Where does China get their leather for shoes?

You might consider that if the US taxed fuel instead of labor the equation might change a little

The products you consume might be made a little closer to where you live

TwoGuns wrote:I guess it is cheaper to use expensive fuel

:-) Leather??? I'm pretty sure most shoes now-a-days are made of plastic of some sort. ...lew...

In article , TwoGuns writes snip

Are they are made of faux leather? If so, faux must be an endangered species in China. Perhaps the World Wildlife Fund should investigate!

I wear ecco soft slip-on shoes that are made in India, but are made of leather. I imagine that the leather is made outside of India, so the sacred cows are safe.

I've read that the way the population of sacred cows in India is controlled is by selling the cows to Pakistani companies.

Joe Gwinn

The Blue Heron paper mill in Oregon City is closing -- they've been operating under the protection of the bankruptcy court since 2009, but this year the price for scrap paper jumped up, and things just didn't pencil out anymore.

Back in 1776, we fought a war with the British, in no small part because they were trying to prevent us from manufacturing our own goods: the business model was that we'd send raw materials west, they'd make them into manufactured goods (and make out like bandits), and we'd buy those manufactured goods.

Now, we're _giving that away_. Republicans say "anything that makes money for rich people is good". Democrats say "we'll all be college educated managers and teachers in 20 years" (but don't do the math on _who_ we're going to manage). No one seems to get the point.

Sigh.

Not all Indians are hindu. There are muslims, christians, and sikhs. I'm trying to remember the book I read this in but where a hindu can't butcher a cow, a muslim can do it for him or something like that.

Wes

...

Yup!

It's the damn unions! No American business can _afford_ to pay people $30.00 an hour for work that's worth 10.

And yes, they're doing it because it's cost-effective.

They're probably exporting the leather as well, although it'd be more likely to go to Mexico to be made into sandals. ;-)

And of course, if we could get ahold of some of those Navy reactors that they're using on all those aircraft carriers, fuel costs would plummet.

Cheers! Rich

Which specific Republican said that? Can you back up your claim, or are you just tantrumizing like the unionists? "GIMME! GIMME! GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!"

Anything that makes money for "rich people" makes money for _everybody_, if the government doesn't confiscate it first to hand out to the union bosses.

Where do you think the jobs come from? Government? Who pays the bill? China?

Hope This Helps! Rich

well, I hope that anyone who reads the above can connect the dots, it is so patently false that it does not require refutation. "anything .... makes money for everybody" - One thing that makes money for rich people is hedge fund trading. Tell me how that personally helps you? how does currency exchange trades help you? You said that "anything" makes money for "everybody" - how could this be true - and don't tell me that the rich will buy stuff with the money, that is manifestly untrue

Actually No. Pigs are only sacred to those who own them :-) Cows are sacred only to the Hindu.

But as to numbers shod, I suggest that a substantial percentage of the population in Asia does not wear shoes. They wear sandals which are largely, today, made from plastic although in times past everything from straw to wood was used.

muslim can do it

A practicing Hindu will not touch anything that is made from a cow or cause harm to a cow, so there is no question of a Hindu requiring a Moslem to slaughter a cow.

By the way, if the person in question is a Hindu, or follows one of the off-shoots of Hinduism, then it is highly likely that he is also a vegetarian and doesn't eat meat anyway.

To some sects yes, national policy No, now in nepal (at least when I lived there) it was legally the same as killing a person. Accidental deaths were ok, and it was ok to eat the resulting meat.

No, and there are probably more water buffalos than cows any way, and they are not sacred. [They make better milk and yoghurt though)

jk

Oh, hardly. It costs pennies to move a $100 pair of shoes around the world by sea. Current 'emergency' increases due to bunker fuel costs are less than a nickel US per shoebox volume. Triple that ($200/barrel oil?) and it's still nothing. At what level would it make a difference? 5% of retail? That's gasoline at $100 a gallon or something like that. Other things will die first.

Or $10 an hour for work that can be done even better for $1.50.

Fuel costs are pretty much insignificant in this equation. Ships are very cost-effective. Railways less so, but that's more because of the domestic labor component (high to begin with, and higher because of oligppoly-fed unions).

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Okay, here's a real spot price:

Less than $2K ever-shrinking US dollars for a 40' container Hong Kong to Los Angeles. Probably would hold 12,000-15,000 pairs of shoes, or

0.13-0.17/pair. Doesn't even make a dent in the sales tax at retail.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

A shoe box is .25 cubic feet There are 2500 cu ft in a container That's 1000 boxes if packed full Ocean voyage is the cheapest part of shipping Costs in the neighborhood of $5 for shipping from factory to store per pair of shoes

No, it's 2720 cubic feet for the 40' * 8.0' * 8.5' high and 3040 cubic feet for the 40' * 8.0' * 9.5' high.

2720 * 4 = 10880

3040 * 4 = 12160

If they are boxed before shipping.

Made from plastic cows. The rest is used for their imitation beef in the food they ship us.

11.5" x 7" x 3.75" = 302 cubic inches = 0.17 ft^3

2500/0.17 = 14,705.

Even using your numbers, I think your math is off by a factor of 10 here, 2500/0.25 = 10,000. Think about (only) 1000 boxes of shoes and an entire 2+TEU shipping container!

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany