The article confirms my suspicions about shoes that are made in China, Vietnam and Indonesia. I suspect that workers in the clothes industries also work in dreadful and unhealthy conditions.

Buying British, European, American or Australian clothes and shoes is not a xenophobic choice, it's an ethical one. I try to buy British first and American/European second from brands that I know well and trust, i.e. that are not exploiting the workforce or polluting the environment.

Thanks for the posting the article. It will shock some if the members here who purchase big name brands that use Far Eastern/Asian sweatshop labour.

The use nasty chemicals is largely restricted to the manufacture of shoes with synthetic soles. I cannot see the Northamptonshire makers using them in making expensive Goodyear welted shoes. It is equally unlikely that top US brands, including boat shoe makers like Quoddy, use them.