’s no easy answer. Besides used shoes.

[MisterSpaceman]

What the hell is the “rep” counter thing? Or am I opening another Pandora’s box asking about that

[nicotinewheel]

cool another sinophobe, welcome.

[MisterSpaceman]

cool another sinophobe, welcome.

Oooookay. So this forum is a giant waste of time. Tried to have a serious discussion about gear. Just a bunch of fucking lames. Can’t believe I wasted my time. Just another Honda Tech. Go outside and fuckin skate “kids”

[Gray Imp Sausage Metal]

hello Cariuma TM

[Alan]

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cool another sinophobe, welcome.

[close]

Oooookay. So this forum is a giant waste of time. Tried to have a serious discussion about gear. Just a bunch of fucking lames. Can’t believe I wasted my time. Just another Honda Tech. Go outside and fuckin skate “kids”

[georgethecat]

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cool another sinophobe, welcome.

[close]

Oooookay. So this forum is a giant waste of time. Tried to have a serious discussion about gear. Just a bunch of fucking lames. Can’t believe I wasted my time. Just another Honda Tech. Go outside and fuckin skate “kids”

Honda Tech? How dare you.

[silhouette]

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cool another sinophobe, welcome.

[close]

Oooookay. So this forum is a giant waste of time. Tried to have a serious discussion about gear. Just a bunch of fucking lames. Can’t believe I wasted my time. Just another Honda Tech. Go outside and fuckin skate “kids”

[close]

Honda Tech? How dare you.

To be fair, @rawbertson. probably has him covered when it comes to Honda tech.