Rack New Balance

[smackaholic]

Was roaming around the mall today doing a little shopping for a new pair of sneakers. i stopped in a few places not really finding anything i liked, then i went into JCPenney.

Looked at a pair of NBs. I usually go with NBs because they seem to be the only ones that make wide sizes that my feet are happy in.

Anyhoo, i was looking at the inside of the tongue for size info. I wasn't looking for place of manufacture as I just assumed that every last sneaker made on the planet in the last 10-20 years was from china. I just happen to see "assembled in USA".



must be a mistake. i check the box and they have a little american flag on it and some stuff about supporting US manufacturing.

and these weren't some fancy 150 dollar model. they were 59 bucks on sale for 39.

so i bought a pair. it felt nice being able to actually support the last little bit of manufacturing left in this country.

i recommend that all you fukkers look into NBs for your next pair of running shoes or bball shoes or whatever the fukk kinda shoes you are looking for.

what i don't get is why the NB marketing mensas aren't running a ginormous marketing campaign on TV telling everyone that they are the only manufacturer of athletic footwear that still makes shit here. the various footwear manufacturers pay various pro sports scumbags obscene amount of money to pimp their chinese sweatshop wares, why not spend a fraction of it just saying buy our shoes, made by real americans.

there are a shitload of folks out there as disgusted with our manufacturing collapse who would jump at the chance to buy american when they can.

[Screw_Michigan]

The reason why NB doesn't spend all that money on advertising MADE IN THE USA is because they pass that savings on to their customers, which is why you can spend $50 or so dollars on their AWESOME shoes. I've bought multiple pairs of NBs in the past, haven't in the last few pairs, but I'm a big fan of NBs.

And besides, kids don't give a shit about NBs or tennis shoes that don't cost less than $100. They want all the gook made shit that slaves who are paid pennies per hour make.

[smackaholic]

those punks you speak of don't buy all the shoes. Not even close. Their parents buy most of them.

Also, i think some of those kids who can't find a fukking job might appreciate the idea of american manufacturing right about now.

NB does do some marketing. They need to direct more of it towards the fact they are the only US athletic footwear manufacturer left.

[Screw_Michigan]

those punks you speak of don't buy all the shoes. Not even close. Their parents buy most of them.

You're somewhat correct. I didn't start buying NBs until I got out of college, even though I bought all my shoes since I was 16 in 98.

Also, i think some of those kids who can't find a fukking job might appreciate the idea of american manufacturing right about now.

Pffff. You think they give a shit? It's all about having the old school Jordans or the Air Max 95s.

NB does do some marketing. They need to direct more of it towards the fact they are the only US athletic footwear manufacturer left.

Yeah, but they don't do that much advertising on a big scale to just blow it up. People who are attracted to NBs are attracted by the price, first and foremost, then they realize they are MADE IN THE USA and they get down.

Dick.

[smackaholic]

there are a shitload of people out there that would go out of their way to buy NB just because they are american made. many would even pay a few bucks more. i am the cheapest fukk around and i would pay an extra 5-10 bucks.

dick.....head.

[PSUFAN]

I like NBs - but honestly, I never knew this. I will buy them all the time, now.

[TheJON]

Was roaming around the mall today

Are you 16 or were you surfing for some high school poontang?

[R-Jack]

You fuckers make me laugh.

