So Long & Thanks for All the Shoes

A lot of you submitted this as news. Say what you will about punks being fashion
obsessed, but this move seems to have ruffled a lot of feathers. In short: "Converse,
whose Chuck Taylor All-Stars were donned by punk gods The Ramones, have fallen
on hard times. ESPN is reporting that shoe
mogul Nike is purportedly paying over 300
million dollars to purchase the entire Converse line of sneakers."

Our friends at Infopunks wrote an article
about the whole situation and were kind enough to let us publish it here. Click
below to check it out.

 
Converse, whose Chuck Taylor All-Stars were donned by punk gods The Ramones,
have fallen on hard times. ESPN is reporting
that shoe mogul Nike is purportedly paying
over 300 million dollars to purchase the entire Converse line of sneakers.
To many in the punk scene this will constitute a true a conflict of ethic.
Nike is known as the world's largest corporations that uses entirely foreign
labor. Not only do they refuse to make a single shoe in America, but they use
sweat-shop style child labor in countries like Thailand and Vietnam. It is not
at all uncommon for women and children to be beaten for not meeting quotas.
They work for hours and hours with no breaks for pennies a day. Doesn't really
sound very punk rock to support that, does it?
Worn by nearly every punk band since The Ramones, the Chuck Taylor All-Star
has become a staple of the punk community. Even Ben Weasel (Screeching
Weasel, The Riverdales) included
"Chucks" (as they've become known to fans of the sneaker) in his Punk
Rock Dress Code, saying "As far as sneakers go, there is one and only one
acceptable brand and that is Chuck Taylor Converse All-Star hi-tops."
Whether you personally care about the way Nike handles their business or not,
you have to accept the fact that it is becoming harder and harder to be conscientious
about who you are paying when you buy any product. Nike tried for years to break
into the skateboard market, and could not. So they bought their way in with
Hurley.
So, could this mean the end of a tradition for punks nationwide? Has the All-Star
been replaced by the All-Swoosh? I don't think that it has to be that way. All
you have to do is go to the thrift store, and hope you get lucky. There's nothing
wrong with buying an old pair of Chucks and giving money to your local Salvation
Army. You're not supporting sweatshop labor, and you're giving back the
community. But as far as Hurley goes, I'm afraid you're just going to have to
try something
new.
Related links:
ESPN:
Nike To Buy Converse
Meet Chuck Taylor

The
Official Nike Press Release
The Boycott Nike Homepage
The Ultimate Chuck Taylor All-Stars
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