Enviromental Footprint On Boots?

Last night I went to Sears to purchase some new work boots. I looked over the selection and found a pair that I liked and were comfortable. So I purchased them.

This morning as I was getting them out of the box and I noticed a sticker on the side of the box. It was titled "Our Footprint". So I read on. It listed how much energy was used in the creating of the boots, how much of the factory's power came from renewable sources, how many hours the company contributes to the community, and was there any child labor used in the making of the boots.

This got me wondering. Do people really look at this information when purchasing work boots? I would think style, comfort and price were the determining factors. Those are the things that I look for.

I would be very interested in hearing from others on this. Does how much energy used a deal breaker for you when purchasing boots or any shoes? How about where the power comes from that was used? My guess is that there is a very, very, very small percentage of purchasers that would make their decision to purchase these boots just because of the information on the box. This is a great marketing ploy by this manufacturer, read on.

Here is the kicker, I looked all over the box and there is no place on it that tells where the boots were made. So I looked at the boots themselves and found a little tag inside. This is funny, they were made in China! China is one of the world's biggest polluters along with India.

So people are getting a warm and fuzzy feeling that they are helping the environment by purchasing these boots when in reality they are not. I love this environmental, green house gas, carbon footprint stuff. I wonder how long this fad will last...like pet rocks...the environmentally friendly pet (because they didn't pollute, no methane gas, or consume any natural resources, no carbon footprint to worry about).