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Foot Work: What Your Shoes Are Doing To The World
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR SHOES COME FROM?
DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY GO WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THEM?
In 2018, 66.3 million pairs of shoes were manufactured across the world every single day. They have never been cheaper to buy, and we have never been more convinced that we need to buy them. Yet their cost to the planet has never been greater.
In this urgent, passionately argued book, Tansy E. Hoskins opens our eyes to the dark origins of the shoes on our feet. Taking us deep into the heart of an industry that is exploiting workers and deceiving consumers, we begin to understand that if we don't act fast, this humble household object will take us to the point of no return.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE THEY GO WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THEM?
In 2018, 66.3 million pairs of shoes were manufactured across the world every single day. They have never been cheaper to buy, and we have never been more convinced that we need to buy them. Yet their cost to the planet has never been greater.
In this urgent, passionately argued book, Tansy E. Hoskins opens our eyes to the dark origins of the shoes on our feet. Taking us deep into the heart of an industry that is exploiting workers and deceiving consumers, we begin to understand that if we don't act fast, this humble household object will take us to the point of no return.
- GenresFashionNonfictionDesign
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
About the author
Tansy E. Hoskins
5 books80 followersTansy Hoskins is an award-winning journalist and author who investigates the global fashion industry. Her new book launches in September 2026: 'CHARITY SHOP WORLD - an investigation into community, consumption and waste.'
Tansy has been writing about fashion and capitalism since 2011 and her books include:
‘The Anti-Capitalist Book Of Fashion’ which Vogue selected for the 'Best Fashion Books Of All Time’ and which Emma Watson selected for her Ultimate Book List: “Makes a strong case for nothing less than a revolution."
‘Foot Work – What Your Shoes Tell You About Globalisation’ an exposé of the dark origins of the shoes on our feet which Nature Journal called 'A pioneering, pugnacious study'.
Tansy’s books have been translated into seven languages, she won the ICA Bookshop Book of the Year Award and the Fashion & Beauty Writer Award at the Freelance Writing Awards, and has been shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing and a British Journalism Award.
Tansy has been writing about fashion and capitalism since 2011 and her books include:
‘The Anti-Capitalist Book Of Fashion’ which Vogue selected for the 'Best Fashion Books Of All Time’ and which Emma Watson selected for her Ultimate Book List: “Makes a strong case for nothing less than a revolution."
‘Foot Work – What Your Shoes Tell You About Globalisation’ an exposé of the dark origins of the shoes on our feet which Nature Journal called 'A pioneering, pugnacious study'.
Tansy’s books have been translated into seven languages, she won the ICA Bookshop Book of the Year Award and the Fashion & Beauty Writer Award at the Freelance Writing Awards, and has been shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing and a British Journalism Award.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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April 19, 2020Nature's short review, in its entirety:
"According to this pioneering, pugnacious study, our shoes “are the propulsion and the consequence of globalization”. In 2018, 24.2 billion pairs were manufactured, mostly in poor conditions, say industry experts interviewed by journalist Tansy Hoskins. Hazards include noxious fumes, toxic chemicals and poverty wages, as well as the suffering of animals intensively farmed for their hides. She proposes a move to plant-based, metal-free shoes made with non-toxic glues and dyes — and even, radically, “shoe libraries”.
Huh. WTH is a "shoe library"? Borrow shoes & return? No, thanks!
"According to this pioneering, pugnacious study, our shoes “are the propulsion and the consequence of globalization”. In 2018, 24.2 billion pairs were manufactured, mostly in poor conditions, say industry experts interviewed by journalist Tansy Hoskins. Hazards include noxious fumes, toxic chemicals and poverty wages, as well as the suffering of animals intensively farmed for their hides. She proposes a move to plant-based, metal-free shoes made with non-toxic glues and dyes — and even, radically, “shoe libraries”.
Huh. WTH is a "shoe library"? Borrow shoes & return? No, thanks!
July 20, 2022
Assolutamente da leggere, al fine di essere degli acquirenti più consapevoli e non vittime del consumismo e complici di un processo che porta ad approfittare degli ultimi del mondo. Un po' ripetitivo nella parte finale, ma è un lavoro accurato e dettagliato.
September 10, 2021
'Foot Work' was great - it made me stop and think twice about our clothes and where they come from. It's packed with the hidden stories of people we'd never normally hear from – those who stitch shoes in factories and sort though rubbish dumps, and then the kids who spend hundreds of pounds at Sneaker Con. It'd make a great read, or a great present, for anyone questioning the world we live in and wanting to dig a little deeper into what's really going on!
