UPDATE: I’ve answered my own question in this post Fair Trade Footwear

As my title might hint at, I’m a follower. I’ve meant to get into that for sometime (today won’t be that day), but here is a part of this following thing.

If I’m really a follower of Christ. If I dare to label myself with that term, then I had best be ready to put it into practice. And, I don’t mean into practice every Sunday, or specifically by reading a Bible, saying a prayer or leaving a tract on a table. What I mean is the idea that everything I do should be considered in light of this belief system. It’s no different then someone who holds to any other belief system. If you are to be real and honest about what your beliefs are, and you truly believe them, then everything you do should be filtered through that.

I think that’s what made it so pressing to me to bring up the issue of Real Estate as we were looking at houses and trying to consider what that means and how we navigate that area as Christians. It’s sad, but I’ve never heard a Bible Study or Sunday sermon about the ethics of Real Estate, yet I know that even in my current church, tons of people are buying houses, or considering buying. I see conversations about these things as essential to our faith, much more then an abstract, feel-good verse reading.

This brings me to the topic at hand: Shoes. My current pair are on their way out. My sandals died about a month ago now, so I’m lacking in the “appropriate to wear to work” category of footwear. What I need is another pair of athletic shoes, just your basic cross-trainers or running shoes. But as with any purchase, I want to consider an ethical approach. It really is a WWJD situation (What Would Jesus Do?).

There is a fair trade running shoe shop, but they charge about $200 for a pair! I find it hard to keep within my values of good stewardship for a purchase like that. Then there is always buying slightly used from Goodwill or eBay, something my mom would highly frown upon. Mom wouldn’t like it because it conflicts with the value of taking care of my body (it’s not my own, it was bought with a price). Then there is always the New Balance route, the hip, cool, stylish, and the closest-big-business-but-still-supposedly-sweatshop-free-or-at-least-trying-to brand of shoe out there (I think Timberland is a close second). That doesn’t sit well with my avoid injustice or even the possibility of injustice if at all possible value.

So, what’s a guy to do?