How to shop and not drop

I do not like shopping. I may have almost certainly written this at least once before.

Living in a warm, sunny, beautiful place does have its problems, sadly.

And one of these is shopping. What choice do you normally get in a town/city/country of 30,000 people?

Not very much. Gib happens to be a city and a country, but in terms of shopping, apart from fags, perfume and spirits, shopping is pretty limited.

Go to Spain? Don’t forget to declare your purchases on the way back in and pay import duty. We know someone who had their bags of food confiscated, and someone else who had to appear in court for non-declaration of goods – she could have lost her job for that.

I like to use mail order. It should be simple, it isn’t. Gib is a VAT (Value Added Tax at 20% in the UK) free zone. We do have to pay import duty however.

How many firms have told me a) they can’t deduct the VAT – why not?

and b) they can’t ship to Gib – why not?

Ethical Wares, on the other hand is not one of those firms. I have been using them well before the days of the internet when I used to get Ye Olde Fashionede Mail Order Catalogue through the post.

The service and the quality of the products is still exactly the same. Apparently Denise and Mike have been running the business for nearly 20 years, and as far as I can see, doing an extremely good job of it.

We have bought walking boots, safety boots, flat ‘fashion’ boots for me, training shoes, casual boots, – I have no idea how many pairs, although if they have a good computer they may know.

I still have the walking boots I bought in the UK and a pair of smart understated flat black ankle boots. I left the UK more than ten years ago, so these are not synthetic products that fall apart.

Yes, that’s right, they are synthetic. Non-leather. Synthetic doesn’t always mean poor quality. Ethical Wares source their products so that they are 1) ethical, ie fairly traded, no abuse of human workers 2) cruelty free ie no dead animals involved and 3) good quality.

I bought some fashion boots, which I really liked, from another good on-line store Bourgeois Boheme. (link is to my post)

Reasonably priced, flat boots and exactly what I wanted. Another ethical firm, delivered to Gib, and deducted VAT. But the boots are not the same quality as the products I have had from Ethical Wares. Not to slag off BB but to point out that although Ethical Wares charges seemingly higher prices, their products last for years. And I mean years.

How ethical is that? Anyone with half a business brain would be selling something that falls apart within a limited time so we all buy new. In these days of grab and get, that is something to be admired, and gets my custom. Every time.

I’ve quoted from their website (hope that’s ok Mike), as it says it all. They care about people and animals. Who wants to give their money to grasping corporate shareholders? Not me.

About ethical Wares

When we took over the running of ethical WARES back in 1993, there were just 2 styles of shoes on offer. One was imaginatively called the Green boot, if we remember correctly and one the Black boot! How times have changed, with ethical WARES now stocking well over 500 Vegan and Cruelty Free products.

In this time we have seen many other companies selling non leather footwear come and go, but today there is a much wider choice of such footwear and accessories available for the compassionate consumer to choose from. This is so important because as consumers we all have the chance to change the world for the better in our everyday purchases. There is a better world possible for all its inhabitants and it is up to us all to work for this positive change.

All our products are not only Vegan but have been carefully sourced to satisfy us to their worker friendly credentials. We’ve been dealing with some of the companies making footwear for us for many years now. Where we can we support the UK footwear industry as this has been hit so very hard by cheap imports from abroad, forcing much of the domestic industry to close down.

We believe that the struggle for a better deal for animals cannot be separated from that same struggle for human rights. To this end many of our accessories are covered by Fair Trade criteria and we are proud to be supporting the Tibetan refugee community by offering Tibetan incense, handicrafts and music in our Tibet Shop.

Another passion of ours is for music, whether this is just for enjoyment or to encourage social or political change. Good music can be very special but good music made by Vegan or Veggie musicians is better still! This led us to start up our Music for A Better World section on EW strictly for Vegan or Veggie musicians, and then onto a wider range of music in our Four Dogs Music site

The income from EW goes to fund the care of the 50 or so animals living here with us at Caegwyn. A motley crew if ever there were one; consisting of goats, sheep, pigs, 2 old horses, cats, dogs, rabbits and Aunt Dotty the cow.

