[skippyboxedhero]

They make doc martens in China now. I imagine the 8-year old who made your shoes was a master craftsman, however...they start them young.

The original factory still makes boots, they aren't quite as "cool" though. The people at your Communist reading group might not even heard of the brand.

[freemanofthewan]

Care to enlighten us as to who is now operating the original factory producing less “cool” boots? RedWing has started outsourcing to Cambodia and the quality has dropped significantly. I have been searching for a replacement. White’s are all I have found.

[skippyboxedhero]

Solovair. The original Dr Martens was actually made out of parts of Solovair shoes.

Btw, there are still a lot of manufacturers operating out of this region of Britain: Barker, Church's, Cheany, Edward Green...some of these are way too expensive, they are often handmade (and tbh, probably not worth it)...but there are options.

[freemanofthewan]

Thanks for the tips.

[teg4n_]

Doc Martens have a Made in England line. Also I was under the impression Red Wing Heritage boots were made in the US but that could have changed.

[LarryMullins]

Heh, I can't say I've ever been to a communist reading group. I've had some people tell me that my boots are for communists or for lesbians, but that doesn't bother me. Such associations are silly memes.

You're right that I don't care for the style of their UK made boots. I like their brown burnished leather "crazy horse" boots, or ones styled similar. Their UK made boots seem to all be black, red, white, or brown but suede (which I don't consider durable.) These are bolder / punkish designs which I don't care for.

If you can suggest an American brand that holds up to Doc Martens, maybe I'll buy those in a few years instead. But I think most boots are made in China or some other country with exploitative labor.