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Beware
of better-known imitations
 From
one of the first factories to make Doc Martens, these camouflage
jungle boots have a genuine three-layer Solovair sole and a breathable
water-resistant vegan top. Of several Midlands firms that used
to make Goodyear Welted boots, with soles licenced from the Funk
Maetens Patent & Trade Mark Association, this is one of the
few still to make in the UK rather than China
and probably the only one to make its own (get
in touch if you know another). Obviously it's not the one
that bought the famous trademark, but it's still the original
& genuine Solovair with
- Goodyear string stitching
- Three layer self-moulding sole
- Sustaining a range of jobs, skills & supplies in a country
with courts, votes and a welfare state
- It saves the jungle: "expansion of livestock production
is a key factor in deforestation" according to Livestock's
Long Shadow, a recent UN report: "the livestock sector
emerges as one of the tow two or three most significant contributions
to the most serious environmental problems at every scale from
local to global. The findings of this report suggest that it
should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of
land degradation, climate change and air pollution water shortage,
water pollution and loss of bio-diversity".
Some other factory facts:
- Off cuts from the usual uppers are still collected and shipped
to a board manufacturer, rather than go to waste
- Off cuts from the soles are shipped out to Zimbabwe for melting-down
& making into another kind of shoe sole.
- Some of the factory tools date back to 1885; some of the
moulds or lasts date back to the second world war.
- The firm that supplies camouflage upper material last stocked
it in 1998; this batch of shoes is going to be sold on a large
scale to justify getting more rolls made.
- The factory is looking for staff. The work is like a routine
office job in its claustrophobia, but this is balanced by the
satisfaction of making something concrete and sensible. There
is a requirement to move from machine to machine and colleague
to colleague, picking up far more inter-personal & craft
skills than in plenty of offices: staff simply spot a bottleneck
in the production line and go to help, allowing far smaller and
more complicated orders than mass production. "Nowadays
we are getting young people choosing
the work as a career. It's a craft, and crafts are cool"
- Hilary Freeman, owner of a different factory, Edward Green
& Son quoted on Radio 4 12/07.
- Solovair soles mould to the shape of your feet, maximising
their natural cushion effect. They are recommended for anyone
with sensitive feet or who stands for long periods.
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