Who knew a sneaker gem was so close to home?! As my recent search for tennis shoes made me reflect on where exactly most shoes seem to come from, I found myself grasping at straws to come up with a locally-made option. Then I found New Balance.
"Really?! Made in Massachusetts?!" Kudos go to New Balance, who surprised this shoe-skeptic! With five domestic factories, two of which sit just miles from me in Massachusetts, it turns out that New Balance is the only major running-shoe company to produce a number of their products domestically.
Traditionally running shoes have been a labor-intensive product to create, requiring a number of assembly steps and a great deal of sewing. For this reason, most of the large shoe-producing companies have their shoes made in foreign markets, where labor is cheaper. New Balance, though, has re-engineered many of their US-made shoes to require fewer labor inputs. This is a notable achievement, accomplished for the sake of keeping their products more locally produced!New Balance shoes only came onto my radar near the age of twenty, but the Boston-headquartered company has actually been in existence for over 100 years. With a company value-list that includes three major tenets- moving the environment forward, social responsibility initiatives, and local community philanthropy- this is a company I feel good about supporting. Do your research and you will find a company taking care of its neighbors, donating over 6 million dollars per year to charities, and doing so with a concern for its local environment and employees. Please do check out New Balance's "Made in America" products ...made in our very own backyard!
