I Thought I Was An Ethical Shopper — Until I Was Forced To Cut Up A New Pair Of Shoes

A failed bid for a refund prompts some soul-searching and resolve to walk the talk

- Christie Chiu

Like many sentimental hoarders, I hide keepsakes from unpleasantly formative life events in an inaccessible corner of my room under my dresser. Letters from past romances, photos of friends I have fallen out with, and a pair of white ballet flats with a rectangular cut-out on each shoe's edge.

As it so often is with failed relationships, I once thought these flats were The One(s). I bought them online last November, after my previous and only pair fell apart while weathering a torrential storm.

By then I had grown weary of fast-fashion makes that wore out every two years before heading to landfills like clockwork.

I have never claimed to have the blueprint on ethical shopping. But between years of buying second-hand and learning about sustainable production, I thought I was at least half a mark above the rest.

It was, I reasoned, high time I invested in a pair of flats that would last — and I knew just the pair. I had tried them on just weeks prior in a quaint store in Margate while visiting Britain, and their buttery soft lining lingered with me. They were made of trusty ol' leather — which the brand claimed was processed through ethical and sustainable means. The design was understated, versatile. Plus, they accepted returns.

The shoes arrived about a month later from a warehouse in Spain, with an unsightly dent and about a centimetre too large despite being the same size I had tried on in-store. For $240, I expected better, and initiated a return request.

"In order to process your refund, we will need to receive a picture of the TONGUES OF YOUR SHOES. Please carefully cut both tongues (or the part of the shoes where the item number is stated)," the brand's reply read.