October 24, 2020
This is a must-read. An important reminder about the impact that our purchases make, not only on the people making them but on the environment.
June 26, 2025
This book traces the story of manufacturing and globalisation, with a particular focus on shoes. The story is one of local, low-level commerce to factories to international outsourcing to the rise in homeworkers and unofficial workers. The story of shoes as a status symbol and the commodity fetishism of fashion. The artificially created seasons of fashion that is insurmountably sped up by the rise of e-commerce and the drive for profits at all costs.
Key Points:
- The commodity fetishism of shoes sees them become more than just functional objects, they are status symbols and a form of cultural expression
- Consumerism and capitalism is creating a never ending supply and demand of new shoes
- The industrial revolution has seen a rise in human rights abuses and exploitation
- Offshoring factories has lengthened the supply chain so that it is no longer traceable
- Factories are notorious for exploitation, poor working conditions and low pay
- The rise in homeworkers with unofficial contracts exacerbates issues surrounding lack of accountability
- The shoe industry uses toxic solutions e.g. glue and chromium and others that are causing the average life expectancy of workers in Indian leather tanneries to be around 50 years of age
- The environmental impact is exacerbated due to a) toxic runoff b) transport emissions c) deforestation d) factory pollution and emissions e) landfill emissions
- End of life is not factored into the designs of the shoes and the nature of profit over everything means that the practice of planned obsolescence and shoe's constructed in a way that is impossible to take apart and responsibly dispose of, is common-place.
Sigmund Bauman:
“rather than longterm love, consumerism is more of a case of multiple brief encounters with one eye peering over an objects shoulder to see what else is new and available in this way there is an in-built temporariness in any consumer transaction. nothing is for life”
Key Points:
- The commodity fetishism of shoes sees them become more than just functional objects, they are status symbols and a form of cultural expression
- Consumerism and capitalism is creating a never ending supply and demand of new shoes
- The industrial revolution has seen a rise in human rights abuses and exploitation
- Offshoring factories has lengthened the supply chain so that it is no longer traceable
- Factories are notorious for exploitation, poor working conditions and low pay
- The rise in homeworkers with unofficial contracts exacerbates issues surrounding lack of accountability
- The shoe industry uses toxic solutions e.g. glue and chromium and others that are causing the average life expectancy of workers in Indian leather tanneries to be around 50 years of age
- The environmental impact is exacerbated due to a) toxic runoff b) transport emissions c) deforestation d) factory pollution and emissions e) landfill emissions
- End of life is not factored into the designs of the shoes and the nature of profit over everything means that the practice of planned obsolescence and shoe's constructed in a way that is impossible to take apart and responsibly dispose of, is common-place.
Sigmund Bauman:
“rather than longterm love, consumerism is more of a case of multiple brief encounters with one eye peering over an objects shoulder to see what else is new and available in this way there is an in-built temporariness in any consumer transaction. nothing is for life”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2021
Is it worth it?
I love the clarity that Tanya brings to the subject of footwear. The research that is involved in the making of a book like this. The easy read of it and therefore accessibility to different range of reading abilities. The book gets extremely repetitive though,I'm not sure if that was done on purpose as to cement it into someone's mind or what. 1/3 of the way through I was over, seeing some of the words and meanings being repeated every paragraph. Other than that a truly amazing window into the shoes we wear, the problems associated with footwear and steps needed to be taken to combat the problem.
I love the clarity that Tanya brings to the subject of footwear. The research that is involved in the making of a book like this. The easy read of it and therefore accessibility to different range of reading abilities. The book gets extremely repetitive though,I'm not sure if that was done on purpose as to cement it into someone's mind or what. 1/3 of the way through I was over, seeing some of the words and meanings being repeated every paragraph. Other than that a truly amazing window into the shoes we wear, the problems associated with footwear and steps needed to be taken to combat the problem.
April 2, 2020
A really insightful and well-written book - you'll never look at your shoes in the same way again! A must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in fashion, the environment or social justice.
July 7, 2021
Brilliant a real eye-opener on the practices that go on in the name of sneaker culture and fast fashion. A must read
June 1, 2025
Abbandonato... Mi è sembrato un'accozzaglia di roba messa un po' a caso
June 25, 2023
Very interesting and undeniably important, but slightly repetitive
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews