This evening I stepped into the Roots store in the Rideau Centre and confirmed that it does indeed sell environmentally-friendly shoes made by Simple Shoes. I posted a few days ago about my saga of buying Simple Shoes from an on-line U.S. store. Well, now I know I can buy them right here in Ottawa. However, they do not carry the particular style that I bought on-line (and which is shown in the photograph for that blog post). Instead they carry the ecoSNEAKS for men and for women.
I assume that other Roots stores across Canada also carry Simple Shoes, but if you’re making a special trip I suggest you call ahead, just in case.
Roots, Rideau Centre, 50 Rideau Street, Suite 247, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 9J7, (613) 236-7760
Green Living Ottawa 
Simple shoes are made by Decker outdoor corporation, a mega, mega conglommerate
that has done and continues to do more harm to the environment than I care to support. As for Roots, don’t get me started – on a good day they give NIke and Gap a run for their money in terms of environmental recklessness and exploitive labour practices. If you live in Ottawa and truly [care] about the shoes you wear, buy Yellow Ports. Karma Wear in the market stocks them and you SIMPLY won’t find
a more genuinely green shoe.
I wish I’d have come across this post before making an order of my own. I had the same nasty experience with UPS. Still, I love the product itself.
Now to verify Jerry’s claim…
I bought some clearance items from them lately – under $20 it worked out to and everything came in fine, no brokerage. Found out later there’s a scale for such charges so it came in under the limit.
So I ordered more and got a similar charge for brokerage as the package was about $100… sad, but what choice is there? I’m also interested in finding a Canadian-based online store I can use for these.
I ordered a pair of “Eco friendly” Simple shoes last year. When I went to try them on a saw “MADE IN CHINA”. I returned them. I find it funny that no where on their website did I find where they were made.
I am not surprised they are made in china, but I agree I am not going to support them. I too wasn’t able to find the “made in” any where on their site.
I would like to add that Mel said she returned the shoes because they were made in china. The hemp is made in China because it cannot be grow in many other places. And that info is easily found on their website under materials used.
Whoa – I was just about to order a pair from the States. Thanks for your post! You can actually get Simples at Wildrock outfitters in Peterborough, although their selection isn’t as extensive as the American web site.
I just called the Simple hotline and ordered a pair of shoes. I had them sent to a friend in the States and he is going to bring them to me next time I see him.
When the customer service rep heard that I was from Canada, she started to apologize about how difficult it is for Canadians to order from their site… I had requested two-day shipping, but then she very changed it to one-day shipping and paid for the extra costs for me!! She said that she wanted to make sure that I got my order on time.
How awesome is that!?!
Hi Jerry
Please elaborate on the damage Decker has done to the environment. Before I buy green I like to know the facts.
I’ve just come across a Canadian substitute for Simple Shoes: Elephant and Chickpea out of Vancouver. This company hand-makes shoes out of up-cycled materials. You can buy them on-line at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6198236
Hello,
We are a new company in Canada that makes eco-friendly recycled shoes with organic materials.