Buy NB's because they make a quality shoe and/or you need a wide width. One thing you shouldn't buy them for is their "Made in USA" stance. They only make a quarter of their products in the states (still better than nothing). Hell, they aren't even immune to the same human rights issues overseas that you people chastize Nike for.

http://www.greenamericatoday.org/progra ... 270#alerts

A joint report by the National Labor Committee and China Labor Watch entitled “New Balance Goes to China,” details working conditions at Di Chang, a Li Kai owned factory in Hongyuan, China. Li Kai is a major supplier of New Balance footwear. On average, one Li Kai factory supplies 12 million pairs of shoes each year. Labor rights violations included the following:


•Illegal discrimination based on gender, age, height, province, and origin
•Wages below subsistence level. Workers earn $0.40 an hour, $3.22 a day. After mandatory deductions for dorm and food expenses, daily earnings drop to $2.55 at most
•Routine 10 hour shifts, six days a week
•Mandatory overtime shifts, without full overtime pay
•Denial of paid holidays, marriage and bereavement leaves, to which Chinese workers are legally entitled
•Lack of benefit rights for workers such as health insurance, work injury insurance and pension programs
•Physical and verbal abuse
The National Labor Committee and China Labor Watch argue that New Balance should use its relationship with Li Kai to improve conditions at factories where standards have been abandoned.

-- China Labor Watch, 02/01/2006

Like I said, buy what you like. They're all slave drivers.

[smackaholic]

I am heavy and wide footed, so NB has been my shoe of choice for quite some time. It's being american made is a big bonus and i will definitely go out of my way to buy them in the future and mention to others that they should do the same.

Maybe if enough people do this, nike and the rest will join the club.

anyone see the donald on foxnews today going on about how we don't make shit no more in this country.

i'll bet that crazy little jug earred fuk in texas is sitting back saying wtf did i tell you?

looks like maybe the donald might try to be the new ross perot and ride it into the white house in a few years.

i got my issues with trump, but he'd be a giant improvment over the clown we got now. at least donny has actually run a bidness or two in his life.

[smackaholic]

Was roaming around the mall today

Are you 16 or were you surfing for some high school poontang?

was actually there to buy shoes and did a little poon window shopping while i was there. place was pretty much deserted though.

[Bizzarofelice]

i sport new balance sneakers to avoid a narrow path

[smackaholic]

You fuckers make me laugh.

Buy NB's because they make a quality shoe and/or you need a wide width. One thing you shouldn't buy them for is their "Made in USA" stance. They only make a quarter of their products in the states (still better than nothing). Hell, they aren't even immune to the same human rights issues overseas that you people chastize Nike for.

http://www.greenamericatoday.org/progra ... 270#alerts

A joint report by the National Labor Committee and China Labor Watch entitled “New Balance Goes to China,” details working conditions at Di Chang, a Li Kai owned factory in Hongyuan, China. Li Kai is a major supplier of New Balance footwear. On average, one Li Kai factory supplies 12 million pairs of shoes each year. Labor rights violations included the following:


•Illegal discrimination based on gender, age, height, province, and origin
•Wages below subsistence level. Workers earn $0.40 an hour, $3.22 a day. After mandatory deductions for dorm and food expenses, daily earnings drop to $2.55 at most
•Routine 10 hour shifts, six days a week
•Mandatory overtime shifts, without full overtime pay
•Denial of paid holidays, marriage and bereavement leaves, to which Chinese workers are legally entitled
•Lack of benefit rights for workers such as health insurance, work injury insurance and pension programs
•Physical and verbal abuse
The National Labor Committee and China Labor Watch argue that New Balance should use its relationship with Li Kai to improve conditions at factories where standards have been abandoned.

-- China Labor Watch, 02/01/2006

Like I said, buy what you like. They're all slave drivers.

Yeah, I know they only make a quarter here and a fair number of those are assembled of foreign parts, but, everybody else makes 100 fukking percent of their shit in those sweatshops.

Maybe NB will play this made in america angle, market the fukk out of it and move more manufacturing back here.

[R-Jack]

Yeah, good luck with that whole "only 75% made in sweatshops" marketing campain.

[smackaholic]

Yeah, good luck with that whole "only 75% made in sweatshops" marketing campain.

them silent letter just torment the fukk outta you, don't they, jack?

[TheJON]

Yeah, good luck with that whole "only 75% made in sweatshops" marketing campain.

them silent letter just torment the fukk outta you, don't they, jack?

