Conceded: Or, Shoes Part Deux

These boots were made for walking... on my feet.

I bought these boots.

After wise words from a friend to the tune of:

1. How environmentally friendly can it be to have dozens of pairs of shoes shipped overnight to and from your house while you try to find the one non-fug pair of non-leather boots in existence?
2. How environmentally friendly can it be to buy a pair of thin plastic shoes (if that's all there is AND THAT *IS* ALL THERE IS!) and have them last one season (viz, the last pair of non-leather boots I bought for $50 that kept my feet freezing and fell apart after a year)?
3. Spend decent money on one pair of of leather boots and take care of them well and they will last many years.
4. You did your best. Now stop.

I researched the various environmental costs of leather vs plastic, and it seems leather still loses. And there is the ethical issues I still have with the dead things on my feet. I looked into which countries make the most environmentally destructive shoes, and have the most egregious animal treatment industries, so I could avoid them (guess what? CHINA WINS. Guess what else? CHINA MAKES ALL THE SHOES IN THE WORLD). I couldn't win there either. All I could do is buy a pair that uses vegetable tanning techniques instead of chemical tanning techniques. One win. And I sought a pair that had a sole that protected the upper leather at the sides, so it would last longer.

One win plus gorgeous, gorgeous boots.