Without the support of so many people all over the world who have shopped with us over the years we have been going, none of the above would have been possible. Our aim is to continue for another 15 years and our promise is to never waver from the principles on which EW was founded.

For peace, justice and for no more wars.

Denise and Mike

ethical WARES

So yesterday my partner collected my order that had been despatched immediately I ordered it and arrived in Gib within four days! And people say they can’t/won’t deliver to Gib? [It actually arrived here on Monday but I’ve been feeling a bit off colour so hadn’t been able to collect from the parcel depot]. A big well done to UK Parcel Force service there too.

Anyway, product review:

Safety boots

Made of black lorica. My partner works in construction and wears these steel toe cap boots all the time.

At his latest firm he was given a pair of standard issue ‘safety boots’. He uses those for dog walking because they don’t provide enough support when he is working on scaffolding. These boots from Ethical Wares do provide support and don’t even need breaking in.

Cost: £82.95

Probably the third or fourth pair we have had in nearly twenty years.

Safe, solid, supportive, superb.

Our order – safety boots and trainers

My present was a pair of trainers, or to be specific, an athletic shoe from New Balance.

I wear trainers most of the time, when I’m not wearing boots and these are supremely comfortable and supportive. As Ethical Wares has a lot of these on offer at the moment, a new pair was a must buy, especially as I haven’t got round to cleaning the current pair. I don’t have time to clean, I blog.

In terms of sizing I fluctuate between a 39 and a 40, but I took a 40 in these.

Cost: £ 49.96 (that’s a VAT free price). UK price, £59.95, normal price £79.96. Lucky UK people get free postage apparently.

Wiki has an interesting post about New Balance. I had no idea they were American, and more than a hundred years old, because my shoes come from, ie are made in, the UK. I’m not really interested in what the athletic claims are for the shoes, but as far as I am concerned, they are extremely comfortable, supportive, and like walking on air.

Because of the offer on at Ethical Wares I will be buying me some more. I’ve got models 758 and 759, so may try a couple of others as they are both great shoes.

Their walking boots are superb. Their less rugged casual and softer boots are equally good. I have not bought a product that I have been disappointed with. Personal service is excellent, queries are rapidly answered. Goodies are quickly despatched, with none of this ‘you should get it in 21 days’ drivel that you get on other sites.

Only one walking bootie on display here as I had to wash off the dogs hairs to take the pic …..

What more do I have to say? I’ve written about different aspects of ethical shopping before, so Ethical Wares is a top class example of a firm that ticks every box for me.

There are also stockists in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. So, check out the Ethical Ware website. They sell far more than footwear, that just happens to be my main purchase from them.

In the meantime, a bit of stress has invaded the roughseas life due to crap I can’t be bothered to recite.

But my partner bought me a couple of pairs of earrings for our wedding anniversary. We were too short of money for the silver wedding a couple of years ago to buy any presents so this was a lovely treat.

Still on the shopping theme, I braved the trip to Morrison’s today, early to avoid the heat. Sitting on the swing at the kiddies play park wondering if it was built to support a 55kg woman, I noticed my neighbour.

When I got off, he said ‘You were on the broken one, there’s a nut missing.’ !!

Swings (no roundabouts)

In fact when we both examined the two swings, I had luckily not been sitting on the broken one. So, if like me, you have a habit of using children’s swings, do check for missing nuts.

Then he pointed out a new commemorative stone, that I hadn’t seen before. Apparently it was built for the recent royal visit of the Wessexes. And before anyone asks, I have no interest in Harry scampering around in the nude.

Diamond Jubilee Foundation Stone

And then, a couple of early (ish) morning pix of the boats. While the supermarket is a chore, at least the walk there is fun and extremely scenic.

Walkway looking towards St John Ambulance

Where is the food picture, I hear some of you ask? Well, there is one, but it can wait for another day……

To UK readers, have a great bank holiday weekend. By which I mean, I hope you get at least one rain-free day.