THESE boots are made for walking..

Chrissy and Inga are ambitiously doing the Six Items or Less Challenge for the month of September. I, however, am sitting this one out. You see, I am pregnant with our first baby. Very exciting. However imagining how to accommodate my ever expanding belly in six items or less? A stretch too far. Crazy talk.

So I am off the hook. And addicted instead to seeking out and oogling incredibly stylee vintage clothes wearing pregnant people on the web. I have visions of my belly getting all big inside exciting vintage finds that I procured for a buck at the Miramar Sallies. This is problematic because a) I barely have enough time to water/feed/work/shwop/yoga and sleep, let alone trawl the oppies and b) there is nothing for a buck worth knowing at the Sallies anyway. Believe you me.

I was starting to worry that I would end up wearing a towel for the rest of the pregnancy, and so kicked myself off the aforesaid blogs, and took myself to town. First stop, hairdresser for a flash new haircut. Check.

Second stop, shoes. And its the shoes I wanna tell you all about. I was committed to buying a pair that weren’t made in China. This makes choices, and the type of service you receive, somewhat limited. Admittedly, I would be a tricky customer. What kind of 18 year old shop assistant wants to encounter some eco-worrier type who is asking if they have any shoes for sale that are made in developed countries? I mean, how incredibly painful. But I kept asking and in each of the high street stores there were choices.

Mckinlay‘s of Dunedin are made in New Zealand, and have some super looking Desert Boots on offer at the moment at Ultra Shoes . I was quite enamoured, but after a heel – so I kept on looking.

Overland and Shoe Connection were average, but Mi Piaci had a very helpful lady more than happy to help me sift out the Italian boots from the others. I just about bought this pair but thought I had better stroll on up to Starfish. And this is where I fell in love with Terra Plana shoes

Terra Plana aims to be the most innovative and ecological friendly designer shoe brand in the world. Combining artisan stitched construction with the talents of former Prada designer Ajoy Sahu to create shoes with a ‘total beauty’. They have a huge focus on sustainability and this centres everything they do. I ran into a lovely pair of black ankle boots made with vegetable dyed leather and they are happy, happy boots. Hooray! I wanted them to run home with me in an instant.

Small catch. Terra Plana are made in China. And while I was confident that the impact on the environment was lessened with these puppies, I was less sure about the social impact. I have been reading all sorts of reports on minimum wages in China not being enough to live off and I was concerned. Why can’t I get a pair of shoes that are kind to the earth and the people that make them? I did some research on them though, and they look like all round good guys here, here and here. They have even popped their own answer up to my very question: How can Terra Plana justify making eco friendly shoes in China? And so, they are happily at home with me.