He's too dumb to even understand that. He's probably trying to figure out if there's supposed to be a silent "z" in "luck". Probably even ran a spell check to find out.

[R-Jack]

Yeah...stupid is supposed to hurt.

Walk around in pain a lot, hu?

[smackaholic]

Yeah...stupid is supposed to hurt.

Walk around in pain a lot, hu?

two shay

[Bizzarofelice]

Yeah, good luck with that whole "only 75% made in sweatshops" marketing campain.

them silent letter just torment the fukk outta you, don't they, jack?

really? spelling smack?

[smackaholic]

New Balance used to be my go-to brand. I swore off Nike a long time ago (coincided with the development of plantar fasciitis). I bought Asics for a while, then found Scarpa. They are made in Italy and Romania, mostly. Hard to find. Very well made and somewhat expensive. But fantastic for middle age queens.

ftfy, nc.

[Dr_Phibes]

Just wear Docs, men don't run, it's not dignified.

[smackaholic]

Yeah, good luck with that whole "only 75% made in sweatshops" marketing campain.

them silent letter just torment the fukk outta you, don't they, jack?

really? spelling smack?

for reals, dude.

[R-Jack]

New Balance used to be my go-to brand. I swore off Nike a long time ago (coincided with the development of plantar fasciitis). I bought Asics for a while, then found Scarpa. They are made in Italy and Romania, mostly. Hard to find. Very well made and somewhat expensive. But fantastic for middle age folks such as myself with high arches and narrow dogs.

Narrow feet are the big problem. There are a good amount of Euro shoes that will be good enough for folks with plantar to toss their orthotics. Trouble is Euro shoes are Euro sized, meaning all wide by nature.

A good US made brand is SAS (San Antonio Shoes). That is a TRUE American brand and they make narrow sizes. Problem is, they are fucking uglier than a Dinsdale hookup and you will be mistaken for a 88 year old woman wearing them. But hey, that's the price you pay for patriotism.

[R-Jack]

A revolt? You kidding? What the fuck are a billion and a half PingPongs gonna do other than make cheap shit for lazy Americans?

[mvscal]

You kinda gotta wonder what is going to happen someday if there is worker revolt in China. My guess is the death toll will be in the hundreds of millions in that country alone.

Probably not too far off the mark. Nobody does cataclysmic civil war like the Chinese. The Taiping Rebellion in the mid 19th century killed over 20 million people. Mao's Great Leap Forward in the mid 20th century meant dirtnaps for nearly 50 million people.

There are about 100 million middle and upper class elites and a billion or so dirt eating peasants. The math doesn't look good.

[smackaholic]

yeah, a little slope union busting prolly wouldn't go to well for the protesters.

should make for some pretty cool news highlights though.

[Diego in Seattle]

There's been some union work in the restaurant industry, but it's said that they are pretty well controlled by the government (big suprise).

They did win an increase in the minimum wage recently, though.

[smackaholic]

the unions don't give two fukks about the minimum wage other than in cases where their wages are contractually tied to it.

private sector unions are pretty much done in this country. not because the evil corporations want everyone working for subsistence wages, but because they squeezed way to hard. having a union in some ways can be beneficial to corporations as it allows them to better predict labor costs. trouble is when that prediction is that the unions will jam them every chance they get, they say fuggit.

so long as companies have the option to tell them to GFY and move elsewhere, private sector unions will have to either change their tactics or continue to fade away.

as for public sector unions, folks are getting really, really, really fukking tired of them as well. apparently their leaders didn't get the memo, we're fukking broke. and that stone they've been bleeding for quite sometime is pretty much done.

so how does all this shit get better?

short term, we need to go to selective tariffs. i would slap a 25% tariff on china yesterday for a few reasons. partly because it would boost domestic manufacturing, partly because they are ruthless fukking assholes that cock block us on the international political stage at every turn. i would tell them, shut down your little crazy man with the mad golf skillz yesterday or the tariff will go higher. there is zero reason this fukker should still be a nuisance.

actually, there's good reason. we have plenty of pols that are bought and paid for by the crooks at wally mart and other companies that make bucks doing bidness there. the other 99.9% of us can just stfu.

[Screw_Michigan]

Probably not too far off the mark. Nobody does cataclysmic civil war like the Chinese. The Taiping Rebellion in the mid 19th century killed over 20 million people. Mao's Great Leap Forward in the mid 20th century meant dirtnaps for nearly 50 million people.

There are about 100 million middle and upper class elites and a billion or so dirt eating peasants. The math doesn't look good.

I thought the Great Leap Forward was 90% bad public policy and 10% civil war. I thought most of the casualties were due to famine, not necessarily civilians fighting each other?

[smackaholic]

Probably not too far off the mark. Nobody does cataclysmic civil war like the Chinese. The Taiping Rebellion in the mid 19th century killed over 20 million people. Mao's Great Leap Forward in the mid 20th century meant dirtnaps for nearly 50 million people.

There are about 100 million middle and upper class elites and a billion or so dirt eating peasants. The math doesn't look good.

I thought the Great Leap Forward was 90% bad public policy and 10% civil war. I thought most of the casualties were due to famine, not necessarily civilians fighting each other?

He never mentioned why the great leap forward resulted in 50 million dead chinks, you dim witted mong. He was merely pointing out that the chinks are gifted in the art of genecide and that conditions are ripe for a sequel.

[Screw_Michigan]

Die in a famine, you fuckwitted shitstain.

[smackaholic]

Die in a famine, you fuckwitted shitstain.

I'm famine proof, bitch!!!!

Not as famine proof as mikey, but close.

[BSmack]

I used a pair of Nike waffle trainers when I ran x-country back in the day. It only took 3 months of running to shred those things into oblivion. Conversely, the next two years when I played football, I wore a pair of Roos turf shoes (old school in the house) that not only survived but lasted a full 4 years AFTER I graduated from HS. Funny thing is, I wanted to get another pair and I couldn't find them. I understand that now they are in production again as a retro item. But I have found that NBs have about as a long a life span and are cheaper. Honestly, I never knew where they made NBs. But I'm glad that I have a 1/4 chance of buying something made in the US.

[Screw_Michigan]

Roos turf shoes (old school in the house)

Did the turf shoes have the pockets too?

[BSmack]

Roos turf shoes (old school in the house)

Did the turf shoes have the pockets too?

Yes they did. Of course the pockets were absolutely useless for anything other than carrying a few bills or a coin or two. But they were some seriously well made shoes that could take crazy abuse. I wore then on dry days in practice, when we played on turf and during the off season I wore them every day as my regular sneaker.

[smackaholic]

the last pair of nikes i had that were worth a fuck were their old school bruins (late 70s, early 80s). i would get a few year out of those things. pretty sure they were U&L made at the time, but that was before everyone there became either a hippie or a meth addict. doubt the local work force could put out a product like that today.

[Screw_Michigan]

Yes they did. Of course the pockets were absolutely useless for anything other than carrying a few bills or a coin or two.

Or a small baggie of dope. You actually wore turf shoes around as a regular sneaker? You are one bizarre dude.

[BSmack]

Or a small baggie of dope. You actually wore turf shoes around as a regular sneaker? You are one bizarre dude.

I was far from the only one. I think you're confusing modern Field Turf shoes with AstroTurf shoes. The AstroTurf shoes could be worn for daily wear.

And cops knew to search the shoe. Putting a bag of dope in the shoes was a horrible idea. You never put dope in a place you can't get to it in less than a second for easy disposal.

[Screw_Michigan]

I am thinking of these:

[BSmack]

I am thinking of these:

More like these.

[Screw_Michigan]

Yes, I know. AstorTurf shoes commonly had the little nubs on the bottom.